Shetland January 2020

Doesn’t everyone book a trip away just as soon as they get back to their desks after the end of the seemingly endless Winter Holidays?

Trip 1 of 2020, where to do go?   Well, Shetland of course.

There’s been a lot of wind around recently - as I got off the plane, I was already (in my mind at least) fixing roof tiles and searching for missing chunks of fence, so it came as pleasant surprise that there wasn’t anything substantial to do (this time at least - there’s still plenty of winter to go yet).

If I was searching for evidence of storm damage, I didn’t need to go far.  The local beach at Quendale has always been my place to go for a gentle stroll (this is a relative term, in the context of Shetland).  Over the last few weeks huge amounts of sand have been removed transforming the sandy slope down onto beach into a 5 or 6 foot drop - which I guess one might jump down but getting back up would be a bit of a challenge.  My recollection is that the sandy slope was smoothed in 4 or 5 years ago to make it possible to get an airport rescue boat into Quendale Bay if it was needed - not sure how that works at the moment.

Quendale Beach - dune damage

Quendale Beach - no way through

Although I’ve been referring to storms in the past tense - there was still plenty of current evidence of wind and accompanying waves over the last few days.  

I love being on Shetland at any time of year - but I’m particularly enamoured of days when there are big waves along with some sunshine to light up the white water.  In January,  that light when it comes is always low which can light up the landscape.

White Water - West Voe of Sumburgh

Golden Hour - Scat Ness

Breaking Waves - Scat Ness

Wind Blown - south end of the Ness of Burgi

One of the other things that can feature in Shetland are fabulous sunrises and sunsets - the clear horizons open up the option of seeing the sun rise out of (or descend) into the sea.  And at this time of year the sunrises happen at the remarkably civilised time of just before 09:00 - in the summer the sunrises really are far too early!

Sumburgh Head - just before sunrise

Sumburgh Head - just after sunrise

Trip 2 of 2020 is just a couple of weeks away - and it’s not to Shetland…