Following up to Compo, Stuart, Richard and everyone else
Thanks everyone for all the advice (some time ago!), we just got
back from the northern isles, had a great trip.
Quoted message said:It is 11 years since I lived on Orkney Mainland so things may have
changed. For what it's worth:Food:
Seafood is a must on Orkney. Local crab, lobster, Scallops and Spoots
(razorfish) are all wonderful.
scallops seem to be everywhere, even had them on the ferry.
Quoted message said:The Creel Restaurant at St.Margaret's Hope, South Ronaldsay is probably
the best in the whole of the Orkney Isles but not cheap.
Stayed there, ate the food, got the stain on the tee shirt. Very
good, as was another Creel just outside Aberdeen on the coast.
We also liked Buster House, Shetland Mainland.
We used the Northlink ferry as driving up from London, the north
coast is a bit far for for a single days drive, however, leaving
at 5am Aberdeen was easy, although I was nervous of a puncture
with our "skinny" spare, at 50kph we wouldnt have made it. With a
cabin, the overnight ferry is the easy way to get to and from
Orkney or Shetland and we got a fantastic view of Fair Isle
ringed by a rainbow, although I didnt get a perfect photo as the
24mm I rushed on deck with wasnt wide enough to get it all in!
Sanday
Everybody said dont go but we enjoyed it. Short walks and
birdwatching for two days. The pub (Kettletoft) does pub grub
type meals. Lovely beaches.
Yell
The motel marked on OS maps is closed at present as are the pub
and the restaurant. Otters present.
Unst
Acomodation is fairly limited, a basic hotel (Baltasound) or the
Lairds house, (Buness) where you are treated as house guests, we
very much enjoyed it but it wouldnt suit everyone, especially
those who dont do "posh". There are also some B&Bs
The famous bus stop has a new african theme, the microwave has
gone but the PC is there although web access is said to be
intermittent.
Now ive gone part digital, some photos are already in place on
website at:-
"http://www.fellwalk.co.uk/skyepics.htm#orkney"
(it will take a minute to load as higher up page loads first)
Petrol
Shetland going north fill at south end of Yell, none on Unst.
(Sanday has pumps but most looked out of order).
Official Island Leaflets available at ferry terminals are worth
picking up for petrol/toilets etc. (public toilets might seem an
odd thing to report, but given the scarcity elsewhere due to
vandals, its great to find clean, serviced toilets everywhere).
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-Photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" <-- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap