I am going to report on this summer’s trip to the Northern Isles in two parts, mainly because of the differences in my experiences between the Shetland Isles and Orkney.

My journey to Shetland began with the train journey to Aberdeen to catch the ferry to Lerwick. I had no problems getting the bike on to the train as it was one of ScotRail’s better designed carriages with space for six bikes on a rack, along the side of the carriage. On arrival in Aberdeen, I pushed my bike round the corner to the ferry terminal and checked in through the vehicle gate. There is a bike rack and toilets available before boarding and I was allowed to jump the queue of cars to get on early. I had a sleeping pod booked as the journey takes 12.5 hours but these pods are not the most comfortable so didn’t really get much sleep even though the crossing was very smooth.

I arrived in Lerwick at 7.30 and as I hadn’t had much sleep, decided that I would get on the road right away to head for the campsite in Levenwick. My plan was to cycle south first, then back north to visit as much of the mainland as possible before heading to the other islands. This was a plan which would not come to fruition.

The cycle out of Lerwick was one long climb for about two miles along the A970 which is the main road running down the spine of mainland Shetland. It is an extremely busy road and I had hoped to get away from the constant stream of traffic in Lerwick. The amount of vehicles did not let up at all but after a couple of miles National Cycle Route 1 leaves the main road to follow the original, single track road serving all of the settlements which are located around the narrow strips of fertile land along the coast. This was much quieter than the main road and although it is very hilly and winding it was almost free of vehicles and made for a much more enjoyable cycle. Between Lerwick and Levenwick the cycle route re-joins the main road a couple of times. There are some initial spectacular views of the Shetland coastline but as the best are from the higher parts of the main road enjoying them can be difficult.

It took me longer than I would have expected to ride the 10 miles to Levenwick and I arrived at the campsite around one o’clock. The site is run by volunteers from the local community and is in a beautifull spot looking down to the village and a lovely sandy beach. there is no warden on-site so, after talking to other campers, I set up my tent and decided to get some rest in the glorious sunshine, which proved to be the last for some time. My plan was to camp a couple days there and cycle down the B9122, which is a single track road down the east side of south mainland to Sumburgh to visit Sumburgh Head and Jarlshof, an archeological site nearby, returning to Levenwick in the evening.

When I woke up the following morning, I couldn’t even see the far side of the campsite. The mist had rolled in and the bright sunshine was replaced by wet and windy weather which was to be the norm for the remainder of my stay on Shetland. I set off in thick fog to cycle a couple of miles back north towards the turn off to the road leading to the B9122. The traffic was horrendous with a few close passes and seemingly not a lot of consideration to reducing speeds in the poor visibility. I was glad when I turned off on to the single track road and as I got over the hill to the west side of the island the mist cleared although the rain got heavier and I turned into a strengthening head wind as I headed south. The wind got stronger as I cycled south and at times I was pedalling hard downhill. As the morning drew on, the traffic started getting busier and I was passed by several coaches. Not a happy experience on a single track road with passing places! I learned later that there was a large cruise ship in Lerwick and these were sightseeing coaches. When I was about halfway to Sumburgh, with a long stretch on the main road to come, the strengthening wind and driving rain persuaded me to turn around and take a detour to visit St. Ninians Isle. This is a small “island”, reached by an isthmus of sand called a tombolo. It is a beautiful spot which I’m sure on a better day, I could have spent more time exploring. As it was, I only stayed around an hour before getting back on the road and taking another detour to Bigton and its community run shop where I stocked up on supplies for the next few days.

I had read that in Shetland, shops are few and far between and outside the larger towns there is not much scope for buying food, therefore planning is essential. In the twenty or so miles between Lerwick and Sumburgh there are only two shops and one of them, in Toab, is going to close down in August and is only open occasionally till then.

Not only are shopping opportunities scarce but campsites are even more so. On the mainland there are only three or four which allow tents. So I decided to move on to another just outside Scalloway, which is the mainland’s second largest town and its former capital. I planned to spend a couple of nights there and explore some more of west mainland using it as a base. The facilities in the Scalloway campsite are more modern and the couple who look after it live very close by and are very friendly and helpful. The site is immaculately maintained which encouraged me to extend my stay and make it a base.

The weather didn’t get any better over the next few days. Although days would start looking bright there was rain for at least part of every day and for a couple of days it rained almost constantly. This really curtailled my enjoyment of cycling around and apart from going into Scalloway to shop and visit the museum, my bike was largely unused. I opted to take a hop-on hop-off bus tour which kept me relatively dry and also gave me the chance to do a bit of sightseeing.

I had come to the conclusion that taking a bus to Sumburgh would be the best way to avoid the traffc and get to see the south end of the mainland. So I headed back to Levenwick campsite and booked in there for two nights. I took a bus to Sumburgh airport and from there walked to Jarlshof and to Sumburgh Head. Both of these were really interesting, the latter because of the close up views of puffins which seemed to appear on cue as soon as a camera was produced. Jarlshof is an archaeological site with remains of medieval, viking and neolothic settlements all on the same area which were uncovered by a storm in the 1800’s. The only thing that tainted my visit was the constant air traffic. I had imagined that Sumburgh airport would be quiet with maybe half a dozen flights a day. No! There are planes taking off almost every half hour with several helicopters taking off and landing inbetween. This is the result of the oil industry and while it is good for Shetland’s economy, it does spoil the sense of remoteness.

I decided to spend my final night in Shetland in the youth hostel in Lerwick. As my ferry left for Orkney early evening, I would have time to explore Lerwick. There was a broch at Clickminn which I wanted to visit and also the museum. Like most accomodation in Shetland, including campsites, it is advisable to book in advance. This can usually be done on-line. The same goes for eating out as many cafes and restaurants are limited in their opening times due to difficulties in recruiting staff. The sun came out when I was leaving Levenwick and the weather stayed dry for most of the day. The tail wind I had been looking forward to for the cycle north had veered round and was either blowing side on or in my face. I booked in early to the hostel, had a shower and set off to explore the town.

Lerwick is an interesting town once you get away from the newer, commercial and industrial areas around the ferry port. The streets leading from the old harbour are narrow lanes called closses, some of which are only a few feet wide and many of which have been renamed at some time. Behind this, in a sheltered valley, are the civic buildings which are very grand as well as the larger houses, built and formerly owned by the merchants and land-owners who made their money from the fishing industry. There is a fort overlooking the harbour which still has a military presence in the form of a reserve artillery unit. I spent the afternoon wandering around, buying souveniers and fish and chips for tea. As I would have almost the full day before the ferry left, I put off visiting the museum until my final day. The youth hostel was fairly quiet, maybe because of the cost which is about double I would have expected to pay for a hostel although I did have a room to myself and the facilities are excellent. The next day I arranged to leave my bike and luggage and set off to spend an enjoyable few hours in the museum before boarding the ferry to take me to Kikwall in Orkney.

Looking back on my time in Shetland I have mixed feelings. Mainly due to the weather, I didn’t manage to visit as much of the area as I had hoped or would have liked to. I didn’t get to the north islands or get to see more than a small part of the mainland.

Shetland, at least the parts of the mainland I visited, is beautiful and the people are very friendly, often going out of their way to chat and offer information. Despite the Shetland tourism industry wishing to promote the islands as a cycling area, the roads are not conducive to an enjoyable cycle-touring experience. Many of the main roads are busy, not just with tourist coaches and camper vans but there is a lot of construction going on for the renewable energy industry to replace the income from oil. That money has ensured that the island’s council has the finances to provide decent road surfaces, excellent public facilities and a great tourist infrastructure.

My opinion of the suitability for cycle touring was one shared by most of the other cyclists I talked to. One couple had started out on their bikes but after a day or two had hired a car and were driving between accomodations and islands with days exploring on their bikes inbetween. I had wondered why I was the only cyclist pushing my bike on to the ferry and I only saw a handful of fully loaded cyclists during my stay. If I were to go back, and I would love to as there is so much more to see that I missed, this is the way I would plan a future trip.