Scalloway
Posted: Wednesday, 16 July 2008 |
The DSC alarm on the VHF radio sounds its shrill beep in the wheelhouse and is followed by the coastguard announcing we are due a force 8 gale in the next few hours. This meant that diving was pretty much curtailed for the day, so we went off to see Scalloway on the west side of the islands.
Sitting in the taxi as it climbs out of Lerwick and over the hills between, the contrast between Orkney and Shetland becomes so starkly clear. Orkney is much more intensivley farmed, fields of wheat and grass for silage dot the hillsides, while in Shetland they are miles of moorland with the gray rocks poking their heads wherever the plantlife will allow. Of course the Shetland pony is in evidence, seen patiently munching the grass on hillsides.
Scalloway looks incredibly Norweigan, painted houses and a beautiful voe (inlet) dotted with islands.
One of the things i really wanted to see was the memorial to the men who died helping the Shetland Bus. During the war Norway was invaded by the Nazi's and many people fled to wherever was safe. Many ended up in Shetland where they were welcomed and cared for by the locals. Feeling grew among those who had escaped that they could do more for their countrymen left in Norway, and so a number of tiny fishing boats made their way back and forward over the north sea taking resistance members supplies for sabotage and bringing people back. The journey was frought with extra danger other than the wrath of the north sea. German aircraft regularly patrolled the skies looking for any ships they could attack and while in Norway they had to dodge German lookout posts and spies.
Many brave men lost their lives in this endeavour which was run firstly from Lunna Voe and then from Scalloway. The people of Scalloway have never forgotten their link to Norway and the beautiful memorial stands on the seafront. The stones it is made from were gathered from the homeplace of each of the men killed during the war, and the boat it is modelled from was recently in Orkney.
Here are my piccies
Sitting in the taxi as it climbs out of Lerwick and over the hills between, the contrast between Orkney and Shetland becomes so starkly clear. Orkney is much more intensivley farmed, fields of wheat and grass for silage dot the hillsides, while in Shetland they are miles of moorland with the gray rocks poking their heads wherever the plantlife will allow. Of course the Shetland pony is in evidence, seen patiently munching the grass on hillsides.
Scalloway looks incredibly Norweigan, painted houses and a beautiful voe (inlet) dotted with islands.
One of the things i really wanted to see was the memorial to the men who died helping the Shetland Bus. During the war Norway was invaded by the Nazi's and many people fled to wherever was safe. Many ended up in Shetland where they were welcomed and cared for by the locals. Feeling grew among those who had escaped that they could do more for their countrymen left in Norway, and so a number of tiny fishing boats made their way back and forward over the north sea taking resistance members supplies for sabotage and bringing people back. The journey was frought with extra danger other than the wrath of the north sea. German aircraft regularly patrolled the skies looking for any ships they could attack and while in Norway they had to dodge German lookout posts and spies.
Many brave men lost their lives in this endeavour which was run firstly from Lunna Voe and then from Scalloway. The people of Scalloway have never forgotten their link to Norway and the beautiful memorial stands on the seafront. The stones it is made from were gathered from the homeplace of each of the men killed during the war, and the boat it is modelled from was recently in Orkney.
Here are my piccies
Comments
Thank you for this blog DoaD, your pictures are lovely and you tell the story of the Shetland Bus so well. Diamondbigdodette is the grandaughter of one of the brave norske runners who made the journey many many times during the war. The memorial was unveiled in June 2003 by Baba Christie - grandmother to Dbdette. We are, as you say, very proud in Scalloway of our friendship and links with our close neighbours to the east (and of course with those to the south :-)
diamondbigdod from Trondra
....and further to diamondBD's comment, you can see piccies of Dbdette's mum (daughter of aforementioned Shetland Bus Man) and dad on my blog aboot our school sailing trip to Norway, copy and paste this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/islandblogging/blogs/005163/0000012778.shtml and scroll down to our visit to Baldersheim.
Ruthodanort from Norge eenoo
Great blog and photos Doad.
Carol from IBHQ
After coming to Orkney in May 2006 for 8 months, somehow I am still here. Running the MV Valkyrie in the summer and helping on the farm in winter is now my life. 
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