Cruising Greenland and Northern Europe: Always Sensational Scotland

What else can we say?

Our final country on this cruise was Scotland, and we couldn't wait to return to the Old Sod. Scotland has always been a favorite destination of our since we first came here in 1993. We’ve now been to Scotland several times, and always look forward to doing some more exploring.

Lerwick Harbor on Shetland

Lerwick, Shetland (Scotland)

This is the one Anne has been waiting for, since she is a huge fan of the TV series Shetland. From the moment she saw the stately stone buildings situated around the harbor, she was thrilled. We had arranged a small group tour (six people), and our guide, Grant, was waiting for us when we finally got off the ship’s tender. The Immigration and tendering process here was excruciating -- took us almost two hours to get off the ship and into Lerwick.

New housing in Lerwick

Grant started our tour with a jaunt through Lerwick, a tiny capital "city" of 7500 people. The entire population of Shetland is only 23,000, and with over 100,000 sheep, the sheep outnumber the people over four to one!

Surprisingly, Shetland is really growing with lots of new homes being built and new services being added. Looking for a retirement spot away from it all? Shetland has excellent retirement services paid for by profits from the oil industry. Just like in Norway, the government here puts aside a percentage of all oil profits as savings for the future when the oil is depleted.

Jimmy Perez's house from the TV series Shetland

A lot of the old narrow streets looked familiar to Anne from the TV series, but then Grant pulled up in front of an unmistakable sight (at least for Anne) -- the stone house where Jimmy Perez, the main character of the series lives. Honestly, she felt as if Jimmy could walk out the front door at any moment. The TV series has become wildly popular, and Grant told us this house is the most photographed building in Lerwick! Of course, since Frank is not a fan, the hype of the series was a nonevent for him.

Unseasonably pleasant weather in Shetland

Anne calmed down, and we continued out into the beautiful countryside on still another gorgeous sunny day. We were especially lucky since Grant told us rain and gale force winds were in the next day's forecast. Thanks to the Gulf Stream, Shetland never gets terribly cold. Even in winter, the lowest temperature is a couple degrees above freezing, but they do get a lot of wind.

Shetland coastline

Shetland is quite mountainous with an abundance of great landscapes, and we stopped frequently to take in these views. One of the best stops was at a beach that connects the mainland to St. Ninian's Island. The water has to be freezing, but intrepid Shetlanders do swim here.

Isthmus over to St. Ninian's Island

About sixty years ago, a team of archaeologists came to St. Ninian's to excavate the ruins. A sixteen-year-old local boy tagged along, and he discovered a stash of silver dating back to the 8th c., buried by an ancient Celtic people called the Picts. Apparently, the archaeologists were not pleased with the young lad’s discovery and instant fame.

Croft House Museum

Grant introduced us to two major sites on Shetland. The first one was the Croft House Museum which gave us a glimpse into life on Shetland in the 1800's. The people of this time period were extremely poor, nothing more than slaves really. Similar to Ireland, wealthy Scottish lairds stole the land and evicted people whenever they felt like it. Lots of times, they evicted people with no notice at all, just to acquire more land for their sheep farming.

The small farmhouse-like dwelling that we visited would often have held a family with ten children along with an assortment of relatives, all victims of the evictions. The islands have few trees but plenty of peat, so peat would have been used for heating. Some peat was burning in the fireplace when we visited – altho it required a bit of getting used to, Anne loved the earthy smell while Frank said he’d prefer baseboard hot water heat instead.

Frank solves the mystery of the mousetrap

Frank was the star of the day when he figured out how an old mousetrap artifact worked. Apparently, most visitors don't have a clue. This device had a very clever home-brew design about it, with a large weighty stone propped on a board above the bait, so that when the mouse went for the cheese, the clapper board on which the stone rested, dropped and squashed him. (Obviously, have-a-heart traps hadn't been invented yet).

Multiple excavations at Jarlshof

Our second major site was an archaeological dig called Jarlshof begun in 1925 that unearthed ancient dwellings of the Vikings along with evidence of previous life from the stone, bronze, and iron ages. As you know we love prehistoric sites, and this was one of the best. This small stretch of land on a promontory above the sea contains ruins spanning over 4,000 years. It was fascinating to see the layers of human history as each successive period built on top of the last.

Ancient dwellings at Jarlshof

We walked from stone-age construction, to Bronze Age houses, to parts of an Iron Age village that included a partial broch, a tower-like structure that looked like a stone roundhouse. No one knows what the brochs were used for. They look like defensive structures, but with no known adversaries at the time, they may have had a religious purpose or been a place to store food supplies or other things.

Viking ruins at Jarlshof

We continued on to the remains of a Viking long house, and finally a ruined Scottish laird's house built in the 1500's. The whole complex would never have been discovered if not for a storm that washed away part of the shore and revealed the treasures beneath. Archaeological treasures much like those we found on our foray to the Orkney Islands 2 years ago. It makes you wonder what else lies beneath our feet just waiting to be uncovered.

View of coastline from
Sumburgh Head Lighthouse on Shetland

For our last stop, we drove up to Sumburgh Head Lighthouse for some great views of the rugged cliffs. And the sheep. These burly-looking sheep with their super-thick coats stay outside all winter long – the very thing that makes their coats super-thick! We also saw the famous Shetland ponies including some adorable miniature ones. Altho Grant told us they don't have very nice dispositions.

Frank with his Azure Shetland beer

We also picked up two bottles of Shetland beer in our travels. Really good stuff. And once again, Frank was able to smuggle them on the ship with no problem.

Trees full of clothing "offerings" at Clootie Well

Invergordon (Inverness)

We had arranged for a private tour for just the two of us and our next guide. Kevin, was waiting for us as soon as we left the ship. Kevin started the tour with a stop at Clootie Well, a place only locals know about. It was a really weird and wonderful ancient Celtic site with thousands of bits of cloth, clothing, shoes, jackets, and even underwear hanging in the trees and on their branches.

Anne dips her cloth in Clootie Well
and prepares to make her wish

The idea is that you dip a bit of something in the sacred waters of the well, wipe the water around our face, and then make a wish as you hang the item from the tree. Kevin gave us each a paper towel, so we could perform the ancient ritual too.

Cawdor Castle

We traveled on to Cawdor Castle, a romantic 14th c. castle still occupied by members of the Cawdor family. Outside, it looked like a charming fairy-tale castle, but inside it was very livable, and Anne was ready to move in. The floral gardens outside were lovely too.

Anne's failed attempt at the time travel trick

We made a quick stop at Clava Cairns, an ancient site of 4,000-year-old stones. The place has become very popular because it is said that Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander books, first got her inspiration for the story here. Anne touched the stones hoping for a little bit of time travel for herself, but no luck.

Site of the battle of Culloden

The highlight of the day was Culloden Battlefield where the Jacobites were badly defeated. The Jacobites, which included many Scottish Highlanders were part of a rebellion meant to restore the House of Stuart and place Bonnie Prince Charlie on the throne. Fought on April 16, 1746, it is the last battle fought on British soil.

Highland bulls with their unusually hairy coats at Culloden

We watched a movie in the round house that made us feel like we were right in the center of the battle. The movie lasted 3-½ minutes. The exact amount of time it took for 900 Highlanders to die in the battle. The Highlanders were lethal in close combat, but various circumstances prevented them from getting to the government forces fast enough. Instead, the government rifle and cannon power mowed them all down and caused the remainder to retreat.

After the battle, the government enacted a policy called the pacification of the Highlands, intended to dismantle Highland culture. Highlanders lost their land, and the kilt and the tartan (plaids that identified each of the clans) were banned.

Frank with some Scottish Highlanders

Queen Victoria actually helped revive an interest in the culture because she loved Scotland, particularly the Highlands. Today, even tho they were trounced in record time at Culloden, the Highlanders are celebrated as romantic heroes.

Tasting Singleton at Glen Ord Distillery

Frank was especially psyched for our last stop, the Glen Ord Distillery for a tasting of fine Scotch whiskey. Glen Ord is the only remaining single malt scotch whiskey distillery on the Black Isle. And it makes a renowned Singelotn whiskey specifically for the very profitable Asian market. The Singelton can only be purchased in Asia or at this distillery. Obviously, we had to check it out and maybe grab a bottle for ourselves.

Tour guide Kevin and Frank in tasting room
at the Glen Ord Distillery

We had a fascinating tasting where we learned how to add a single drop of water to a glass of whiskey. And the surprising difference that one tiny drop of water makes. We tasted three Singleton whiskeys, and the 15-year was so noticeably smooth and flavorful even Anne liked it. How could we not bring a bottle home? (However, we were unable to sneak this one on the ship. Holland Security was on high alert for whiskey purchases, and we had to let them hold our bottle for us until the end of the cruise.)

Roaming the streets of South Queensferry, Scotland

South Queensferry (Edinburgh)

Since we had visited Edinburgh just two years ago, we decided to explore the small town of South Queensferry instead of making the trip into Edinburgh, a city with which we were already pretty familiar. Altho there are still many things yet to see in Edinburgh, we really enjoyed the low-keyed atmosphere and a laid-back stroll thru this bucolic seaside town of South Queensferry.

Forth Rail Bridge spanning the Firth of Forth

The town sits on the Firth of Forth near three bridges spanning the Forth. The most famous is the Forth Rail Bridge which was built after the previous bridge collapsed, sending a passenger train tumbling into the Firth. As a result of the tragic accident, the new bridge was over-engineered to guarantee safety. It was considered the greatest engineering accomplishment of the 19th c. and remains the world's second-longest single cantilever span.

We wandered along High Street, buying souvenirs and checking out the elegant Georgian homes. We were able to get caught up on our email thanks to the public library that generously provided free wi-fi access to all us cruisers. We know this is not a big deal to the rest of the world, but finding available wi-fi in these remote countries is sometimes not so easy.

Cheers from the Ferry Bridge Pub in
downtown Queensferry, Scotland

We ended our day at a local hangout in town called The Ferry Bridge Pub. Great atmosphere with locals at the bar speaking what we assume was some form of Gaelic (something incomprehensible to us). We chowed down on potato soup, fish and chips (can't get enough of those), and the very familiar Tennent’s Beer, our beer of choice the last time we were here. A perfect Scottish lunch.