Introduction
Some time after my Hebridean trip, Ken suggested another one, this time to the Shetland Islands to attend Up Helly Aa. Now, I am not a good sailor, so an overnight sailing from Aberdeen to Lerwick did not immediately appeal. It took until October 2009 to convince me, when we took the plunge and booked an apartment. To cut down cost per person I invited Pete. Actually I approached Pete through his good wife Pauline who seemed quite keen on the idea of him being away for a week.
Saturday 23rd January 2010
Caught the train from Huddersfield at about 06:30, destination Aberdeen. The line between Dundee and Aberdeen is currently undertaking maintenance on week-ends so a bus was laid on. The journey was mainly uneventful until we were within a couple of hundred yards of Aberdeen railway station when the bus broke down on a roundabout and would not move. We eventually disembarked onto a relief bus which totally blocked the roundabout while we transferred our luggage,
The ferry departed 10 minutes early at 16:50 heading for Lerwick via Kitkwall. Ken and myself had fish and chips from the self-service restaurant. We both agreed that the haddock was as good as, or better that anything we had eaten before. Wind speed was force 6-7 and the sea was rough. Feeling a bit tired, we retired to the cabin for a lie down. We later headed for the bar for a few beers to encourage sleep. Reportedly, the ship only had one working stabiliser, so was travelling slowly to minimize discomfort to its passengers. Consequently it was scheduled to arrive one and a half hours late at Kirkwall. After leaving Kirkwall, he must have 'put his foot down, because we arrived at Lerwick on time.
Sunday 24th January 2010
Picked up the hire car and headed for Sumburgh Head. En route, we stopped off at Old Scatness Broch and Iron Age Village. This is well worth a visit. We had a guided tour of the broch , an informative talk about iron age tools in an iron age house with an open fire (a bit smokey), and an recitation of a norse tale in another iron age house (again with a smokey open fire). 
After a quick look at the lighthouse at Sumbrugh Head we visited the prehistoric and Norse settlement at Jarlshof, Followed by coffee and sandwiches at the Sumbrugh Hotel. We then headed for our apartment after picking up some food supplies. Jean and David Wiseman met us at the King Harald apartment to explain where everything was. Cooking and eating of the evening meal was then embarked upon (soup followed by salmon,cauliflower cheese and new potatoes). Ken took us the long way round - sorry, the scenic route - to the town centre for liquid refreshment. We finished up in The Lounge Bar where we sampled bottles of Shetland and Orkney ale, while being entertained by a stream of ever changing musicians. Arrived back at the apartment, probably around half past midnight, leaving the bar still in full swing.
Monday 25th January 2010
Ken made breakfast of egg, bacon and tomatoes. Set off in the hire car at about 09:30, heading for Toft where we caught the ferry to Yell. Leaving Ulsta ferry 
terminal we headed north to pick up the ferry from Gutcher to Belmont on Unst. Along the road, we can across a viking longboat which appeared to be being renovated, and the Unst bus shelter decorated out with household furniture, TV, computer and personal accesories,etc. We then followed the road as far north as it went near The Ness. 
The rest of the way was on foot, about 3 - 4 miles to Hermaness Hill where we hoped to see the lighthouse at Muckle Flugga. It was too hazey to be seen, so we retraced our steps back to the car. The footpath we had been on was partially being constructed out of decking board. We followed the reverse route back to the apartment via the supermarket. Ken and myself left Pete in charge of cooking while we filled the car up with fuel and returned it to the hire station. Dinner today was Pate with mushrooms on toast and side salad followed by pork steaks, new potatoes, broccoli and brussels sprouts - well done Pete! Had a mini tour round town, calling at the Royal British Legion to start with. This was followed by Da Noost pub on Market Street which was extremely busy. Once inside it became obvious why, because there was the Lomond Ceilidh Band performing - brilliant! Leaving here we called in at The Lounge where we all got talking to different people. I was talking to Christian, a chemist from Germany (about to take up a job in London working for the British Government), Ken was engaged in conversation with some pipers and Pete was tlking to a man from Aberdeen.
Tuesday 26th January 2010
After a breakfast fry-up we walked down to the Esplade to view the morning procession of the Viking longboat. Weather not too good - raining. Returned to the apartment for a coffee where we bunped into David, the owner of the apartment. Asking us if we had a hall to go to in the evening we replied 'no'. He said he would see what he could do in relation to getting tickets. He returned later informing us that he had got hold of 3 tickets for the Anderson High School hall. He suggested calling in at the Masonic Hall with regard to festivities on the Wednesday evening, which we duly did. Whilst here we got talking to someone who was to take part in tomorrows parade. We tried on his incredibly heavy helmet - don't envy him waering it tomorrow. Next stop was the local off-licence to buy alcoholic drink for the evening - it was not on sale, but you could take your own.
As 19:30 approached we made for the evening procession start point where the viking longboat and brass and pipe bands were assembling. It wasn't long before we lost Ken in the crowds. 
The street light were turned off at this point. Suddenly it became bright and warm as about 1000 torches were lit - a spectacular sight! The procession then set off on its route around Lerwick, finishing off in King George V playing Field on King Harald Street. The maroon was set off and the torches were thrown into the longboat which was immediately ignited into a massive ball of fire. At the hall we had unlimited food and drink at our disposal. The 46 squads which took part in the procession called at each of the 12 halls delivering their unique entertainment, some of which were very good, some others not so. A sign in the school gym proclaimed 'Please note this drinking room will close at 7:30 am. Pete and myself struggled until 4:50 am, Ken had left a bit earlier.
Wednesday 27th January 2010
Eventually rose from bed. Peter stayed in, determined to finish reading his book. After breakfast, Ken and myself had a walk into an almost deserted Lerwick town centre. We passed last night's burning site which had been completely cleared. Today is a holiday to allow people to recover from last nights festivities. We had a walk down to the harbour and called in the Tourist Information centre where Ken bought some postcards. After a late meal of prawn cocktail followed by roast beef, we ventured into Lerwick, calling into Da Noost which was almost empty in contrast to the previous night. Leaving here Pete and myself apprehensively followed Ken into Captain Flints. After what seemed to be the longest warm-up time ever, the band started playing. The name of the band was Red, Hot and Blue, and were very good. We stayed until the pub closed and probably had more to drink than we should have because after having soup back at the apartment, and mentioning it to Pete in the morning, he said 'what soup?'.
Thursday 28th January 2010
Could have done with more sleep, but had to catch an early-ish bus to Scalloway. There is a memorial to the Shetland Bus in Scalloway which we went to first. 
We picked up the key for Scalloway Castle from the Scalloway Hotel.
We spent a short while at the castle before returning the key and having a coffee at the hotel. After a walk on the sea front we picked up the return bus. Ken and myself had fish and chips for lunch at the Happy Haddock which were excellent and Pete had a haggis pudding which was not so impressive. Ken and myself lounged about in the afternoon while Pete had a walk into town to buy a professional photograph of the Up Helly Aa burning from Coutts Photos. The logo at the top of the page came from them. Tea consisted of eating the food that we had left, which was Prawn Cocktail followed by Mushroom and Cabbage Omelette. Set off out tonight with the intention of having an early night, so went into the Lounge Bar where there were three young ladies playing piano, accordion and violin they were very good. We were back at the apartment before midnight where Ken went straight to bed and Pete and myself stayed up for a coffee and a chat. Most of our packing has been done ready for an easy getaway tomorrow.
Friday 29th January 2010
Final packing carried out. Breakfast eaten followed by a final clean up. About 100mm of snow on the ground and still coming horizontally. A snow plough had cleared the road and gritting had taken place. This was followed by a small tractor with a plough and gritting trailer clearing the pavement - maybe some other authorities could learn something here. David Wiseman arrived at 11:00am and offered to take Ken and our luggage to the bus station left luggage office in his van. Pete and myself staggered through the snow to meet Ken there. Ken had left his jumper at The Lounge Bar last night so went to retrieve it. While there we asked if they were open for coffee - they were, so we had a cup each. When offering to pay we were told that the cups were too small to charge for. From here, Pete collected his photograph from the photographers. We then went to the Shetland Museum. Because of the weather it was to close at 14:00 so we didn't see much of the museum, but we did have a fantastic sandwich at the Hay Dock restaurant. By now, time was moving on so we collected our luggage and made our way to the Ferry Terminal, luckily between bouts of snow. Once on board and the luggage in the cabin we made for the self-service cafeteria where Pete ordered Fish and Chips. A little while later Ken and myself ate Beef Olives - like the fish, wonderful. Pete, seeing us enjoying the beef, had that also. Whilst in the cafeteria we got talking to some young people on the next table who were going to Aberdeen for a night out. 
This night out took three days from leaving Shetland and returning. During the evening we bumped into them a number of times. On one occasion Sandy - he was the noisy one, bought Ken and myself an AfterShock which were downed in one go. He said they were revolting - he was right. Pete had gone to the cabin to read his book while Ken and myself continued with the beer. I had good intentions of getting an early night myself - so much for those. Later on in the evening we were invited to join them at their table. There were five of them in total, Sandy, Layla and John - a couple, and a brother and sister (if they read this I'm sorry but I forgot your names). We had a good night. Ken and myself were pleased that young people were prepared to spend time with us 'old gits'. That wasn't the end of it, though, because we were then invited for further drinks of vodka and coke in their cabin.
Saturday 30th January 2010
Into the bunk by 00:30, but startled by an anouncement at 06:00 informing us that we would arrive in Aberdeen at 07:30. Had breakfast in the ferries cafeteria - surprised to see Sandy there relatively sober. That's about it. We caught the replacement bus service to Dundee and trains to York and Halifax.
Conclusion
We cannot recommend a visit to Shetland highly enough. The people are friendly and trusting. The islands have Post Offices, public toilets which are open, bus shelters with a complete set of panels and particularly relevant at this time of year, facilities for clearing snow. The ferries have really good cafeterias serving fantastic food at low prices.