Day 1
After settling in to the Guest House we all made our way to the bus station where we caught the bus to Scalloway. Roy thought that he was being wound up when he was asked to call into the Scalloway Hotel and pick up the key for the castle, but was soon proved wrong. We had a browse around the castle before walking along to the Shetland Bus Memorial stones. The afternoon was rounded off with an excellent meal at the Scalloway Hotel before what we thought would be a bus ride back to Lerwick. Unfortunately, being Sunday, either the bus did not turn up or wasn't scheduled to stop at the bus stop where we were at. Not a problem, though, a taxi was called and saved the day.
The evening lubrication session started off at Da Noost where the Lomond Ceilidh Band were playing. We left there when it became apparent that there wasn't even standing room available, and went to the Lounge Bar to finish off the evening.
Day 2
Monday morning started off misty and miserable. After a super fry-up breakfast, we caught the bus south to the Broch and iron age settlement at Scatness. The guided tour here is not to be missed. The guides here are not only knowledgeable but extremely enthusiastic. The weather was wet, windy and cold, but with the occasional sunny and dry spell.
From Scatness we walked around the bay to Jarlshof prehistoric site. The site is not officially open at this time of year, so information is only what is on the various boards around the site, but still worth a visit.
We then called into the Sumburg Hotel for soup and a roll and other lubrication where we got talking to two girls, one from Holland, the other from South Africa, about nothing in particular except concern about where to catch the bus, or even if there would be a bus, back to Lerwick.
Having prepared to leave the B & B to find an eating house, we suddenly decided that we would try the in-house Thai Restaurant. This turned out to be a good choice, it was excellent.
Ken, Graham, Roy and myself went into the town to the Lounge Bar where we talked to a girl from Australia and one from Canada. People attend Up Helly Aa from all over the world. The climb back to the Guest House is a struggle late at night after a few beers.
Day 3
Spent today at leisure in Lerwick. We watched the procession as the longboat was moved to the quayside. The next few hours were spent in the Lerwick Museum and Archive building. This is an exceptionally good place to look around - lots of infor1mation regarding all aspects of the history of Shetland to the present day. There was an additional exhibition about the Lewis Chessmen which are on loan from Edinburgh and the British Museum.
Returning to th B & B we had a rest before the evening/night festivities. The torches were lit at 19:30 on a pre-arranged signal - an incredible sight when almost 1000 flames light the dark streets as far as the eyes can see. It was a cold evening but when the torches were lit it suddenly warmed up all around. The viking longboat is then paraded along the streets until it reaches the burning site on King Harald Street. Suddenly the longboat becomes alight as burning torches ar thrown into it.
We had tickets for the Sound School where we dined, drank and watches the touring squads as they entertained us. The food was great - soup, sandwiches, nsausage rolls, cakes, tea and coffee, as much as you wanted and as often. Because you were not allowed to drink in the entertainment or food halls, the drinking area was very congested - we managed to cope though. We lasted until about 4am when we caught a taxi back to our beds.