Didn’t go up to breakfast this morning; instead I made use of the tea and coffee facilities in our cabin, and Trevor, who did go to the Borough Market self-service, brought me back a muffin and a banana to enjoy instead.
Then we got ourselves ready to disembark, ensuring we had our cagoules after a look at the sullen sea and grey cumulonimbus clouds beyond our cabin window.
Descending the gangplank and onto terra firma once more, I was able to get a couple of great bow shots of the Ambition before we made our way to the line of waiting coaches, our smiling guide, whose name was Edna, welcoming us to Shetland as she ticked our names off her list.
We had been to Lerwick twice before but the Scottish isles are so rugged and pretty it’s always a pleasure to return. Our driver introduced himself as Ian (a good Scottish name!) and we set off along the dockside and into the charming little town. Our visit today would afford us some fabulous photo stops overlooking some typical Shetlander scenes and landmarks.
As we left the town behind and took the winding coastal road, we looked at the rolling green hills and valleys, here and there dotted with little farmhouses and crofts, sheep grazing contently on the verdant land and, occasionally, a field containing the famous Shetland ponies. Edna advised us we would be visiting some ponies later on.
Our first stop was to the picturesque and wonderfully-named Clickimin Loch, a freshwater loch adjacent to which was the Clickimin Broch. English people can’t usually pronounce the words ‘loch’ and ‘broch’ correctly – put it this way, they don’t rhyme with lock. 😊
We stood in front of an excellent example of a broch, a sophisticated type of stone-built rounded house found only in Scotland and its isles. Clickimin Broch has evidence of settlement spanning over 1,000 years. The broch tower still stands intact and the whole promontory is enclosed by a stout stone wall.
Back on the bus, we started to climb the winding road to our next scenic viewpoint, which overlooked Scalloway. From our elevated position we could look over to the small marina and what looked like a boatyard or chandlery. There were a number of brightly painted houses perched on the hillsides or on the seashore. It looked so green and picturesque. The weather was quite cool for the time of year and a brisk wind was blowing; charming though this whole scene was, we wondered what it was like in the depths of winter.
Once everyone was back on the coach, Ian the driver started up the engine… or rather, he tried. There was the rrrr rrrr rrrr rrrr sound of the starter motor, but the engine didn’t turn over. After trying several times he said he’d give it a rest before having another go, so we sat for another 10 minutes. It was no hardship, however, looking out of the windows at the lovely, peaceful landscape.
After having several more futile attempts at getting the bus engine started up again, our driver finally admitted defeat and left the bus to make a phone call to the coach depot to have another vehicle sent out to us so we could continue our tour. Edna, the guide, assured us we wouldn’t miss any of the tour; we’d just arrive back at the ship a little later.
It was about 20 minutes later when the replacement coach pulled up, and we all alighted from our coach, checking we hadn’t left anything behind, before boarding the new coach and continuing on our way. However, several of the passengers now wanted a comfort break, so we made our way into the nearest village where Edna said there was some public toilets; when we arrived, however, they were closed because it was Sunday! So we had to find a café whose proprietor kindly allowed those who wanted to to use the loos. It did mean even further delays for the rest of us, however.
Eventually we were on our way again, and our next visit was to a small stud farm where the owner breeds the cute little Shetland ponies. The coach pulled up and we walked a short distance to a field that contained a number of the lovely little equines, including an 8-week old foal, how gorgeous. The foal’s coat looked a bit patchy, and the owner said that the foal was in the process of shedding his old coat and growing a new one. As we looked at the little creature, he gazed back at us with his big eyes before trotting towards his mother, where he soon began to suckle. It was so cute!
We spent some time with the ponies, petting any who were inquisitive enough to come over to us at the perimeter fence. It was a pleasant little interlude before it was time to go back onto the coach and continue our scenic ride.
Our tour this morning would be concluded with a visit to the Shetland Jewellery workshop. This is a jewellers which specialised in hand-crafted silver, gold and enamel jewellery and other silver items. One of the jewellers showed us the workshop and the fine tools used. First of all, sketches are made of the design of the piece, whether it was a pendant or brooch in the shape of a seagull, or some of the many intricate Celtic designs. The sketch is then stamped onto a block from which a 3D impression is carved. A resin mould is then created into which the liquid silver or gold is poured before the piece is cast in the kiln. Once the piece is set, it is buffed to a high shine and finished off with any fine tooling. Then end results were very impressive. Our jeweller explained that they were often required to create a one-off bespoke piece, for example wedding rings. With all the work that has to be done before the ring is even cast, I could imagine those pieces being very expensive indeed.
After we’d looked around the workshop and admired some of the jewellery as well as hand cast silver spoons or goblets, we went into the shop. I immediately saw a lovely silver Celtic pendant on a delicate chain that I liked; it wasn’t badly priced at £69.50, so I bought it as a souvenir. Now every time I wear the necklace I will be reminded of Shetland. 😊
We arrived back at the port an hour after our scheduled time, but that didn’t matter; we were still in time for lunch. I enjoyed some beef stew washed down with a cold glass of rosé wine before returning to 9187 for a post-luncheon power nap.
Then we went along to the Cavern where I enjoyed an Aperol spritz while catching up with this blog. We noticed, on the daily programme, that they were going to be holding an ice-carving demonstration as well as some cocktail flaring by the pool deck, but as the wind had got up a bit and there was the odd squally shower, we doubted that this would take place. Sure enough, while we were sitting there, some crew members started setting up some tables in the middle of the floor, so we guessed (correctly) that the cocktail flaring would take place in the Cavern instead.
We just spent the rest of the afternoon pottering around the ship until it was time to start getting ready for dinner at 5.45pm. We enjoyed a tasty meal in excellent company in the Buckingham Restaurant once again, before Paul, Carol, Trevor and I hotfooted it up to the Cavern for tonight’s (so-called) Nice & Easy Trivia. The questions were hard and we didn’t win once again! In any case, all you get as a prize is either an Ambassador Cruise Lines bottle opener key ring, or an Ambassador Cruise Lines lanyard with trolley token. And that’s not even per person, that’s per team!! 😊
At 8.30pm we went along to the Palladium Theatre for tonight’s performance with a difference; it was a comedy farce called Birthday Blunder performed as part of Ambassador’s “Theatre @ Sea” programme. It was really good; funny and well-acted with a good script, about a man whose wife and mistress both attend the same birthday party. So far, we have been impressed with all the performances by the show company; they are all something a bit different that we haven’t seen on other cruise lines.
Back in the Cavern an hour later we met up with Paul and Carol once again as tonight it was the passengers’ turn in the spotlight – karaoke time! Quite a few singers got up; I did three numbers: Back to Black and You Know I’m No Good by Amy Winehouse, and It’s A Sin by the Pet Shop Boys. The overall standard of singing on the night was quite good, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. 😊 Then Trevor and I finished the evening off by going to the Pendennis Bar where one of the singers, Rose, was entertaining us with some 1980s hits. It was after midnight before we returned to 9187 after another excellent day.