Mousa & Fair Isle, Shetland
Our second day in Shetland saw us venturing into the more remote parts of the archipelago. Zodiac landings were the order of the day to take us ashore on the islands of Mousa and Fair Isle to further explore life - ancient, modern and wild - on Shetland.
Mousa is famed as the location of the best preserved example of an Iron Age broch in the world. Originally one of about 120 in Shetland, these towers were built for defensive purposes but in the 2,000 years since the brochs were constructed, most of them have been destroyed, have fallen down or were cannibalized with the stones used in newer constructions. However, Mousa broch stills stands proud; 13 metres high and 16 metres broad at its base. It is an impressive sight and a powerful link to a distant age.
While the people of Mousa have moved on, the island is still home to wide a variety of animals. It is now a wildlife reserve, and we enjoyed watching hauled out grey and harbour seals in a sheltered lagoon. Mousa is also home to some other lesser known and rarely seen inhabitants. The walls of the broch, constructed without mortar, contain myriad crevices. In effect the broch has become a giant bird nest box - the crevices make ideal nesting places for European storm-petrels. These tiny seabirds are about the size of a swallow and spend most of their lives at sea in the North Atlantic, only ever coming ashore in summer at their breeding grounds. Even then they are exclusively nocturnal on shore above ground, to avoid predators such as gulls and skuas. So visitors to the broch between the months of May and August will be surrounded by several thousand storm-petrels but only rarely have the chance to see one without making a midnight visit. As we entered the broch this morning some of us were lucky to find a slightly confused storm-petrel (pictured), having failed to find its way back to sea or to its nest.
This afternoon we moved farther south to Fair Isle, where we explored this small island which is home to about 60 inhabitants. They extended typical island hospitality to us, making us feel welcome as we caught a glimpse of their way of life which, while undoubtedly modern, retains a slower pace of life and strong sense of community that has been lost in so many places.
Our second day in Shetland saw us venturing into the more remote parts of the archipelago. Zodiac landings were the order of the day to take us ashore on the islands of Mousa and Fair Isle to further explore life - ancient, modern and wild - on Shetland.
Mousa is famed as the location of the best preserved example of an Iron Age broch in the world. Originally one of about 120 in Shetland, these towers were built for defensive purposes but in the 2,000 years since the brochs were constructed, most of them have been destroyed, have fallen down or were cannibalized with the stones used in newer constructions. However, Mousa broch stills stands proud; 13 metres high and 16 metres broad at its base. It is an impressive sight and a powerful link to a distant age.
While the people of Mousa have moved on, the island is still home to wide a variety of animals. It is now a wildlife reserve, and we enjoyed watching hauled out grey and harbour seals in a sheltered lagoon. Mousa is also home to some other lesser known and rarely seen inhabitants. The walls of the broch, constructed without mortar, contain myriad crevices. In effect the broch has become a giant bird nest box - the crevices make ideal nesting places for European storm-petrels. These tiny seabirds are about the size of a swallow and spend most of their lives at sea in the North Atlantic, only ever coming ashore in summer at their breeding grounds. Even then they are exclusively nocturnal on shore above ground, to avoid predators such as gulls and skuas. So visitors to the broch between the months of May and August will be surrounded by several thousand storm-petrels but only rarely have the chance to see one without making a midnight visit. As we entered the broch this morning some of us were lucky to find a slightly confused storm-petrel (pictured), having failed to find its way back to sea or to its nest.
This afternoon we moved farther south to Fair Isle, where we explored this small island which is home to about 60 inhabitants. They extended typical island hospitality to us, making us feel welcome as we caught a glimpse of their way of life which, while undoubtedly modern, retains a slower pace of life and strong sense of community that has been lost in so many places.
