Day 16/17: Homeward Bound

 Well I suppose it had to happen at some point, 7am we arrived at North Haven and boarded the Good Shepherd IV. Captained by our friend Steven, the ferry bares more than a passing resemblance to a trawler and certainly behaves like one on the open sea. I was assured the crossing would be good but I had taken lots advice from locals about seasickness and I intended to follow it to the letter. 



Two hours later (and only one bout of sickness ) we arrived in Sumburgh (Shetland). A kind island resident, Matti who was also travelling on the GS, gave us a lift up to Lerwick. The Aberdeen Ferry was not due to leave until 7pm so we had six or so hours in which to explore Lerwick. 





After lunch we explored Lerwick and eventually ended up in a cafe called Blyde. We got talking to the owner who had lived in Yorkshire (small world). Soon after his third cousin once removed arrived and noticed Chris's mandolin and asked if we were musicians. We told her all about our experiences in Fair Isle and about the 'tune' we attended on our last night. This lady was a singer and songwriter and there, in the cafe, she sang a song written by Stuart Thompson (who we had met on the island). It was beautiful, haunting and very moving. What a lovely moment, a stranger singing to you in a shop! I wish I had a recording for you. 

The Aberdeen Ferry left on time but it would be another three hours before we passed Fair Isle. Can you believe it, we had been travelling for 15 hours and we were only just level with where we had started at 7am that morning.





The ferry to Aberdeen arrived in port at 7am the following day. It was a bit of a shock to the system to be back in the city again, but we headed straight to a cafe to help us acclimatise. 



After another 7 hours on the train from Aberdeen to home, the trip ended. We had been travelling for 34.5 hours and were exhausted. We were relieved to be home (our bags were very heavy) but there was  lingering sadness at leaving the beautiful, remote island and its lovely people. 

THANK YOU FAIR ISLE



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