Like other readers, disappointed that in an article on sheep there was no mention of the tiny Shetland sheepdog, now such a popular pet elsewhere. And it is more than a little unrealistic that the author failed to mention that the Shetlands' main industry for the past half century has been neither fishing nor sheep farming, but underseas oil extraction. Not quite as picturesque but much more profitable.
11
I simply have to mention that my wonderful trip to the Shetlands, about 6 years ago, was notable for many reasons, including the spectacular archaeology, the dramatic geology, the close access to many adorable puffins, and the sunny 70°F+ weather. I had to buy a tee shirt and sun screen.
I highly recommend a visit to these islands (and the Orkneys while you're in the neighborhood) even if I can't guarantee the balmy weather.
9
We just watched Shetland on Netflix. I noticed practically no one wore sweaters, Fair Isle or otherwise. I wonder if that aspect is true to life.
4
Thank you for this article, and something new to add to my bucket list.
8
Can anyone tell me if the fourth season of Shetland will ever be shown or streamed in the United States on any source but Britbox?
This article was delightful. Thank you.
9
Enjoyed this article so much. Of course, I, too, am a fan of the Shetland series. Nellie really brought me right there with her superb writing and facts about the islands. I plan to check out her book!
6
Lovely article! I think it captured the drama of the wind really well. Would just like to note that it's "Ronnie Eunson" not "Ronnie Euston"!
7
I was really looking forward to seeing some sweaters as the dessert of the read....
21
This brought back wonderful, recent memories of a birding expedition to the Shetlands this June, including the longest day of the year when the temperature in Lerwick was a surprising high of 39 degrees! A highlight of our trip was being marooned on Fair Isle, when a gale kicked up and no planes could fly and even the ferry was stuck in port. Experience of a lifetime.
10
Wrong. The beautiful Shetlands are Scotland's northern tip. Ask any Scot. They will be glad to set the writer straight.
6
Where are the pictures and history of the Shetland Ponies? They are all over the world and often the first pony for kids in the US.
6
Isn’t Trump’s mother from the Shetland Islands?
Smart of them not to mention in an otherwise pleasant article.
4
@Lily Actually DT's mother was from the Outer Hebrides, which are islands off to the west of Scotland. Similar weather, thought (I would imagine).
5
Great article. Nice to see a photo of 2 rug hooking friends from Newfoundland who went to
This Festival before coming over to Yorkshire area ( SwaleDale ) for an International Rug Hooking
Conference . I really want to go to Shetland and I loved the series.
Patricia, Gander NL
7
We visited Lerwick in late September. Gorgeous, just breathtakingly gorgeous. Standing on the cliffs looking out at the North Sea is something I’ll hopefully never forget. The roar of the waves breaking, the sound of the winds blowing...just absolutely incredible. The remoteness and rugged beauty was actually very calming. Would love to see more of the Shetlands.
15
The article and many commenters mentioned the BBC show Shetland. My wife and I started watching this after returning from Shetland thinking it would be fun to see if we recognized any of the places we visited. We found ourselves hooked. It is well-written with a great cast. Like most shows, much of it is filmed in a studio. Some of the outdoor scenes are shot outside of Glasgow and some are done in Shetland. BBC always has the most extraordinary cinematography and this show doesn’t disappoint. The locations we recognized were captured very well. But this series also shows the limitations of TV and film. The real Shetland has to be seen to be believed. You’re never more than three miles from either the North Sea or Atlantic Ocean. It’s almost impossible to find a view that isn’t breathtaking. The next curve in the road might be another spectacular view, sheep in the road (the closest thing you’ll find to a traffic jam), or Shetland ponies. Just when you think it can’t get better, you’re once again proven wrong.
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Thank you for this! Knitting and traveling are my two passions. I can’t wait to take this trip with fellow enthusiasts in the Atlanta Knitting Guild.
7
@Susan Duralde Knitting WHILE traveling is mine. Amtrak hats are the current specialty.
4
Hey Nellie, how bout some pics of the sweaters!
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Several people commented on the BBC TV show "Shetland" .....it is based on the wonderful mystery series set there, by long time Shetland Islander Ann Cleeves.
The first book in the series is "Raven Black" and yes, they should be read in order!
15
Thank you for this wonderful piece, I too watched the BBC series as a vicarious traveler. I lived in Nova Scotia from the early to mid 1970s, next door to a sheep farm and there were many others surrounding the small town of Tatamagouche. Local knitters sold undyed and unwashed wool. I still have the sweater and a pair of mittens that I knit from that wool. There is nothing like a "raw" wool sweater to protect from the elements. The lanolin in the wool repels water and it is intensely warm. I hope to get to Shetland, but for a painting sojourn instead. The landscape is stunning!
9
A very timely article as my wife and I are currently working our way through the three seasons of "Shetland" that are currently available on Netflix. I and drawn to windswept, remote places such as this and I'm thinking hard about how to convince my wife that the islands need to be added to our list of vacation destinations (she's not a fan of the cold).
10
@Dave DiRoma I think your wife will be pleasantly surprised to find Shetland's weather is rather temperate for its latitude. Make sure you have windproof outer layers and you'll be fine. My wife and I were there the last week of October and enjoyed mostly sunny days with daytime temperatures in the mid 40s to low 50s. The stormy days we did have had breaks in the clouds giving the most extraordinary light for photographs. We had more than our fair share of rainbows and dramatic skies giving us much more memorable photos to bring home. Either way you can't go wrong.
12
Thanks so much for the escape. The piece had me thinking of the musical Brigadoon. The piece might have addressed some of the ancient history. There was the reference to the Vikings, but how where these islands first settled and by whom, though we can sure the Vikings showed up. Was there any contact with the Orkneys, and its Paleolithic culture, the best preserved of anywhere? And, why are the Shetland Islands part of the UK and not Norway? Now I will do a little research on my own and look of for the program on Netflix.
9
A lovely piece, thank you. I have wanted to visit the Shetlands for a long time, even before the BBC series. I still hope to get there one day.
4
I really want to return to Scotland on vacation. The Shetland Islands are on my list. Just one thing: many animals and items endemic to the Shetlands were included, but I kept looking for a mention of the lovely, intelligent little herding dog known as the Shetland Sheepdog, or Sheltie.
15
The books have different plots and characters. There is no Sct mackintosh. The love interests are different. The constable is a much more robust person. The stepdaughter is a child, not a teen etc etc.
4
More on birding there would have been nice for this person who is allergic to wool (blisters from prolonged contact).
1
Thank you for this wonderful article about the Shetlands.
My knowledge of those islands has been limited to the
experiences of those who rode/sailed The Shetland Bus,
and I have always had great admiration for those men
and those who enabled them in their heroic deeds.
Sturdy folks, those Islanders!
6
Shetland looks amazing....love the BBC series for a window into the moodiness and beauty of it all. I have also discovered many amazing photogs and artists living and working there. Check out the social media groups based there to see some of these artists like painter Ruth Brownlee, who a character in the TV series seemed to be based on ;)
6
I have special love for materials derived from the unique histories, traditions and cultures of place. Just as wind produced the diminutive Shetland ponies, so Shetland wool and Fair Isle knitting reflect generations of local relationships with landscape. I tend not to be thrilled by globalism and heavy immigration that risk losing the thread. A world-wide monoculture, divorced from such unique sensitivities, would be a world diminished in richness and depth of aesthetic context and experience.
9
As a knitter, spinner, wool dyer, and Scottish heritage, I am green with envy. What a great article. Thank you.
14
Thanks for a great article. We loved the series on PBS too, and I find myself increasingly drawn to places of harsh beauty, like the Shetlands. The lack of commercialty (is that a word?), the genuine sense of community, the complete absence of tacky American or foreign modernity (no Wal-Mart! No fast food emporiums!) make such places even more delightful and appealing. I am convincing my family that we must eventually visit...and none of even knit!
19
Britain’s northern tip is south of Scotland
If you include Scotland it is Great Britain. If you include Northern Ireland, it is the United Kingdom. And if you include Ireland, it is the British Isles.
But why would you? The Shetlands are always described as Scottish.
10
Thank the new awareness not just to the BBC series "Shetland", but to a huge resurgence of knitting and hand spinning as a valuable craft, and also to "Ravelry", who linked fiber enthusiasts together in a massive, global online forum and to "Vogue Knitting Magazine", which sponsors "Vogue Knitting Live": huge workshops around the U.S. and offers these incredible "knitting destinations". Sorry, but a little more homework could have been done here...
12
I spent four months in Edinburgh but didn’t have the opportunity to visit the Shetland Islands which saddens me to this day. My host had only a motorcycle but we took it on a magical journey anyways up the west coast of Scotland through autumnal rain and fog, all the way to Kinlochbervie where we stayed at a friend’s home. I so wanted to then do the east coast to Scrabster, take the ferry to Orkney, and then another from Kirkwall to Lerwick but time and funds ran out. When I returned home, Scotland never left me. I then discovered “Shetland”, the series, and binged it. I now know I’ll return one day and visiting Shetland will be a priority.
Incidentally, I’ve taken up knitting again, slightly spurred on by my host’s love of the British institution that is “Doctor Who” and a desire to knit him a Fourth Doctor’s scarf. I was also inspired by Scotland itself. During our Highland motorcycle adventure, we came across many, many sheep, some casually lounging in the roadway and unwilling to move. Luckily, we were able to maneuver around them. The artwork and knitwear of Northern Scotland has a very different feel from the rest of Britain, with more of a Norse influence.
I assume Shetland designs may also have this influence? I wish some of the patterns were pictured in this article but I’m still bookmarking it for my eventual journey to Shetland!
15
Many knitting pattern makers copyright their work, selling both completed items and patterns for personal use only, so including a pattern in this article may not have been feasible. You can find pattern by searching Shetland Wool Week online to find links to knitting pattern designers and also joining Ravelry.com, (join for free) and search for Shetland patterns. You’ll find several patterns for sweaters (jumpers, pullovers), cardigans, vests, mittens, gloves and other items. While there are many free patterns, many very skillful designers on Ravelry rely on income from selling their patterns so please consider purchasing a few patterns from the designers whose work you gravitated toward.
Happy Knitting!
8
Nice story, thanks. But the murder rate is very high in Shetland, according to Netflix. It's almost as bad as places like Oxford or St. Mary Mead in England, or Cabot Cove in Maine.
35
@Patricia How could you leave out Castle Rock?
5
Not even one picture of a typical Fair Isle jumper.
55
@Richard B Yes! As a knitter and lover of textiles I kept waiting for the photos of sweaters, etc. A real oversight for an otherwise wonderful article.
14
There is one major problem with hand knit wool items. They last forever. I am 82 years old and I still have and use articles that I had knit when I was in high school. Occasionally I have undone the knitting and made something new from the same yarn. Waste not, want not.
108
I'll bet lots of people might want your lovely old hand knit items! see if a vintage shop would take some on consignment. We who don't knit would love to purchase your hand knit stuff--even if old...then they're softer and even more cozy!
9
@Eva lockhart
“even if old”
For me old is the prize. Quality is better and the sense of history, a connection to a past I can only imagine, is priceless. During my stay in Edinburgh, I roamed many charity shops and found many wonderful knits that had that air of history and mystery woven in. Bought a few too!
9
Nice article.
Roads are not ‘one way’ but called ‘single track’. Vehicles go both ways so you & the person coming at you have to decide who pulls over. Many such roads have pullover spots.
Not a lot of traffic normally.
28
@Larry And those pull over spots are called passing places.
1
Thank you for such a beautifully written article!
24
Thanks for starting my morning off with a smile and a tinge of envy for those who have traveled to such a magical place.
47
It is quite incorrect to state there are no schools, police or health centres in Unst And Yell. Yell has three schools, one a combined Nursery, Primary and secondary school. It has a police station with one police person. It has a Health Centre and Dental surgery.
Unst has a Junior high school (combined Nursery, Primary, Secondary) and a Health Centre with Doctor and Nursing staff. We are trying to encourage people to live and work in the North Isles, not put them off.
Gordon Thomson, Unst Community Council.
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@Gordon Thomson
Thanks, Gordon. I fear Ms. Hermann skewed her narrative a bit to heighten the drama. At the least, she relayed partial or incorrect information without fact-checking (and with embellishment).
For example, while the geology of the Shetland platform is interesting, the bits exposed above sea level on the islands are not much different from what we can see (better) on mainland Scotland. Throwing out some geo-jargon might make for fun travelogging, but are not objectively true.
4
A friend and I visited Shetland this past May and we loved it! It's isolated, remote and beautifully wild! We loved it so much we are returning next June. The cliffs are spectacular and, yes, the winds can knock one over, so caution is urged near the edges of the cliffs. It's not for everyone since there are few stores and restaurants, but if you love wildlife, birds, seals, Orca whales and beautiful scenery, you should visit. Take the overnight ferry from Aberdeen and it gives you a sense of how far you are from.......everything.
48
A perfect travel article! Thank you, Bravo. Well written, illustrated with pictures, and with maps. Nice work.
22
@sfriedmann, Finally, maps! Need to see more of these in all articles.
2
Lovely article. A mention of the unique Shetland Islands traditional music scene would give further dimension to this story.
21
@Peter Orth And I myself wanted to know more about the Scottish homebakes at sheep farmer Ronnie's house - I suspect they are delicious!
Wonderful article.
3
I dream of visiting Shetland. Ever since I watched the BBC series “Shetland” I have wanted to see with my own eyes this beautiful place. I am a knitter, although probably not like those attending this festival. My interest in the islands is more about wanderlust. Such wondrous natural beauty. Sigh...Maybe someday. But for now I will live vicariously through those lucky enough to actually go there.
32
What a refreshing article - thank you for taking me away "from all this" to the Shetland Islands. Not a knitter myself, but have childhood memories of Shetland sweaters...so much so that now you've gotten me thinking about finding one again. I also want to say thank you for the great hyperlinks - especially interested in The Shetland Bus and will read more about that operation. (Did anyone come across a novelization of it?).
I'll echo everyone else who has enjoyed the BBC series "Shetland" and hopes we'll get our next installment via PBS soon.
Again, thank you for the article and photos... Now if I can just figure out a way to bring my Shetland Sheepdog with me, I might just make a visit there. Such a wildly beautiful place!
26
@WWW
I had looked into bringing my dog to the UK and it’s not that difficult. There is no quarantine for dogs from the US as long as they are fully vaccinated and certified fit by a veterinarian before travel. The UK Home Office website has the information. Once there, dogs are welcomed on board the ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick. No clue on accommodations but I’m sure there are dog friendly places all over dog-loving Britain.
If money is no object and travel in an airplane cargo hold puts you off, the Queen Mary 2 is the only transatlantic ocean-liner that accepts dogs and cats for its shipboard kennel.
5
We refer to our cold, windy days as "Sheltie weather." Although our little dog is a native Californian, she seems to by far prefer the unpleasant days.
5
I very much enjoyed this article, even though I don't knit. The fiddle music is one more thing that brings people to Shetland. They have a distinct repertoire of tunes and style of playing. I went to Shetland in August 2015 for Fiddle Frenzy, a week of classes and concerts of Shetland music. Most of the program was at the Mareel arts center in Lerwick. There were also some excursions out of Lerwick. One day the classes and concerts were in Cullivoe Hall on Yell. There is so much more to tell.... I would love to return someday, both for the music and to see more of Shetland.
37
I wish the next/new BBC "Shetland" series would get to PBS.
47
I emailed my local PBS station and was told Brit Box has the rights to season 5. Apparently it won't be aired on PBS :(
@Mandy Luckily for us Canadians, Netflix is broadcasting the new series here now. Soo good!
1
I raise Shetland sheep here in California, so it was lovely to read about the islands. Hope to make it out there someday!
21
I got to visit Lerwick this summer while on a knitting-themed cruise to Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands. I went to Jamieson and Smith and bought quite a lot of Shetland wool as well as a Fair Isle pattern book and an adorable blanket pattern. Scotland has always fascinated me, so any chance I get to visit the country helps ease an itch that can never be fully satisfied.
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@LynnB
Wool can be itchy.
8
@LynnB Indeed. My grandmother was born in Scotland, and I've had the itch since I did a year of post grad work at St. Andrews many years ago. Each time I return, I feel as if I'm home.
11
@Matthew: ah... joke... very good... should have been more careful in my reading before replying.
Great article by the way. Definitely makes me want to go there, although the options of a ferry ride or a small plane both sound challenging.
5
Shetland - the mystery series is up on Netflix in US, now.
A great introduction!
32
Seasons 2 & 3 of Shetland are excellent! I sure ope there are more! Great scenery, too.
12
Or read Ms Cleve's books!
Editor’s note: This comment has been anonymized in accordance with applicable law(s).
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@Zeke Black:
The BBC TV show "Shetland" ..... is based on the wonderful mystery series set there, by long time Shetland Islander Ann Cleeves.
The first book in the series is "Raven Black" and yes, they should be read in order!
2
I was delighted by this article.
43
Thank you for the lovely photos and article about the Shetlands. My husband and I had a wonderful trip there in August and loved all of it. We had tea with fresh scones at the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse after a dramatic walk up the cliffs to see the puffins!
31
Ordinarily I wouldn’t pay attention to an article with knitting in the title, but after just returning from Shetland this article has me yearning to turn around and go back.
I can vouch for the wind. My wife and I stayed in Eshaness Lighthouse with the wind howling the first night. Large rocks are strewn around the lighthouse from winter Atlantic storms. Mind you, the lighthouse is 200 feet above the ocean. But after that storm cleared there was the most amazing calm we have ever seen or felt. All of the lochs were mirror smooth. Towards the end of a three hour walk we realized we hadn’t heard a single man made sound of any kind. Nothing but ocean and birds.
Some people may think of paradise as tropical white sand beaches, palm trees and warm breezes. No, paradise is the white sand beaches, beautiful scenery and warm people of Shetland.
139
Shetland is a place I've wanted to visit for a long time now. Thanks for the lovely article!
49
Went to my first Shetland Wool Week in 2017. Definitely won't be my last. Due to the location and popularity of SWW, early planning is a must (we planned a year in advance).
One suggestion is to take the week prior to get your bearings and sightseeing done. There's six months worth of places to visit on the islands. Then you can concentrate on classes during WW. Would not recommend fighting jet lag and trying to knit at the same time.
72
Nellie- Thank you for this wonderful article about the Shetland Islands. Most of all ,thank you for using the correct form of 100s of thousands when describing the puffins. Most nowadays would use the ubiquitous, dreadful and wrong form - 100’s. Drives me mental when I see ‘s to denote plurality.
72
Thank you for this fascinating article about these islands, people and their wool. I wonder how the popularity of carbon-based "fleece" products have affected the sales of wool?
30
@June - I've also wondered about impacts of climate change on sales of winter garments and materials. Would love to know what yarn shop owners are saying.
3