Wild camping in Shetland

There were 3 of us wild camping in Shetland for a week. We had picked a spot near the waters edge that involved getting a bus from Lerwick along one of Shetlands many single track roads, then walking 5 miles down another even quieter road/track then finally a mile over fields.

It was a lovely location, with plenty walking, and rock climbing to be had and as I was with 2 geologists plenty of that too. And if you walked over the hills you could reach a village in about 4 miles.

Scottish camping weather…

The weather by Shetlands standards had been pretty decent for the first part of the week but gradually deteriorated to the extent that we spent 24hours in the tent, escaping only for calls of nature and to collect water (although we ended up just putting a pot outside and collecting rain water).

The winds got stronger and stronger until we were faced with a force 9 gale that the tent just couldn’t cope with along with the really soft soggy ground that the pegs struggled to get to grips with. We abandoned camp and began the walk out but a local family saw us and took pity on us, gave us a cuppa and drove us to the nearest village we could find accommodation for the last night, and even suggested where to get a decent meal and where to go for a walk if the weather let up!

Staying in a bod

A Shetland Bod

This accomodation was something called a bod which is a bit of a combination between a bothy and a youth hostel, its very basic with bunk beds, but has electricity and running water, and you pay a small amount to use it, you can find them all over Shetland and are a great chance to meet other people staying in them too.

A fantastic week that I will never forget, made more memorable for the unpredictability of Scottish weather and the generosity of rural communities!