Island Do IV - Even longer days on Shetland 25-27th June 2010
Jul 8, 2009, 4:43 pm
#1
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Island Do IV - Even longer days on Shetland 25-27th June 2010
It's time I dipped a toe back in the water of do organisation!
I am pleased to announce that the venue for Island Do IV will be the Shetland Isles which are the most northerly islands in the British Isles.
The dates are the 25-27th June 2010.
A bit about the islands
The Shetland islands are a group of approximately 100 islands, of which 15 of them are inhabited. For a long time owned by Norway, their culture and language is a lot more Norse than Scottish - Lerwick is closer to Oslo than to Edinburgh, and the Shetlanders are very aware of that.
They are somewhat barren - but have a substantial oil industry, which the council has wisely invested in infrastructure for the islands where possible. Main attractions are the wildlife, the archaeology, and just the way of life and remoteness....
Getting there
One carrier flies there - Loganair. If travelling from London, you'll have to come via EDI/GLA/ABZ. Loganair is currently a franchisee of Flybe, and there is a codeshare on BA if booking through from an international flight or from London. Sadly, for those of us based in Scotland, we can't
Please note that although the main town is Lerwick, the airport is at Sumburgh (LSI), which is about 30-40 mins from Lerwick.
There is also a flight between Sumburgh and Bergen.
The other option involves an overnight ferry from Aberdeen. Cabins can be booked.
One thing to note - Flybe/Loganair have not yet released their timetable for next summer, so the flights can not be booked yet Cheapest base fare currently is £246 ai.
Accommodation
As those of you who have attended previous Island Dos know, Scottish provincial hotels can be well interesting. Don't be expecting anything too palatial, and certainly nothing that will get you points. We seem to have three options for accomodation:
- staying in the main town of Lerwick. There's one hotel which stands out, but obviously staying in the town does allow a bit more freedom for hotels.
- staying at one of rural hotels - one is really standing out for me, but we are obviously more remote for Lerwick night life. Those of you who saw Kirkwall night life might think this is a good thing.. and the bar does have a good reputation for malts.
- trying to find self-catering accommodation. This would be ultimate freedom and would give us the opportunity to have a BBQ, weather permitting. It should be noted that my first ever gale force 9 occurred on June on one of the these islands
Activities
I'm planning on trying to organise a boat tour for some scenery/wildlife watching. We could either go on as a group on a scheduled trip, or, if we have enough interest, try to get our own tour. Shetland has some of the biggest seabird colonies in the UK, tonnes of seals, otters are reasonably common -and there are always the ubiquitous ponies! Whales and other cetaceans are also a possibility.
We'll probably try and visit some of the other islands - and there's some great historic monuments as well. And as always, there will be plenty of opportunity for you guys to tell me what you want to do.
Look forward to seeing you there! And of course this thread will be updated as and when more arrangements are confirmed - and watch out for a forthcoming poll on accommodation options.
I am pleased to announce that the venue for Island Do IV will be the Shetland Isles which are the most northerly islands in the British Isles.
The dates are the 25-27th June 2010.
A bit about the islands
The Shetland islands are a group of approximately 100 islands, of which 15 of them are inhabited. For a long time owned by Norway, their culture and language is a lot more Norse than Scottish - Lerwick is closer to Oslo than to Edinburgh, and the Shetlanders are very aware of that.
They are somewhat barren - but have a substantial oil industry, which the council has wisely invested in infrastructure for the islands where possible. Main attractions are the wildlife, the archaeology, and just the way of life and remoteness....
Getting there
One carrier flies there - Loganair. If travelling from London, you'll have to come via EDI/GLA/ABZ. Loganair is currently a franchisee of Flybe, and there is a codeshare on BA if booking through from an international flight or from London. Sadly, for those of us based in Scotland, we can't
Please note that although the main town is Lerwick, the airport is at Sumburgh (LSI), which is about 30-40 mins from Lerwick. There is also a flight between Sumburgh and Bergen.
The other option involves an overnight ferry from Aberdeen. Cabins can be booked.
One thing to note - Flybe/Loganair have not yet released their timetable for next summer, so the flights can not be booked yet
Cheapest base fare currently is £246 ai. Accommodation
As those of you who have attended previous Island Dos know, Scottish provincial hotels can be well interesting. Don't be expecting anything too palatial, and certainly nothing that will get you points. We seem to have three options for accomodation:
- staying in the main town of Lerwick. There's one hotel which stands out, but obviously staying in the town does allow a bit more freedom for hotels.
- staying at one of rural hotels - one is really standing out for me, but we are obviously more remote for Lerwick night life. Those of you who saw Kirkwall night life might think this is a good thing.. and the bar does have a good reputation for malts.
- trying to find self-catering accommodation. This would be ultimate freedom and would give us the opportunity to have a BBQ, weather permitting. It should be noted that my first ever gale force 9 occurred on June on one of the these islands
Activities
I'm planning on trying to organise a boat tour for some scenery/wildlife watching. We could either go on as a group on a scheduled trip, or, if we have enough interest, try to get our own tour. Shetland has some of the biggest seabird colonies in the UK, tonnes of seals, otters are reasonably common -and there are always the ubiquitous ponies! Whales and other cetaceans are also a possibility.
We'll probably try and visit some of the other islands - and there's some great historic monuments as well. And as always, there will be plenty of opportunity for you guys to tell me what you want to do.
Look forward to seeing you there! And of course this thread will be updated as and when more arrangements are confirmed - and watch out for a forthcoming poll on accommodation options.
Jul 8, 2009, 4:43 pm
#2
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Possible attendees:
Jenbel
RestlessinRNO
tuapekastar
lalala
monitor and frannie
the_happiness_store
Moomba
SouthOxon
Globaliser
Prospero
Henry III
sbm12 + linnea
belle3388
Jenbel
RestlessinRNO
tuapekastar
lalala
monitor and frannie
the_happiness_store
Moomba
SouthOxon
Globaliser
Prospero
Henry III
sbm12 + linnea
belle3388
Last edited by Jenbel; Jun 15, 2010 at 5:54 am
Jul 8, 2009, 4:44 pm
#3
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EVENTS/ACTIVITIES
Dinner - Friday 25th June - 8 pm
Monty's Bistro
Mounthooley Street
Lerwick
Wildlife cruise to Noss Saturday June 26 pm
Take a trip around some of the islands on the east of Shetland - we'll be looking for seabirds - easy to find as we'll be visiting some of the largest bird colonies in the UK, seals - easy to find as they are everywhere - otters - a bit more tricky, but fingers crossed - and whales and dolphins - keep your fingers crossed! from onboard a customised wildlife watching boat, which we'll be block booking for our own pleasure. Enjoy the wonderful Shetland scenery from a viewpoint you'll rarely get and explore the rocky coastline from an entirely different perspective.
Cost of trip - £40 (may be less with group discount) and is limited to 12. If more than 12 wish to attend, there will be other opportunities, but not on a boat dedicated to us. First come first serve (not sure yet if this will be bagsies a seat or first to pay, but I'll record in the order you say, and then if it does require prepayment, will take that into account!)
Wishing to attend:
1.Jenbel
2 & 3. monitor and frannie
4. RestlessinRNO
5. Moomba
6. tuapekastar
7. the_happiness_store
8. Globaliser
9, 10. sbm12+ linnea
11. belle3388
12.
Dinner - Friday 25th June - 8 pm
Monty's Bistro
Mounthooley Street
Lerwick
Wildlife cruise to Noss Saturday June 26 pm
Take a trip around some of the islands on the east of Shetland - we'll be looking for seabirds - easy to find as we'll be visiting some of the largest bird colonies in the UK, seals - easy to find as they are everywhere - otters - a bit more tricky, but fingers crossed - and whales and dolphins - keep your fingers crossed! from onboard a customised wildlife watching boat, which we'll be block booking for our own pleasure. Enjoy the wonderful Shetland scenery from a viewpoint you'll rarely get and explore the rocky coastline from an entirely different perspective.
Cost of trip - £40 (may be less with group discount) and is limited to 12. If more than 12 wish to attend, there will be other opportunities, but not on a boat dedicated to us. First come first serve (not sure yet if this will be bagsies a seat or first to pay, but I'll record in the order you say, and then if it does require prepayment, will take that into account!)
Wishing to attend:
1.Jenbel
2 & 3. monitor and frannie
4. RestlessinRNO
5. Moomba
6. tuapekastar
7. the_happiness_store
8. Globaliser
9, 10. sbm12+ linnea
11. belle3388
12.
Last edited by Jenbel; Jun 15, 2010 at 5:54 am
Jul 8, 2009, 4:44 pm
#4
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The Travel directory
FLIGHTS
Friday 25th June:
BE6993 EDI-LSI 0945-1115
Prospero
monitor
frannie
Henry III
Jenbel
tuapekastar
belle3388
BE6774 ABZ-LSI 1230-1335
RestlessinRNO
sbm12 + linnea
Saturday 26th June:
BE6994 LSI-EDI 1145-1315
Prospero
Sunday 27th June:
XXXXXX LSI-GLA 1215-1345
monitor
frannie
Henry III
BA4075 1350-1450 LSI-ABZ
Moomba
Monday 28th June
0745
sbm12 + linnea
BE6994 LSI-EDI 1145-1315
RestlessinRNO
HOTELS
Kveldsro
restlessinRNO
Jenbel
Moomba
tuapekastar
Shetland
Prospero
Henry III
Friday 25th June:
BE6993 EDI-LSI 0945-1115
Prospero
monitor
frannie
Henry III
Jenbel
tuapekastar
belle3388
BE6774 ABZ-LSI 1230-1335
RestlessinRNO
sbm12 + linnea
Saturday 26th June:
BE6994 LSI-EDI 1145-1315
Prospero
Sunday 27th June:
XXXXXX LSI-GLA 1215-1345
monitor
frannie
Henry III
BA4075 1350-1450 LSI-ABZ
Moomba
Monday 28th June
0745
sbm12 + linnea
BE6994 LSI-EDI 1145-1315
RestlessinRNO
HOTELS
Kveldsro
restlessinRNO
Jenbel
Moomba
tuapekastar
Shetland
Prospero
Henry III
Last edited by Jenbel; Jun 15, 2010 at 5:55 am
Jul 9, 2009, 3:31 am
#7
Join Date: May 2005
Location: MEL
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Plan to be in the Northern Hemisphere around that time, and as my family is from Shetland, am certainly interested, but definitely cannot commit until I've worked out the detail. Visited (very briefly) in the mid 1990s and would love to do so again.
Jul 9, 2009, 5:45 am
#8
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Don't worry about lack of commitment - especially since the airline won't let us commit yet! 
Posting this far out just lets me give everyone a heads up so I won't hear excuses/complaints from the regulars...
Posting this far out just lets me give everyone a heads up so I won't hear excuses/complaints from the regulars...
Jul 9, 2009, 11:35 am
#11
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: MRY/SFO/SJC
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Posts: 7,784
Last edited by boxo; Jul 9, 2009 at 11:47 am
Jul 9, 2009, 10:28 pm
#12
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We will try our best not to miss any Island Do. ^
Therefore we should be marked down by Jenbel as probable. Actually definitely probable.
Therefore we should be marked down by Jenbel as probable. Actually definitely probable.
Jul 12, 2009, 8:46 am
#13
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Location: Chicago
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Posts: 11,956
I'm a definite maybe for this.
And I would certainly like to meet the Scots woman who has a lot more tact than I when it comes to political posts.
And I would certainly like to meet the Scots woman who has a lot more tact than I when it comes to political posts.
Last edited by the_happiness_store; Jul 12, 2009 at 9:46 am Reason: damn, grammar again