Unexpected adventures in Shetland

Travelling With Crowsfeet are Aussie couple Darren Horton and Sharon Walsh, who used to live in the remote Western Australian Outback. In 2023, they sold everything, donated the proceeds to charity, and are travelling the world. They made it to Shetland in January 2024 for Up Helly Aa and fell in love with the islands.

Here, they highlight some of their more unexpected adventures in Shetland when they returned for a five-week summer adventure in their 4x4 motorhome 'Boomer'.

As two Outback Australians, we had never heard the term bothy, nor its Shetland equivalent böd, let alone understood its meaning.

When we arrived in Shetland, we quickly discovered that staying in one of these structures was a truly authentic experience. Naturally, we had to find one and stay in it.

To our surprise and delight, a friendly local told us about a somewhat unique property near Walls on the West Side of Shetland. It was easy to access, which suited us, given that most bothies are in inaccessible locations deep within the Scottish wilderness.

She advised us that the Walls böd was bookable. That suited us and, as a bonus, we could park up our motorhome Boomer in the bothy owner’s yard and walk the 30 or so minutes to the accommodation. Furthermore, you didn't need to pack and carry lots of sleeping gear, as it was provided.

It all sounded too good to be true, and as we were novices to this, it felt like we had uncovered the world's biggest secret. Here we could stay in a "bothy" that was fully equipped with a proper bed, kitchen, toilet and outdoor shower. Without any hesitation, we booked a night there, knowing all we needed to take was a sleeping bag, some food and toiletries. This was one of the most memorable experiences we had during our five weeks in Shetland.

For more on camping and camping böds, please see our Caravan and camping page.

Our next ‘must-do’ whilst staying in Shetland was to attempt a long-distance spectacular coastal walk on a (hopefully) sunny day with no wind and no people.

During the last few days of our five-week stay in Shetland, the weather was perfect and we managed this, setting off on a hike to the Bay of Deepdale in Shetland’s West Mainland.

Admittedly, our preparation for this exciting adventure was somewhat marred, as our prior night’s sleep was restless due to the wind. Getting a good rest in Boomer whilst he shook about in 40 mph gusts for the entire night, was a challenge!

However, by midday of the following day, the weather had changed, so we set off for what was to become the most memorable walk we have ever done in Scotland.

We had some trepidation as the first hill was very steep. We are not experienced hikers, but with our trusty guidebook and a lot of encouragement from our new Shetland friends, we set off.

It’s important to note, we never intended to use the rope attached to a large boulder, to help us shimmy our way down the rockface to get to the sandy beach at the bottom of this bay. The more daring may attempt this but we were trying to get to the halfway point of this walk to admire the view and get the photos to prove it.

The first half of this walk is simply stunning. Yes, we encountered lots of peat bog sections, and there was no other way but to go over them – picking the high spots and trying to avoid the sections that appeared to be like quicksand.

And yes, our boots were wet and filthy for the hike’s duration, but after 2.5 hours of solid walking in bright sunshine and blue skies, we made it to the very spot we had seen on so many social media accounts.

Cold water swimming was always on the must-do list for our World trip. Lucky for us, our very first stop upon arrival into Shetland was St Ninian's Isle, which just happens to provide one of the safest swimming spots in Shetland given its unique tombolo landscape.

To our delight, we arrived just as a brand-new sauna was being set up on the beach. We took this as a sign that we should use this unique opportunity to have a go at a cold-water dip (not a swim, as we need to work up to being in the water for more than 30 seconds!).

Taking a dip was much easier knowing we could easily get to, and very much enjoy, a steaming hot sauna, just a few feet away from where we emerged from the icy waters of the North Sea.

What a perfect introduction this was to our first cold water dip in the northernmost region of Scotland.

Travelling full-time, we often get asked if we are daunted by the fact we don't know anyone in the new places and countries we visit. People are also concerned that we must get lonely, given we are so far away from our friends and family.

We are delighted to share, that our recent visit to Shetland was like meeting new family members. Many of the unplanned conversations we had with the locals have now developed into firm friendships, as the conversations between us all flowed from the very start. These chats had such an ease about them, there was no awkwardness, no hesitation, as every single Shetlander we met was genuinely friendly, helpful and interested in our story of how we came to be visiting their part of the world for such a long period.

One of the more notable first-time meetings was when we met Alison in Tresta. She had followed our travel journey on Instagram since our time in Vietnam, some 10 months before we arrived in Shetland. When she saw we had landed in Shetland, her excitement was infectious, she was just so happy to meet us and show us around.

The memories of us all walking along the beach that is her backyard, eating her homemade cake, and listening to her experiences as a young child, teenager and now mum, are some of the most memorable travel memories we have.

Alison also arranged for us to meet her dad, who not only gave us a tour of his workshop where he makes tushkars – spades specially made for cutting peat to be used as fuel. He also freely shared with us, his vast knowledge of peat, and how it is sourced and used to keep people warm during the cold Shetland winters.

You can read more about cutting peats at this blog post.

There are too many new friendships to describe them all, however, one of the most unexpected acts of friendship shown to us brought tears to our eyes. Hazel and Robin were born in Shetland and are well-known to many on the islands.

We had only briefly spoken to them twice but here they were, on the very afternoon we were leaving Shetland, standing in their backyard, waiting to say goodbye. As we sailed on the ferry through Bressay Sound, we saw them and the large white sheet they were waving for us. They continued to do this, for the entire time it took us to sail out of the sound, into the open sea.

Yet another fond Shetland memory we will never forget.

Having lived in a desert environment we are used to shopping ahead and planning for our food supplies, which might need to last for weeks.

But before arriving in Shetland, we weren’t sure how we’d manage travelling around in a motorhome, with limited capacity to refrigerate let alone freeze supplies. We wondered if we’d have to do "ferry runs" from Unst and Yell to Lerwick, every week to stock up.

Then we discovered that local shops in Shetland, aren't "just" a local shop. These country shops are institutions that every traveller should experience first-hand.

The biggest surprise is that you can find everything you need – and many things you didn't know you needed! – in these family-run establishments. The selection of fresh food includes excellent fruit, as much local produce as possible like quality cuts of meat, bakery, and dairy items.

In Yell, we were staggered to find a local shop selling one of Australia’s most important exports … no we’re not talking about Vegemite but our famous Tim Tam’s biscuits. We know we shouldn’t have favourites, but we must mention R.S. Henderson’s as a shop that we will always remember. Thanks to our visit here, the staff are now well versed and highly experienced in the Australian "Tim Tam Challenge".

Shops like these can be found in all areas of Shetland. They are not just shops, they are vital community hubs that are a part of the social fabric of these interesting and welcoming communities. As a traveller to these places, you will be greeted with a big friendly smile, given the time to chat, and best of all, you'll walk away with a unique shopping experience. As well as stocking up on food and drink, you will walk away with a great travel experience and a funny story the next time anyone asks, ‘How did you go about finding food in Shetland?’

Check out Shetland's fantastic campervan, caravan, and camping sites, all ready for you to pitch up.