Well that's my first day in Shetland finished. I had my breakfast with all the fishermen in a little cafe next to the harbour in Lerwick, bought a few supplies, and now I'm camped in a placed called Levenwick, a bit South of Lerwick and overlooking Cumlewick Ness, No Ness and Mousa island - the view from the tent is very pretty.

Primary motivation for staying at Levenwick was the washing machine though really. Thus while I worked out where I wanted to go over the course of the week and how I wanted to do it, I also put a load on and waited for it.

Also, as I (wonder of wonders!) had phone reception at the site, I booked myself on a couple of boat trips from leaflets I'd picked up at tourist information in Lerwick. One is a real treat - a very luxurious full dayer around all the North Isles which effectively takes me around the top most point of the UK. I can't get there by car so this will be the next best thing. That's on Wed hopefully, weather permitting. I've also lined up a shorter trip around Bressay and Noss. This is to make up for the boat trips I didn't do in Orkney.

Once my washing was done and smalls stocks replenished, (plus the back of my car festooned with drying jeans and jumpers), I headed to the Southernmost tip of the Island. Primary motivation - to visit Jarlshof, a neolithic village site that rivals Scara Brae.

Jarlshof is a full-on hand rails and interpretive boards thing - you even get an audio guide with this one. Consequently there were lots of people (though no screaming kids at least). It is a very good site though I have to say, with buildings that are pictish built on by more advance pictish buildings, built on by Vikings, built on by medieval people. You can walk around and see how building has advanced and evolved over the millenia. And considering it was the same price as I paid to go down a damp hole in Minehowe - good value for money too.

Next - Sumburgh Head. It has a headland which you can see sticking up for miles around, and a lighthouse on it, and huge jagged cliffs which house a wealth of sea birds including gannet, guilemot, kittewake, puffin (supposedly) and lots more. I felt I had entered serious Twitcher territory though. Me with my £10.99 monocular from Blacks and bright purple clothing, them with huge high end binoculars, super telephoto lensed cameras and camouflage gear. I had a quick peek at the cliffs at all the recommended view spots then fled before someone growled at me for accidentally disturbing a lesser spotted thigumiwhosit.

- One thing though. An idiot board at Sumburgh head gave me a clue of what those big Not-Albatross things I was seeing were. Fulmars. Dunno if they have the takeoff problems I witnessed one bird have on Orkney, but they do seem likely candidates for what I was seeing, and at least they're official shoreline birds. See I knew the answer would turn up eventually.

Oh, another interesting fact - the main runway for Sumburgh airport goes across the only road that gains access to Jarlshof and Sumburgh head. Thus, they have to employ gates across the road similar to those that stop cars crossing when trains are about to arrive...only when the gates come across, a small plane whizzes by you instead. It happened to me when I was trying to get to Jarlsof and I couldn't believe my eyes. Tried to get a picture like every other amazed tourist at the gates but I think we all failed.

After Sumburgh, I had a look at the Croft museum which was another 'Historical Scotland' sponsored living cottage thing. Very nice and in the same spirit as the Kirbuster one in Orkney - the warden was even in period costume in this one. They had box beds too, interestingly, but weren't making a big deal about them. The croft also had an open hearth, burnt peat, and had traces of the In-by/Out-by concept as per Orkney, but again, this was played down. Shetlands don't seem to bothered with their pictish roots they only care about the Norse bits. Wierd.

After that I fanced having a look at Scalloway and Hamnavoe, having heard the names from somewhere but I couldn't remember that context. Turns out Scalloway has a 'palace' in the same vein as the Earl's palace in Orkney (though more ruinous), and Hamnavoe was in my guide book as being 'pretty' which it was in a strangely backwater sort of way. Some very nice silouettes of Foula in the background too.

As I was now in that neck of the Voe, so to speak (I think a Voe is the Shetland term for what the Scandinavians call a fjord) I decided to continue for as far as I could go down a narrow spit of land called West Burra - ending up in Papil. I had no idea what to expect, having never been in that sort of territory before but what I found was (in my opinion) the best bits of Highland Scotland and beachy Scotland all rolled into one. Impossible to describe (I just tried and had to delete it) but lets just say there is something very special about being on a narrow spit of land, looking at a slightly larger spit, and with the mainland behind that with looking hills and cloud on top, all in the middle of millpond still tidal water. Wow. Makes me suddenly want to see the Scandinavian Fjords so much more.

Still in the mood for spits of land, after I came back up out of West Burra I went to see St Ninian's Island for the sunset. This Island is separated from the mainland by a 'tombola' - which appears to be the official term for a sandbank with tidal water on either side. The sunset was lovely and orangy and enjoyed only by me and the occupants of two tourers - and then when I came back to the campsite I found I was the only resident tonight which will be a bit strange but at least no queues for the shower.

So. What have I discovered about Shetland from today? Well it's much hillier than Orkney for a start, so the roads are more wiggly and driving is a totally different experience. In Orkney I was often faced with long straight roads across large fields of crops and with absolutely no-one in sight you can really (safely) floor it, plus it makes over-taking people very easy as well when you do meet them. In Shetland the road weaves about with sharp bends and not much long distance visibility, also they are a lot busier with local traffic. Consequently, driving here is much more hard work than Orkney and when you get stuck behind someone, you're stuck.

I also see now what Billy meant about the landscape having been shaped by sheep. Orkney is all about rolling corn fields else wet moor. Almost all of Shetland by contrast is close cropped green grass which makes it look and feel more like the South Downs, especially as almost all it's edges are sheer cliffs like the ones around Dover. Or as I overheard someone say at Jarlshof - 'It's like tellytubby land!' (refering to the caost with its smooth grassy curves).

When I said before that it felt a bit more Scandinavia, I've worked out that this is because all the houses are painted bright blues and greens and reds in contrast to Orkney where all the houses are stone or stone coloured. They have higher sloping roofs too. There are also lots of wood built houses too - but as there is a shortage of trees on Shetland just as there is for Orkney, is this a reflection of the easy trade routes Shetland established with mainland Norway when the Vikings came?

Unless Billy is right and everyone in Shetland is actually Scottish, I'd dare to say that the accent is a more precise and easier to understand than Orkney's guttural and sometimes obtuse twang - like a hellish version of Glaswegian. Shetlanders also use sentences instead of random words, which helps.

And Lerwick is definately more cosmopolitan than Kirkwall - you can get pannini's and croissants in Lerwick. Possibly its the influence of all the Scandinavian ships in dock. Kirkwall only ever got boats from other Orkney Islands and Thruso so there ye goart tatties an' haggis and liked it or else!

But I wouldn't say Shetland is any better serviced with mod cons judging by my little excursion to West Burra where there was nothing except tiny residential communities, albeit with relatively contemporary looking houses but no shops or swimming pools or leisure centres as Billy threatened there would be. Of course I haven't been further north and Lerwick yet, maybe they are all there.

Oh - and I actually managed to avoid meeting Billy today. Amazing. Well there's still the rest of the week...

Ah! But! Something I forgot to mention! They do have one shocking and totally unexpected difference...THEIR BANNOCKS ARE A DIFFERENT SHAPE. Consider me traumatised. Butteries are still salty in Shetland though...

I aim to go to the top of the world tomorrow, aka Unst, the Northmost island. There, I want to visit the Northmost house and Northmost postoffice. I'd love to be able to walk to the northmost point to as well but this is in the middle of a bird reserved (with dive bombing kittewakes) and is a 3 hour round trip on foot so its debatable if I'll manage it. I'll have to play that bit by ear...

And now - to bed.