Your window into our Shetland lives

By Hayley Anderton If you walk west across the spine of the hills from Burrastow house towards Littlure, or east from Littlure towards Burrastow and keep a careful eye to the ground you might be lucky enough to spot the Compass Wart. Wart in this case seems to be a corruption of Varða[i]. Warts were […]

So many challenges; but so much to be grateful for too When I reflect back on all that has happened in the past year I can’t help but think that it seems we are living in two parallel worlds at the same time. In one world everything came to a grinding halt and all the […]

by Hayley Anderton This is not meant as a definitive list, or even a best of list, rather these are ten books that I’ve collected over the years, refer to consistently, and want to celebrate a bit. There are new books in the offing from Mati Ventrillon (Knitting from Fair Isle) this autumn, Gudrun Johnston […]

You know that feeling you get after a good long walk, like your body and mind are completely refreshed and recharged? It’s not news that nature is good for us, but sometimes especially when things are busy, it’s easy to forget. I have been enjoying a newly-found routine of being focused and working hard throughout the […]

by Hayley Anderton My list of favourite books that are specifically about Shetland are an odd bunch, it’s a place that often crops up as part of a journey but is more rarely the sole focus. This starts with The Orkneyinga Saga. Written in the early 13th century when Shetland and Orkney were Norse possessions […]

You will hear this from me over and over again – Shetland is a marvellous place for walking. What I appreciate most is the easy access and the fact that you’re never far from a great walk. Since our coastline is fairly long (1679 miles) you can pick a section and set off for a walk […]

The weather has been marvellous over the past week. Well, at least I think so, as the days seem to just fly by and merge together somehow. Have you been feeling the same? We are keeping our usual routines up and things have been busy but I still can’t help myself thinking about time and […]

Happy summer solstice! The other day I was asked this question as part of an interview for SHETLAND.org: “In Shetland, I’m happiest when…” My answer was “When I can be outdoors walking along the stunning coastline.” Often, when work is very busy and my head is buzzing with ideas, the only way to calm down is to […]

The second week of June and the weather has been what you imagine summer at 60° north be like. Bright sunshine but cold winds, still days but under a lid of impenetrable cloud – that’s why most of the photos from this week look so dark. It’s strange, you don’t think about it at the […]