Exploring Lerwick

We’ve made it to Shetland! Once we arrive in Lerwick, the most populated city of Shetland - a whopping 7,500 residents - we’ll drop off our luggage and have a little time to explore before a cozy welcome dinner all together. During our time in Lerwick, we will head to Jamieson & Smith and meet with local knitwear designer and Shetland knitwear expert Ella Gordon. Surrounded by the beautiful colors of Shetland yarn, Ella and Sydney will lead you through a half-day workshop where you will get to learn how to design your own vintage fair isle beret using true-vintage Shetland motifs and patterns! You’ll have guidance with color choices, chart ideas and beret construction, but now is your moment to be the yarn artist and bring your own vintage creation to life! In between time spent exploring Lerwick on your own, we will also dive into the history of Shetland knitwear! Vintage knitwear historian (and legend) Carol Christiansen will take us through a private guided tour of the knitwear exhibited at the Shetland Museum & Archives, which houses hundreds of years worth of knitting history. Carol will speak to us about the varied and rich history of knitting on the Shetland Isles which is sure to inspire you to cast on about 10 new projects afterward. Perhaps we can discuss our new project ideas over a pint in the local pub? 

A Journey North 

It’s time to head to the most northerly part of Scotland: the island of Unst! We’ll be joined by a local guide for the day as we slowly make our way northward, stopping for a cuppa in Yell before the short ferry ride to Unst. Here we’ll travel way back in time to the Viking era, and explore the Unst Viking project with in-person demonstrations of what viking life would have been like. Lunch will be at the delightful Victoria’s Vintage Tearoom before we go to the Unst Visitor Centre that showcases intricate and awe-inspiring displays of antique Shetland lace. Once we’ve settled into the quaint, pleasant dwelling of Baltasound Hotel, we’ll start the next day with a guided nature walk* and tour of the island to see some of the scenery and wildlife of Shetland! In between jaw-dropping cliffs and seascape, our expert guides will take us to known spots where otters, puffins, and other sea birds are known to reside. Let’s hope we get to see all three! 

*The 3 hour walk will take place in the Hermaness National Nature Reserve with professional nature guides.  The walk is described as moderate over a path with a combination of boardwalks, firm gravel and grassy sections with a couple of short steeper sections.  This walk will give us the opportunity to  get right into the gannet colony and give us the opportunity to look for puffins too!  Beautiful vistas of Muckle Flugga, the most northerly point in Britain, will be our compensation if the puffins have all departed by the time of our visit.  You will have the option to skip the walk if the activity level is too much.

Meandering through the Northern Mainland 

As we make our way back to the mainland, we have a couple sights to visit in the north before we reach our final destination. We’ll be joined by another local guide on this day who will take us to Lunna farm to meet the farmers along with some of their sheep and other animals! There will be a lunch break at the most northerly fish & chips restaurant Scotland has to offer before we visit the beautiful scenery of the Eshaness Cliffs and Lighthouse. After a coffee or tea break at the Braewick Cafe, we’ll head to our grand home for the next few days: Busta House. With the original house built in 1588, this hotel boasts a rich and lively history with the families that have resided there over the centuries. We will get to roam the halls and have cozy evenings for knitting in the “long drawing room” after some fabulous meals made in-house over our final days in Shetland. Perhaps we’ll even encounter a ghostly knitter! Ella Gordon will join us again one evening along with a huge collection of vintage Shetland knitwear for us to ogle over!

Heading South 

We’re starting our morning with a visit to the beautiful St. Ninian’s Isle! The gorgeous beaches will take your breath away, and you may even see a Shetland pony or two!  A slight drive up the coastline will bring us to Hoswick, where there will be time to explore the visitor center with historical knitting and textile artifacts on display, as well as some artisan shops from local knitwear designers and jewelry makers. A bit higher up the coastline will bring us to the area of Cunningsburgh, where we will meet with Wilma Macolmson, who comes from a multi-generational family of Shetland knitters. She will take us through some of her family’s history of knitting on the island, and give us time to peruse her beautiful shop of knitwear as well. There will be time this evening for some knitting after dinner, shall we head to the drawing room together? 

Visiting Uradale Farm and Western Shetland 

On our last full day here, we will be split into two groups to visit the only organic Shetland sheep farm on the island: Uradale farm. Ronnie will meet with us to give a talk of contemporary sheep farming on Shetland, and allow for a little meet and greet of the sheep before getting some time to shop the Uradale yarn - believe me, you’ll want to have a shopping list at the ready before looking at all of their stunning, special colorways made from the sheep visible just out the window. While one group visits with Ronnie, the other will meet with Joanna Hunter, another Shetland sheep farmer with a rich family history of knitters. She’ll talk to us about vintage knitwear on the island before we all head back to Busta House for a special night of live traditional Shetland music to round out our last night in this magical place together. 

Our final day in Shetland and a jaunt back to Aberdeen 

It may be the last day on the island, but we are going to make the most of it! We’ll leave Busta House in the morning for a final adventure through Lerwick and the south of Shetland! We embark with a journey through the past once again with a visit to the Crofthouse museum to have a glimpse of what life would have really been like on this rural island. Then we’ll make a final stop to the gorgeous, historic area of Jarlshof and eat a delicious dinner at the Sumburgh Hotel before we set off for the airport. With full hearts and even fuller suitcases we will bid our final goodbyes to the island, and take the short plane journey back to Aberdeen where we’ll stay for the night. I’m not ready for it to end! 

Farewell, explorers! 

Sadly we will bid farewell this morning and send you all on your merry way. Thank you all for a wonderful trip! 

Sydney Crabaugh is a voracious knitter, designer, and knitwear historian. She has been knitting and studying fashion history for over fifteen years and recently turned her passions into a career at Squid's School of Vintage Knitting, an online school devoted to the education and love of historical knitwear. Her work in the knitting world is also supplemented by her academic background in film history, and she tries to combine the two as often as possible. In collaboration with Rowan Tree Travel, Sydney works to develop tours that have a historical or vintage bent, often with elaborately themed and niche activities! With over ten years of working in the fiber industry, Sydney continues to love meeting other knitters and sharing fiber experiences with them more than anything else. You can find her at patreon.com/squidschool or over on instagram as @squidneyknits. 

Heather Radl loves designing and leading knitting and fiber tours. She’s fascinated with local traditions, unique yarns, and the modern twist added to both by current designers. Her ever-widening exposure to both has led to a long queue of patterns and a dramatic accumulation of stash!  She’s also been trying her hand at new wooly endeavors like felting and spinning. When not knitting, traveling or planning your next trip, Heather tends her small flock of chickens and ducks, volunteers in her local thrift shop, and spends time with her two dogs, her husband’s cat, her family, and friends in Dunbarton, NH.