Hjaltland

The sunshine was out in Aberdeen today, hopefully it is a sign of things to come as we enter British Summer Time. We can wish.

With the fine weather, a trip to the beach was in order and a chance to take a picture of a much photographed subject by me.

Pictured is the Northlink ferry Hjaltland, named after the old Norse name for Shetland. She, along with her 'sister' Hrossey (old Norse name for Orkney) links Aberdeen, Orkney and Shetland.

The trip up through Orkney takes 14 a half hours. People get a bit of a shock when I tell them this. Most people think Shetland and Orkney are in a little box just off of Aberdeen, where in fact Shetland is as close to Bergen in Norway as it is to Aberdeen.

The route is subsidised by the Scottish Government. To save money they are wanting to slow the boats down from using 4 engines to 2 engines, resulting in longer journey times. A lot of islanders are not happy at this prospect. Personally I'd rather the journey is a bit longer if it means fares don't go up.

What I think is much more damaging to Shetland, and something that has been overlooked by those protesting at the potential cut backs, is the Scottish Goverment are also wanting to reduce the sailings to 1 boat over the winter rather than 2, i.e. sailings every alternative night.