the shetland experience 2008

The above picture is of the marina at Easter Skeld, west Mainland, Shetland very early (8am) on a cold but still morning. Taken by Mike. 

This winter scene was taken in west Mainland Shetland as more snow moved in.  Photo by Mike.

See Photo Gallery for a few more images.

Hello, my name is Mike Slade. 

So what is this Shetland Experience about? 

During November and December 2008 I visited Shetland and other places in northern and western Scotland.  My departure date was November 10th and I arrived back on December 14th. 

Shetland is located far to the north of the mainland of Scotland where the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and Norwegian Sea meet.  Click here for a general orientation Google map of Shetland's position in Europe.

My visit was part of a tour of northern Scotland which took in a week-long stay with the Iona Community, a brief stay in Sutherland and Caithness, as well as a short stay in Aberdeenshire.

I undertook the visit as part of a seven-week sabbatical  from my work as a priest in the Church of England.  My churches are in Winscombe and Sandford in North Somerset, in the West Country of the UK.  Click here for a general orientation Google map of where I live.  I have posted in the Photo Gallery a few pictures taken during my travels.

During my sabbatical I reflected on my experiences during the journey in the blog page.  I have uploaded some photographs taken along the way.

I travelled to Shetland at one of the most inhospitable times of the year - as far as the weather was concerned.  The nights are long and daylight in short measure.  The weather, particularly the wind strength, plays a significant part in the life and industry of Shetland and you can see what the weather is doing by visiting the Northern Isles Weather Service which is based on nearby Fair Isle.   Please take a look at the VisitShetland web site where you will get a flavour of life there as well as live stream web cams.

Although now home and back into the full swing of parish ministry I have many happy memories of this wonderful place and the welcoming and friendly people I met along the way.  I concluded the Blog in January.

I hope you will be encouraged to take the time and effort to visit these wonderful islands.  If you have any queries or you think I may be able to help with your visit in any way then please do get in touch. 

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This site was last updated on February 25th 2009 at 10.35am local time in Winscombe, Somerset, England.  Changes have been made to the the home page.