Well it had to happen one day, it was my first time I needed to packup in the rain. My tent is pretty good, in as much as its big enough to pack in, and I can take everything down leaving the outer flysheet last. I didn’t rush as the weather forecast showed improvement later. I was the last to leave, what had been a busy(ish) site was now deserted. It did allow a better view of the Lifeboat roof.

I headed off in a light rain, it had sounded much worse in the tent, so I donned my (new) waterproof coast and shoe covers and got on with it. I didn’t even bother stopping at the shop as it is Sunday. I had a number of routes in mind and had scoured the shop opening times to make sure I had food. Generally, it seems smaller convenience stores, either don’t open, or open for the afternoon. Places like the Coop are normal hours on Sundays. As I headed up a stiff hill, a touring cyclist came the other way, a very smiley lady in a waterproof poncho, whizzed past, giving the peace sign. It was nice to know I wasn’t the only mad person out.

I got to the ferry for Mainland Shetland but I hadn’t looked up the times, they were every 30 minutes when I went out. Sunday service is a bit more infrequent. I waited in a bus shelter, which told me about 10 shelters around Yell that had been adopted for public art. I had stopped in one, and assumed it was by a local school. This shelter by the port gave more information, and had interesting pieces about mapping the island from memory, and other maps drawn by kids(?) with the features of the island.

When the ferry came, the guy commented that it wasn’t very good weather for cycling, but conceded that the day before had been superb. I went and sat in the passenger lounge. This ferry had a nice lounge above the car deck which was nice to sit in. I’ve been on others where the lounge is windowless below the cars, which isn’t so nice. They had let me on the ferry as soon as it arrived and I had to wait quite a long time for it to leave to schedule. It is worth knowing that you pay on the Yell ferry going north, and then the other ferries (to Unst ans Fetlar) are free, including the return ferry from Yell. Good value for £2.20!

On the other side the Brae Co-op was my first target. The main road was still closed, so I had to retrace my route upto Brae. At the Coop I had to decide which of my three routes to take. The first option was to take the route up the east coast, I discounted that because I’d already done it and knew it was much longer than option 2. Option 2 was straight down the main road to the campsite I’d previously seen at Scalloway. With Option 3 being the western road, down to a campsite at Skeld. This would leave a 40km easterly ride in the morning. With Storm Floris due tomorrow, showing over 50 km/h easterly winds, I decided on caution and headed to Scalloway. I’d only bought cold food as there was still a chance I could end up booking a hotel. You just have no idea how bad or quickly the weather can change on Islands, and being on a bike with  a tent you don’t have much factor of safety.

Once the decision was made the sun came out, it had clearly been waiting for me. I headed off towards Voe, and found a nice bus shelter with a view for my lunch. It was still pretty windy, which led to a serious incident where almost a whole can of Irn-Bru was spilt and lost. Luckily, there was another shop ahead at Voe to replenish. I had stopped here on the way, and had seen the vast array of goods in the backroom, and I sneaked a photo. How many games of Monopoly do they sell? These shops, like the Lovetts shop on Benbecula, must be the lifeblood of the community. The Co-op’s etc must be convenient and have what you want, but its the shops like this that have what you need!

The main road was much shorter than the Eastern route but not as scenic. There were a few sets of road works that meant long lengths of one way with temporary traffic lights (putting a pipe or cables along the carriageway). Two were downhill ones and I kept up with the traffic, but on one uphill length, I nearly blew up and had a huge queue behind me. It also meant that I had to cycle on the newly laid tarmac, which was much bumpier than the original road.

The route turned off at Tingwall and was a nice ride along Tingwall Loch to the campsite. The weather had really turned nice after such a grotty morning. It is hard to believe how much the weather can change in a few hours.

Scalloway is definitely the poshest (and most expensive) site I’ve stayed at. It has a lovely kitchen/campers room and you even get tea, coffee, and biscuits in your welcome pack.

I’d only bought cold dinner, and as it was my last night of camping I decided to eat my last dehydrated meal. This one was a Decathlon, Chicken curry and rice. It was pretty tasty but incredibly filling. It was a surprise (but thinking about it I had had a few sausage rolls beforehand!). I’d had a very old “Posh Pork and Beans” (DofE I think) earlier in the week when I missed shopping on Yell. The latter one gets my vote on flavour, but the Decathlon gets votes for quelling hunger.

Tomorrow, I need to get packed up before the storm, the weather app shows rain about 9am, and the wind kicking off about midday. I also needed to think about how to pack away and what I might need when. This is my last night camping, but I have two nights of overnight travel to look forward to – Storm Floris permitting.

Total Dist Cycled 964 km, (599 miles) 12 Ferries, 1 Train