'Landscape Mysteries' Itinerary.
Day 1. West Mainland.
Culswick Broch
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This will be your introduction day to Shetland's varied landscapes and archaeology. We start our day with a scenic drive to the site of a Neolithic settlement and field system followed by a visit to an enigmatic 'Temple' site that was in use up until the early Bronze Age. We then move forward in time into the Iron Age with a visit to one of Shetland's most spectacular brochs. We will also see the sites of possible monastic settlements and visit one of Shetland's many 'brunt mounds'.
Please note: this day requires a 6km (3.5 mile) walk, partly on rough track and partly over wet moorland.
Day 2. Cunningsburgh and Mousa.
Mousa Broch
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We start our day with a walk through one of Shetland's most interesting geological sections then see how Vikings exploited this geology on a commercial scale. In the afternoon we will take a boat trip to the island of Mousa and back into the Iron Age to visit its dramatic and romantic broch, the best preserved example in Scotland.
Day 3. Unst.
Unst Horse Mill
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A scenic drive to the island of Unst crossing the island of Yell. The varied and unique geology of Unst provided many resources for settlers from the earliest times to the present day. We shall see where a Norse farm was established in the shadow of an Iron Age broch and see where these early settlers quarried soapstone. We then follow in the footsteps of the 19th Century chromite miners and take a look at Shetland's rich maritime history.
Day 4. Northmaven.
Beorgs of Uyea Axe Factory
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A spectacular drive through north Mainland will take us to the village of North Roe from where we will walk west through some of Shetland's most dramatic ice moulded landscapes. We will visit a Neolithic 'axe factory' that exploited rock outcrops unique to Shetland geology and produced the enigmatic 'Shetland knife'.
Please note that this day requires a 15km (9 mile) walk, partly on track and partly over rough and wet moorland.
Day 5. South Mainland.
St Ninians Isle
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We drive south then west to St. Ninian's Isle to view a perfect example of a tombolo then cross to the medieval chapel site where the famous treasure hoard was discovered. Further south we see evidence of how mineralisation occurred in some Shetland rocks and may have been a source of wealth in Iron Age Shetland. In the afternoon we visit the world class archaeological sites of Scatness and Jarlshof and walk through 5000 years of Shetland history.
Day 6. Eshaness.
Grind o da Navir
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Most of the day will be spent on the spectacular volcanic rocks of the Eshaness peninsula. We will study the finest section through the side of a volcano in the British. We will see how the coastline of Shetland is changing today as we examine a most amazing storm 'beach' that is being formed by our winter storm waves. From a visit to a churchyard we learn how the 'mortal pox' was the scourge of Shetland and of Shetland's 'savior'. Our return journey will allow us to see how ice carved Shetland's deepest fjord and sculpted its highest hill
Day 7 (half day).
Tingwall Valley
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Tingwall Valley and Trondra. A journey through the historic Tingwall Valley that has formed in an ancient fault plane and see why the underlying geology has made this Shetland's most fertile valley. We visit the site of Shetland's 'parliament' then journey back in time to the Bronze Age. We conclude our week with a visit to the Burland Croft on the island of Trondra. The croft of Burland has been settled at least since the Bronze Age and is worked today in the ‘traditional’ manner using techniques and crops that can be traced back through Shetland’s history.
(This itinerary assumes Lerwick as its daily point of departure).
For information on a past excursion visit Open2.net
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