April 2012
What's happening in Shetland in October 2011
As the winter draws in, Shetland continues to have plenty to attract the visitor in October 2011.
The annual Shetland Accordion & Fiddle Festival begins on Thursday 6th October until Monday 10th October 2011, with events throughout the Shetland Islands. Come along to enjoy both local and visiting artists and some of the best traditional music you're likely to hear! The festival hosts the Clickimin grand dance - a huge traditional dance, where around a dozen different dance bands take it in turn to perform to an audience of 1,500 in the Clickimin sports centre in Lerwick! Prices of events and venues vary - for more information and a list of artists, please visit http://www.shetlandaccordionandfiddle.com/
Another festival in October attracts a different flock! Shetland Wool Week is a celebration of Shetland’s wool and textile traditions and has over 30 events involving some of the best local firms and craftsfolk as well as international designers and artists from the US, Japan, Norway and Germany. The week runs from Monday 10th to Sunday 16th October. Events are many and varied - are suitable for young and old and take place throughout Shetland - for a full programme of events, visit the organisers (Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool Brokers) website - http://www.shetlandwoolbrokers.co.uk/
Also in October (and also November) is the Shetland Guitar Season, known locally as the “Peerie Willie” Guitar Season. These events are dedicated to the late internationally acclaimed Shetland guitarist “Peerie" Willie Johnson. The season celebrates guitar music including workshops and concerts, and allows the guitar enthusiast an opportunity to meet some of the world's finest musicians. October's Guitar Festival concerts feature Simon Thacker’s Svara-Kanti, performing at the Bigton Hall on Friday 14 October and at the Garrison Theatre on Saturday 15 October.
Although there are plenty of festivals and events on in October, we also recommend sightseeing when visiting Shetland - the dramatic landscape is stunning in all weathers. If you've not been to there yet, why not try a visit to Unst? Britain's most 
northerly populated island can be reached by island hopping - first take the ferry from Toft on the Shetland Mainland to Ultsa on Yell. Then from Gutcher on Yell you can catch a ferry to Belmont on Unst.
Unst has much to offer the visitor - beautiful beaches, a warm community, a proud tradition of Shetland Pony breeding, dramatic cliffs teaming with seabirds, majestic hills and dark castles (Muness Castle can be explored by torchlight!). In October a visit to Hermaness is particularly dramatic. 
A nature reserve, Hermaness is the northernmost headland of Unst, and gives magnificent views of the group of rocks known as ‘Da Waithing Skerries’.
The most famous of these rocks is Muckle Flugga (which means large steep rock) which has a lighthouse precariously perched on top! Muckle Flugga is gneiss formed 600 million years ago as a result of intense heat and pressure on what were once quartz rich sands. Now this sharp shard of rock is home to an engineering marvel, built in 1864. 
Designed by Thomas Stevenson (Robert Louis Stevenson’s uncle) and built of brick, with foundations sunk 3 meters into the rock, the lighthouse has withstood pounding by Atlantic waves for over 150 years. You may see this first hand during a visit in October!
When visiting Unst, there’s another connection with the Stevensons of interest! Robert Louis Stevenson penned Treasure Island after a visit to Unst, so when looking at Unst's map - you may see more than a passing resemblance between it and the map of treasure island!
Booking directly with NorthLink Ferries on www.northlinkferries.co.uk is cheaper than booking 
with another website and we never charge for any amendments made to your booking!
