Old Photograph Casting Peats Scotland

Old photograph of a crofter Casting Peats on the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Peat casting, or cutting, was usually carried out in the month of May with a spade called a Tushkar. Crofting, the farming of small plots of land on a legally restricted tenancy basis, is still practised and is viewed as a key Shetland tradition as well as an important source of income. Fishing remains central to the islands' economy today. Mackerel makes up more than half of the catch in Shetland by weight and value, and there are significant landings of haddock, cod, herring, whiting, monkfish and shellfish.



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Old Photograph Post Office Eshaness Shetland Islands Scotland

Old photograph of the cottage Post Office, Eshaness Shetland Islands, Scotland. Eshaness was home to the the 19th Century schoolmaster and diarist Christopher Sandison, the great champion of Shetland fiddle music, Tom Anderson, and the crofter, author James C. Mowat. From 1999 to 2005 Eshaness Lighthouse was owned by the American Shetlandophile and writer on lighthouses Sharma Krauskopf.



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Old Photograph Of Islanders Knitting In A Cottage In Shetland Scotland

Old photograph of Islanders knitting in a cottage on the Shetland Islands, Scotland.

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Northern Knits opens with an introduction that explores the traditions of quintessential European knitting cultures, from the wool and yarns to the history of the garments traditionally made from them. Accompanying the information is a breathtaking montage of photos showing vintage traditional garments, landscapes, and sheep from Iceland, Shetland, Norway and Sweden. The collection of 20 women's garments and accessories uses traditional knitting techniques and folk motifs inspired by these regions to showcase these classic wool yarns. The projects explore a range of techniques and knitwear construction ideas that are both interesting to knit and very wearable. Featured techniques include: Knitting in the round Lace Fair Isle Twined knitting Embroidery Lucinda Guy's newest collection includes the best of new and old in knitwear: the inspiration of folk traditions, the wholesome purity of natural wool yarns, and the styles of today's knitter. Northern Knits: Designs Inspired by the Knitting Traditions of Scandinavia, Iceland, and the Shetland Isles.

Old Photograph Crofters Grinding Corn Shetland Scotland

Old photograph of Crofters grinding corn outside a thatched cottage on the Shetland Islands, Scotland.

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Old Photograph Women Shetland Scotland

Old photograph of women carrying baskets of Peat on the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Shetland ponies and carts were used to transport the peat back to their cottages. The local way of life reflects the Scottish and Norse heritage of the isles, including the Up Helly Aa fire festival, and a strong musical tradition, especially the traditional fiddle style. The islands have produced a variety of writers of prose and poetry, often in the distinct Shetland dialect of Scots. There are numerous areas set aside to protect the local fauna and flora, including a number of important sea bird nesting sites. The Shetland pony and Shetland Sheepdog are two well-known Shetland animal breeds. Other local breeds include the Shetland sheep, cow, goose, and duck. The Shetland pig, or grice, has been extinct since about 1930.



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Tour Scotland Photograph Beorgs of Housetter Standing Stones Shetland Islands

Tour Scotland photograph of Beorgs of Housetter Standing Stones, Northmavine, Shetland Islands, Scotland. Two standing stones, with the remains of a cairn which occupied a somewhat unusual site at the base of a high and very rugged scree, some eighty yards from the west side of the public road.



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Tour Scotland Photographs Stanydale Temple Shetland Islands

Tour Scotland photograph of Stanydale Neolithic Temple, Stanydale, West Mainland, Shetland Islands, Scotland. Tanydale is the best known although not the biggest ancient settlement sites in West Mainland Shetland. The main feature is the so called Stanydale Temple an oval house twice as big as the oval houses lying next to it. A fourth and better preserved oval house is right on the track leading to the site. Pottery found on the site indicates that the houses were in use for a very long time from Late Neolithic right through the Bronze Age. The main building shows two post-holes in its centre which might have supported some kind of timber roof, a very unusual construction within a nearly wood less environment like the Shetland islands of those days. The size of the building, the entrance situation similar to the facades of the so called heel-shaped cairns and the sophisticated construction of the roofing led the excavator to suggest that this building was used as a "temple" but it might have served as some kind of a chieftains house or an assembly hall as well.


Photograph of Stanydale Temple, Shetland Islands, Scotland.



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Tour Scotland Photograph Hamna Voe Shetland Islands

Tour Scotland photograph of an abandoned house on the shores of Hamna Voe, Eshaness Peninsula, Northmavine, Shetland Islands, Scotland. Voe is an inlet, or bay, a word commonly used in Shetland.



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Tour Scotland Photograph St Ninians Isle Tombolo Shetland Islands

Tour Scotland photograph of St. Ninians Isle tombolo, connecting St Ninian to Mainland, South Mainland, Shetland Islands, Scotland. A tombolo, often called, ayre, is a deposition landform in which an island is attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. During the summer the tombolo is above sea level and accessible to walkers. During winter, stronger wave action removes sand from the beach so that it is usually covered at high tide, and occasionally throughout the tidal cycle, until the sand is returned the following Spring.



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Tour Scotland Photograph Mousa Broch Shetland

Tour Scotland photograph of Mousa Broch, Shetland Islands, Scotland. Broch of Mousa is one of the finest preserved examples of an Iron Age broch or round tower. The broch is located on the western shore of the island of Mousa. It is accessible by boat from Sandwick, 14 miles south of Lerwick. It stands on the flat rock surface of a low promontory near the shore overlooking Mousa Sound. It is the tallest broch still standing and amongst the best preserved prehistoric buildings in Europe.



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Tour Scotland Photograph Jarlshof Shetland

Tour Scotland photograph of Jarlshof, Shetland Islands, Scotland. Jarlshof is one of the most important archaeological sites ever excavated in the British Isles. The Bronze Age settlers left evidence of several small oval houses with thick stone walls and various artefacts including a decorated bone object. The Iron Age ruins include several different types of structure including a broch and a defensive wall around the site. The Pictish period provides various works of art including a painted pebble and a symbol stone. The Viking age ruins make up the largest such site visible anywhere in Britain and include a longhouse; excavations provided numerous tools and a detailed insight into life in Shetland at this time.



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Tour Scotland Photograph Clivocast Standing Stone Shetland

Tour Scotland photograph of Clivocast Standing Stone, Unst, Shetland Islands, Scotland. This Stone is said to mark the spot where the son of the Viking Harald Harfager was killed some time around 900AD. Unst, in common with the rest of Shetland, contains a very wide and varied range of archaeological sites going back some 5,000 years.



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Tour Scotland Photograph Muckle Flugga Lighthouse Shetland Islands

Tour Scotland photograph of Muckle Flugga Lighthouse, north of Unst in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Muckle Flugga, a small rocky island, is home to the Muckle Flugga Lighthouse, built by Thomas and David Stevenson in 1854, originally to protect ships during the Crimean War. Muckle Flugga was one of the few lighthouses in Scotland which had a separate shore station that served as accommodation for the lighthouse keepers when they were off duty, similar to Sule Skerry and its shore station in Stromness, Orkney. The shore station was sold off when the lighthouse was automated.



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Tour Scotland Photograph Road Sign Shetland Islands

Tour Scotland photograph of an interesting road sign on the Shetland Islands, Scotland.

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Tour Scotland Photograph Great Skua

Tour Scotland photograph of a Great Skua on the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Commonly known in Scotland as the " bonxie ", a Shetland dialect word, the great skua is one of the largest and certainly the most aggressive of all European seabirds.

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Old Photographs Of Shetland Scotland

Old photographs of Shetland, Scotland. Based on the extensive collection of old photographs and postcards gathered over the years by Shetland native Douglas Smith, this beautifully presented book provides fascinating insight into the lives of Shetlanders from the 19th to the mid 20th centuries. As is usual in a fishing and maritime community, the men folk were typically absent for long periods of time at sea and the role of women was vital to the life of the islands. They are pictured here performing task as varied as gutting the herring catch, knitting the complex Fair Isle patterns and gossamer thin shawls for which the islands are famous, cutting and drying peat for fuel, shelling bait for the fishermen and burning seaweed for Kelp to supply chemical manufacturers. The wartime period 1939 to 1945 and the island’s crucial role as a lifeline to occupied Norway via the “Shetland Bus” is detailed and there are some fine examples of the unique and mysterious Brochs, substantial round stone defensive towers located throughout the islands. The herring and whaling boats, social occasions such as football and dancing, not to mention the annual Up-Helly-Aa fire festival celebration are all covered in this very comprehensive volume. Old Shetland.

Shetland Islands Up Helly Aa Photographs.

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Tour Scotland Photograph Gulberwick Shetland Islands

Tour Scotland photograph of the graveyard cemetery at Gulberwick, located two miles South West of Lerwick, South Mainland, Shetland Islands, Scotland. The ancient parish of Gulberwick was annexed in 1722 to Lerwick, having previously been united to Dingwall. Gulberwick is located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is is about 210 miles North North East of Aberdeen, 230 miles West of Bergen in Norway and 230 miles South East of Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands.



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Old Photograph Shetland Peat Carrier Scotland

An old photograph of a peat carrier on the Shetland Islands, Scotland.

Old Photograph Shetland Knitters Scotland

Old photograph of crofters knitting in a cottage on the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Women ran the croft and knitted at home whenever time allowed. It was the Norse settlers in the 9th century who brought the native sheep to Shetland. A hardy breed which lived off the sparse vegetation and seaweed, their wool was woven into a cloth called Wadmal. But the texture of Shetland wool, soft, light and warm was more suited to knitting than weaving, so knitting became the main craft of the Islands and a significant part of the economy.



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Old Photograph Peat Gatherers Shetland Islands Scotland

Old photograph of Peat Gatherers on the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Some Scotch whisky distilleries, such as those on Islay, use peat fires to dry malted barley. The drying process takes about 30 hours. This gives the whiskies a distinctive smoky flavour, often called " peatiness ". The peatiness, or degree of peat flavor, of a whisky is calculated in ppm of phenol. The normal Highland whiskies have a peat level of up to 30 ppm, and the whiskies on Islay usually have up to 50 ppm. In rare types, like the Octomore, the whisky can have more than 100 ppm of peat.



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