Island Hopping and The Start Of A Thriller?

Adventures from an empty wooden hotel in a remote part of Shetland.

“No-one comes to Shetland in the winter,” the landlady laughed. “Everywhere is shut anyway.”

As we stood, our suitcases at our feet, bouncing the one year old on my hip and our two other children stood bewildered next to us, we cast our eyes over the hotel that had been booked for us that night. A hotel, which until a few seconds ago, we presumed would be bustling with tourists and locals coming to the bar for an evening drink after a busy day of hard graft. I had even called ahead to book a table for tea! They managed to avoid telling me that they were actually closed (winter season) and had only opened one of their timber framed doors, for us to stay there that night.

The Views Though.

I repeated my mantra which I had planned for the whole trip: “It is an adventure. It is an adventure.”

And an adventure indeed it was. Shetland in the winter. I had been commissioned to write about our trip just a month prior, and here we were with three young children, our suitcases stuffed with layers of warm wooly clothes and nappies, anticipation and tiredness consuming us all. A very early morning flight from Edinburgh combined with an action packed itinerary left two parents feeling pretty whacked. Luckily children seem to have an extra battery source and can keep going longer than expected.

As we had approached the very brown looking hotel in our hire car, the thought had crossed my mind that this would make the perfect setting for a book. The view behind us, out towards the powerful sea, white horses crashing against dramatic cliff edges that dropped off into nothingness, was lined with clear blue skies and was the picture of Shetland I had in head prior to the trip. The view in front of us was a little more imposing. The brown exterior of the hotel was framed by dark swirling clouds that were beginning to form in the north, adding to the drama of our location. Perhaps a broad Scottish romance or else a thriller. Pushing that thought out my head, we parked the car up and started to unload everything except the baby’s carrier. We wouldn’t be walking on foot anywhere from here today.

The landlady turned out to be a lovely lady, who went out of her way to make us feel at home. She cooked a delicious tea, accommodating the three different orders for the kids. We sat eating our tea, constantly feeling guilty that she had opened up a room, made the beds and cooked our food, during a period that is usually the time for hotel owners to make repairs, update their rooms and perhaps take a holiday themselves.

We weren’t aware, when we received our winter itinerary for Shetland, that most of the “tourist attractions” were closed over the coldest months of the year. Indeed, most people we spoke to, asked if we were mad coming to the remote islands at this time of year.

It didn’t bother us though. Everywhere was quiet, and with a feisty one year in tow it suited us just fine.

The whole trip had been planned for us, by Promote Shetland and so far we HAD loved every minute of our winter adventure. I have told you before about how I am a warm weather creature, however I do often find myself drawn to these adventures that involve sub zero temperatures and barren lands. (Iceland was probably the best school trip I ever went on.)

Shetland is beautiful, just like any of the other Scottish Isles. But it hosts a rather Scandinavian feel to it. We loved that. From place names such as “Veensgarth” and “Voe” to the houses (and our hotel) built from wood.

Shetland is an archipelago in the North Sea, made up of around 100 islands. We travelled up to the highest cafe in Britain: Victorias Vintage Tearoom, which again is usually closed until the spring, with our guide who was invaluable for his knowledge of the history and wildlife on the islands.

Back to the hotel. We had to split rooms. I find this is a common occurrence as a family of five, it can be tricky finding hotel rooms to accommodate you all. So I was sleeping with the girls, while my husband and son slept next door.

We were the only ones in the hotel and for the first time, I felt extremely vulnerable. As I lay in the pitch black, the manuscript of a thriller was coming together in my head. I have no interest in writing thrillers, I don’t think. Children’s picture books and romances are more my cup of tea, however in the time I laid there trying to get to sleep, I think I must have thought up a whole plot line plus character arcs.

It was a huge relief when my oldest daughter, who I was sharing the bed with, rolled over and whispered in my ear: “Mummy, can we put a light on?”.

The bedside lamp stayed on all night and we eventually fell asleep.

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Something crazy dawned on me the other day. I originally started this Substack because I wanted to write more long form again, wean myself off of Instagram a bit (not missing it at all you will be pleased to hear, neither has it effected my work opportunities in any way - interesting), and share stories once more.

I called my page “The Adventure Started With You” in the hope it would be a space to write a few travel pieces. I haven’t written any since I started, apart from a few Northumberland updates. Different stories have come to mind first.

So I shall make time to include some more travel pieces, especially now we are all desperate to escape our country it seems. Sick of the political politics and money harvesting energy companies.

I have been consuming so much travel content recently it has been filling my head with dreams and more list making. Do you do this too? Sometimes the planning stage is just as enjoyable I find.

Some things I have been enjoying:

• Simon Reeve travel documentaries on BBC iPlayer.

• Barter Books in Alnwick (A wonderful second hand bookshop set in an old railway station) for old travel books. They aren’t up to date or relevant but the adventures are just as inspiring. I also buy a lot of romance and children’s books from here too.

• We are now three months into the year - time to check in with those goals made on the 1st of January and see how I am getting on. Reflecting on the unexpected and celebrating the small wins.

• Lighter mornings. Hooray! I actually managed to go out for a run the other morning, at 6am, just before the toddler woke up.