Northmavine Up Helly Aa

We're getting more adventurous! Tonight we ventured into what felt a very remote part of Shetland at night to see the burning of a local Up Helly Aa. 

At 5 pm, just as it was getting dark, we headed north along the big highway. By big, I mean one lane in each direction with a speed limit of 60 mph. Half an hour later, we made it to Brae, and Frankie's Fish and Chips, one of the best chippies in the UK. It was! The fish was huge and the breading was crisp and delicious. We'd been reading about farmed mussels, so we got some steamed in blue cheese. They were delicious! I wish we could share. Fresh seafood is just so good. 

Dark had fallen while we ate. We headed off for Hillswick, armed with the memory of a hand drawn map we got at the tourist office. The main highway, the A970, goes all the way to Hillswick, but as we got closer, it went from two lanes to one. Yes, one. For both directions of traffic. That's a single track. In some ways they're safer at night, because you can see people coming, But I worried about where I was going to park along it. 

We drove all the way into tiny of town of Hillswick, then backtracked to find the galley in a field by the Hillswick Hall. 

We parked near the end of the procession - near the site of the burning. We hoped. And waited. And looked at the sky. It was gorgeous. With so little light around, the stars were so bright! No northern lights - oh well. But it was a lovely evening. Slightly windy, not raining or sleeting or hailing. 

We arrived around 7 pm. The procession started around 7:30 and reached us around 8 - a LOT of people carrying burning torches. 

They sang the Up Helly Aa song, then threw their torches on the galley to light it up. They also launched this galley onto a bit of water. We were kind of shocked by the casual use of open fire. Lots of sparks falling to the grasslands. But things are pretty damp here, and it was all OK. Actually - it was really beautiful. Sad - they burned the gorgeous galley - but dramatic! 

We had a lovely chat with a guy from Orkney who was in the Jarl squad. You can kind of see how cold it was out and the jarl squad costumes. 

Afterwards, we had a 45 minute drive home in the dark. Up to 60 mph in the total dark, no street lights, with firths and voes to one side or another. It was a little nerve wracking, but just fine. I blessed the high beams! Quite an adventure. 

Up next: Sun and Gale