A leisurely start as Christine hadn’t slept well because of a lumpy mattress and didn’t get up until 08:00. I rode to Tesco for bread and jam for tomorrow’s breakfast and we caught the 10:00 ferry to Bressay. Also travelling were two cyclists from Hay on Wye with whom we coincidentally have mutual friends in the town. We rode across the island, left our bikes in the parking area and walked down to the small jetty for the short hop to the Isle of Noss. The warden brought the small inflatable dinghy across to take us over for a £5 each charge.
It was very cold and blustery and I soon regretted not bringing warmer clothing, two layers plus a cagoule being insufficient. The gannet colonies were spectacular but we failed to see any puffins. Back at the Noss jetty a great skua sat unconcerned at our presence, these birds are fearless. A short but hard ride against the wind returned us across Bressay where we just missed the 15:45 ferry to Lerwick. The heritage centre kept us warm and educated us, then the 16:20 took us back to the island’s capital.
Christine complained about the mattress and the warden replaced it with a new one so she slept well. He explained that they replaced all their mattresses a year ago but they hadn’t worn well, they’ll be replacing them all again from a different manufacturer.
6 miles