The böds are run by the Shetland Amenity Trust, you have to take your own sleeping bags. The morning was wet so we walked to the Jarlshof prehistoric village, dating from 2500BC and remarkably well preserved. It was a pleasant walk despite the light rain, much of it along a white sand beach refreshingly free of plastic and fishing detritus. Only a few other visitors were present, the custodian told us that 800 were booked tomorrow on an excursion from a cruise ship so we were so lucky to be able to wander round in peace and reflect on the lives our distant predecessors lived, so completely different from ours.
We called into the Sumburgh Hotel for butternut squash soup and to dry out and warm up, then returned along the beach to the böd. Victor, the French cyclist, was still waiting for the rain to stop, which it did at 14:00 and quickly cleared to bright sunshine. We rode off to Sumburgh Head and spent a long time watching the puffins and fulmars.
5 miles