Scotland in January – Vikings, Huskies & Skiing
The main reason for my trip north to Scotland was to attend the Up Helly Aa festival which the organisers describe as ‘Europe’s largest fire festival’. The festival takes place in Lerwick on the Shetland Islands, held on the last Tuesday in January. Being such a long way from London I decided it would be better to take a whole week off and to explore The Cairngorms too, somewhere I’d not visited for a number of years.
And so one Friday evening a group of us left London, spending the night in Carlisle before arriving in Aviemore on Saturday afternoon. That very weekend Aviemore was hosting the annual Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain Sled Dog Rally and with all the snow we’ve had this year it seemed the perfect place to visit. Apparently the last time the event had taken place in snow was 1995!
Aviemore Sled Dog Rally
On Sunday afternoon we had to leave Aviemore and head to Aberdeen for our overnight ferry to Lerwick. It turned out to be a rough crossing and a few of us were seasick. Fortunately our cabins were near the middle of the boat where the motion was much less and I was able to get a decent night’s sleep.
The ferry docked in Lerwick early on Monday morning and a blustery day was spent exploring the rugged coastline in the south of the island, including Sumburgh Head and Bigton. One of the locations visited was Jarlshof which is considered to be an important archaeological site, with remains of Bronze Age, Iron Age and Viking settlements.
Tuesday was festival day. Around a thousand local men take part, forming squads that don costumes and prepare routines for late night entertainment that takes place in halls across Lerwick. The main squad consists of about 40-50 Vikings who march through the streets during the day with brass bands, stopping to visit schools, hospitals and public buildings.
Up Helly Aa - Viking parade through Lerwick streets
Once night falls people begin to gather at the burn site where a Viking Galley is placed and the squads congregate in their costumes to collect their fire torches before marching in the streets close to the Galley singing Up Helly Aa songs. The men then circle around the galley, the air thick with the smell of paraffin, before throwing their torches into the galley, setting is ablaze. Once the outdoor festivities were over is was time to head to The British Legion for dancing, live music and to watch the squads as they performed their routines.
Wednesday was to be our last day on The Shetlands and so we decided to explore the north of the island. Some of the islands that make up the Shetlands can only be reached by taking another ferry and so we only visited Brae, Esherness and Muckle Roe, stopping to watch the seas crash against the rocks and visiting a cafe for the customary hot drink and piece of cake. As the light began to fade it was time to think about making our way back to Lerwick to catch our ferry back to Aberdeen. Mercifully, despite a forecast to the contrary the return crossing seemed calmer and I was not seasick.
Once back on the mainland we headed back to Aviemore where we visited Cairngorm Sleddog Centre, a remote cottage where owners Alan and Fiona Stewart live. The Stewart family are fanatical about Sleddog racing and their son John is due to take part in The Iditarod, a 1,150 mile race that takes place in Alaska. The Stewart’s have about 40 dogs at the centre, all of whom live outside the cottage in fenced areas.
Sled Dogs at The Cairngorm Sleddog Centre
A few of the dogs are purebred Siberian Huskies but most are Alaskan Huskies which make the best sleddog racers and these tend to be a Husky-German Short Hair Pointer cross. During our visit we met many of the dogs, some of which have raced at the highest level. We even had the chance to meet some puppies which could well be part of a future Iditarod team. The climax of our visit was a sleddog trip in the forest which the dogs seem to eagerly look forward to, howling with excitement when they realise it’s time for work!
Friday was to be our last day in Scotland. A few in the group wanted to go skiing and with the conditions the way they were it seemed an ideal time. Whilst not of the standard of the European Alps, this part of Scotland does still offer local skiers and boarders the chance to hit the slopes.
Cairngorm Ski Resort
Scotland in January had given us some fun experiences and memories but come Saturday morning it was time to begin the long drive back to London.
This entry was posted on Sunday, February 7th, 2010 at 8:45 am and is filed under My Travels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
