Shetland Wool Week - Day 3 (Tuesday)

Well, despite my best intentions, I’m now two days behind!

Tuesday was Jen’s birthday, and we had beautiful but windy weather! We started the day with breakfast out and a wander through the shops on Commercial Street since we didn’t have any classes. We went back to Jamieson’s of Shetland but miraculously came out with nothing but food for thought. (I think that has been the only visit to a yarn shop that yielded nothing for either of us. That said, I’m heading in there shortly for a sweater quantity for the Sandvoe sweater, which is by a Shetland designer.)

Our Shelties, Sheep and Ponies tour set off in the afternoon with tour guide Anita and fellow tourist Karen from Australia. Anita drove us northwest along a scenic route (all of Shetland is a scenic route!) to Breckenlea Croft near Bixter. We stopped for some photos along the way.

Once at the Croft, we met Marion, who has had sheep for the past 30-some years and is an award-winning breeder, too, of Shetland sheepdogs (Shelties) and Shetland ponies. Her sheep are very tame and used to human contact. Snoopy, in particular, loved to be petted and would situate herself well for head and chin scratches.

Marion showed us the lovely crimp in their fleece and explained some about the water-repellant nature of it that helps to keep them warm. They are sheared once per year, in July, netting 1-2 kilograms of wool per fleece. 

Her sheep were in a pen for the tour but usually roam the vast expanse of a property that includes her house, her parents’ house, and her daughter’s house. Crofting is a very multigenerational thing. Many crofters, though, work outside the croft, too, to make ends meet.

After visiting the sheep, Marion introduced us to Samira, who won Best Female and Best Bred in the Miniature Shetland Pony category at the Royal Highland Show in 2025. I’m terribly allergic to horses but wasn’t bothered at all petting Samira. She was lovely!

And then came the Shelties. Marion clearly loves all her animals, but the dogs seem to be her favourites. Apparently, they are the best dogs in the world. (But don’t we all have the best dogs in the world?) 😉 She explained how they are hard to breed, and it doesn’t always take, so they have almost died out several times. Scotland has laws around breeding, which was good for this dog rescuer to hear. No bitch can be bred more than three times. (Marion also has been involved dog rescue.)

We left the croft, Jen and I both with a new book in hand, and headed to the original honesty box in Shetland, the Cake Fridge.

Back in Lerwick, we had a bit of time before heading out for Jen’s birthday dinner at Fjara. We had a good meal with an excellent dessert and then drove back to the flat. 

I just had to walk to the end of the street to get this photo of the moon over the sea by the Lodberries. What a great end to a great day!