Today was our final day in Aberdeen. We’d seen all we needed to, so we treated ourselves to the luxury of sleeping in a little later (not me though, I had to get up early to finish last night’s blog post). At about 9.30 am we walked over to Union Square and found a good place for a leisurely breakfast. Before returning to our apartment, we walked over to the ferry terminal to make sure we were clear on how to get to it later in the morning.
The apartment has been a good base for the past few days, close to shops, restaurants, the railway station and the ferry terminal. It’s not much to look at from outside and we only had one shower between us, but we quite liked it. We checked out and wheeled our cases down the street , through a car park, through the walkway above the railway line, through the Union Square shopping complex and across to the ferry terminal. There was a wool shop on the way, but, to Marg’s credit, she only stopped so I could take a photo (and possibly because there’s no room in her suitcase for any more wool at the moment). We arrived at the ferry terminal by about midday and checked in, three hours before we were due to. We found some seats and just relaxed. We were happy to wait there until it was time to board the ferry. We had nothing else that we wanted to do.
After a time one of the staff allowed us to stow our suitcases in the luggage hold before it was due to be opened. We’d decided to just bring a small amount of carry-on luggage to our cabins and stow everything else away until we reach Lerwick in the morning.
We boarded the ferry, MV Hjaltland (the old Norse name for Shetland) at 3 pm and were ushered to our room, down a long corridor, similar to what we’d had on the river cruise recently. Our room has a sea view, bunks, a writing desk and an en suite, so we’re travelling in relative comfort on this voyage. Janie and Neil have a similar cabin. Some passengers are just going to spend the fourteen and a half hour voyage sitting upright in seats.
Booking two of the better cabins entitled us to use the Magnus Lounge, similar to the flight lounge at an airport, where soft drinks, coffee, fruit, newspapers etc were all available, so we found a table and settled in to enjoy the voyage.
At 4.45 pm, 15 minutes before it was due to leave, the ferry engines started and we were on our way. I can only assume that all passengers had come on board in good time. I went up on deck to get some photos as we cruised slowly out of Aberdeen’s harbour and turned north, heading for Kirkwall in Orkney. The voyage to Kirkwall would cover a distance of about 250 km and take about six hours.
We travelled north following the coastline until we passed Fraserburgh on our port side, and continued in a northerly direction towards Kirkwall. We could still see the Scottish coast in the distance. The sea was very calm and the swell was almost non-existent, which made it a very comfortable journey all the way to Orkney. We ate our dinner in the Magnus Lounge, ordered some drinks (freebies that came with our cabin bookings) and chatted to a husband and wife who were returning home to Shetland after a holiday in Scandinavia. The man was a crocheter, so he, Marg and Janie swapped stories about some of their projects and showed each other examples of their work.
The ferry docked at Kirkwall at about 11 pm. A pilot boat had come out about half an hour earlier to help it come in. Marg was asleep in the top bunk, but I went out on deck at the stern of the ferry to take some photos. It was surprisingly mild out there, not cold at all and there was no wind. I watched the crew throw down the ropes to the guys on the dock to secure the boat. It was a bit of a challenge getting back to the cabin because there was quite a large group of people gathered by the door waiting to disembark. I guess new passengers also came aboard at this time.
I’m going to bed shortly. It’s about 11.30 pm and we’re still docked at Kirkwall. We have about another 185 km to travel before we reach Lerwick just after 7 am tomorrow morning. I hope the second leg of this voyage is as calm as the first. The surface of the North Sea has been as calm as a millpond, almost giving the impression that we’re in a hotel, rather than out at sea.
On The Road With Garry 