Adventure
Shetland and Orkney
I’m off on my travels again to explore some of the remotest islands in the UK. I have visited Shetland several times as my brother lived here for years as a resident doctor. He left in the mid-90s, so a return visit was well overdue, and I was really looking forward to it. Also, I had never visited Orkney, and it was a place I needed to see so I could tick it off on my bucket list.
Usually, I’d fly all the way. Still, on this trip, we flew to Aberdeen and then caught the overnight ferry that docked in Kirkwall, Orkney and then onto Lerwick in Shetland. I couldn’t come all this way and not drop into my good friend Callum Richardson’s’ fabulous fish and chip shop in Stonehaven, just outside Aberdeen. I first met him when I filmed here many years ago purely for the reason that he was one of the first chippies to use only sustainable fish like haddock on his menu, something he continues to do to this day. This multi-award-winning chippy is an absolute must if you’re up this way.
So, back to it, the flight was fine, and the ferry trip was perfect; the sea was calm, and I slept like a baby, arriving suitably refreshed and ready to go.
I recommend visiting Shetland & Orkney from June to August, although any time of the year is good to visit the city.
Month High / Low(°C) – Rain
January 6° / 2° – 20 days
February 6° / 2° – 16 days
March 7° / 3° – 17 days
April 9° / 4° – 12 days
May 11° / 6° – 10 days
June 13° / 8° – 9 days
July 15° / 10° – 10 days
August 15° / 11° – 11 days
September 13° / 9° – 15 days
October 11° / 7° – 18 days
November 8° / 4° – 20 days
December 7° / 3° – 20 days
Lerwick
Just going off the point slightly, I have been rereading Keith Floyd’s travel books purely because I came across them while cataloguing them at home. One in particular I forgot was Floyd Round the Med, published in 1999. This book was published at the end of his notoriety as he sadly died some ten years later. His television career was spectacular, to say the least; at his peak, he was a huge star, commanding huge amounts of money globally. But as his fame dwindled and food on television moved on, he did become a little grumpy. Towards the end of his last few cooking series, he started to argue with the director or be sharp with the cameraman and would make sarcastic comments.
It is all a bit sad, but I loved his early presenting style and how he casually drew you into his world with his relaxed, charming, intelligent wit and humour, which has never been repeated in my eyes. (I based my early cooking presenting style on watching him) ‘So my dear faded gastronaut’, as Floyd would say. Well, after rereading his Med book what comes through is he had a massive dislike for touristy food or from the big restaurant chains.
He would look at even supposedly local food in places such as Cannes or Athens (a place Floyd called a dump) with disdain if he didn’t think it was real food for the everyday person. With his book fresh in my mind, I thought about what he would say about Ponto Delgada‘s food. Hopefully, like me, he would be rather happy with the choices I have made and will share with you.
"The lads take us on a short motor trip to the mussel lines. The mussels grow on huge ropes suspended in some of the cleanest seawater in the world. This makes them thrive and stops them from ingesting sand and grit, making them unpleasant to eat."
Mussel Harvesting
The next stop is a small harbour where we meet mussel fisherman Mark and his brother Lyndsay. The wind is getting up, and the weather changes for the worse, and it hammers down. Thankfully, it was only for a few minutes, but the wind was a nightmare for the drone shots, even though the sun was out.
The lads take us on a short motor trip to the mussel lines. The mussels grow on huge ropes suspended in some of the cleanest seawater in the world. This makes them thrive and stops them from ingesting sand and grit, making them unpleasant to eat. We haul up an enormous wall of seaweed and mussels like some weird sea creature from a 50s horror movie about to take over the boat! Mark and I start to harvest mussels for the cook; they are clean as a whistle. He tells me they harvest in the region of 3,000 tonnes every year.
Cooking in Challenging Places
My cooking strand on the ship is easy with fabulous ingredients like this. As I always say, great food starts with good ingredients. So, with that in mind, take a saucepan full of seawater and add a generous handful of seaweed. Next, I add a little garlic powder, pepper and a touch of curry powder. Bring that to a simmer, add the freshly picked mussels, cover with a lid, and steam for about 10 minutes. The result is a perfect way to respect consuming these beautiful molluscs.
Back at Busta, dinner is served (no alcohol indoors; it was the end of COVID-19, a bizarre Scottish rule), so we stand outside and have a beer and whisky to celebrate my 60th birthday. A birthday cake appears, and a fab day is had by all.
It's so so Cold
The next day, I take a dip in the sea, fully wet-suited-up. For the record, Ryan and Emma wanted me to swim without a wetsuit, like they do! Not a chance, even with a wetsuit, I feel like I had been run over and left in the snow for two days. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you must have something seriously wrong with you if you think this is pleasurable. It was one of the worst things I have ever done, period. They tell me they swim every day all year round; well, I would take my hat off to you if I could feel my bloody fingers.
Janice (The boss) decided to join me. As she’s a hardened West Country surfer, she couldn’t see the problem and told me to go under the water so she could film me on a GoPro. That was it. I’m out, and I can say this: I will never do that voluntarily again.
Later, I take in the beautiful scenery as I thaw out in Richie’s car on the way back for lunch. I can see why people want to escape and live on these remote islands; it’s staggeringly beautiful here. On the way, we stop at Emma’s brightly coloured honesty cake-shed in Hoswick. These have been quite popular on Shetland since farmer and baker Lynn Johnson started hers in 2012; they were delicious and a welcome treat, especially the honeycomb tiffin.
A Much Deserved Lunch
After a quick lunch of jacket spuds and cheese, which is always an excellent quick and filling staple when filming, we drive up the island to meet the Budge family. Sisters Aimee and Kirsty took over the farm when their father was tragically killed on the farm a few years ago. With help from an uncle, they are now a thriving farm with 600 sheep, 100 cows and 6 Shetland ponies. They are lovely people and work hard to preserve the land and their stock. We spend a good couple of hours chatting while getting great shots in the gorgeous sunshine. My favourite shot is being driven on a quad bike across a sandbar to their private island to check on the sheep.
Shetland and Ronaldsay Lamb
Another early start and a quick ferry trip to meet Chris Dyer on Bressay. He’s a fireman, a part-time sheep farmer and a very cool guy. We chat about sheep and growing vegetables. His greenhouse, built from old, farmed salmon cages, is very impressive. They grow a fabulous variety of fruits and vegetables here, including cherries, pears, apples, peas and a large selection of salads. This is a rarity here as the weather can be pretty severe, and there’s no way you could grow them outside. My brother used to say on Shetland that there are only two seasons: June and Winter; I rest my case.
Shetland and Ronaldsay lamb are some of the tastiest, and I just had to use them in one of my cooking pieces. After filming, we say our goodbyes and take the short ferry ride back to Lerwick.
Puffin Watching
That done, we head back south again to Sumburgh Head, the southerly part of Shetland, where the airport is to look for puffins; on the way, we have to stop as the road crosses the runway and wait for the plane to land. Security let me do a piece to camera on the crossing and wave over a family with kids on bikes. The weather is beautiful and the perfect backdrop to set up to film these elusive birds.
We meet up with Kevin from the RSPB, whose job is to count and keep an eye on them; what a great job. We see half a dozen or more nipping in and out of their burrows, and I manage to get a shot of one. A couple fly in with beaks full of sand eels, and Sam is happy. After driving back to Busta, we feast on chicken curry and sticky toffee pudding; Ritchie drinks too much as usual and falls asleep at the table!
Cooking Live is Easy
We are up early the next day as we have a live cook to do for ITV’s This Morning. Ritchie and Sam are finding the best location for the cook with a picturesque backdrop and the best signal back to London. I managed to get the mussel lads to drop off some superb scallops that morning and looked for other ingredients. Busta garden at that time of the year did have wild garlic and some lovely rhubarb. We had a dish: sautéed scallops, wild garlic, sharp rhubarb relish and haggis, spot on.
The first couple of pieces to camera earlier in the show to explain where I was were bathed in beautiful morning sunshine. However, as I was about to cook (my boss in London made me take my jacket off to show off my Fairisle jumper), it started snowing. I could see the ice crystals melting in my frying pan! The dish was delicious, and the presenters equally enjoyed it. The great thing about live telly is it’s done in 7-8 minutes.
We reset and cooked a second dish for the film, which we would add later. Almost all filming is shot out of sequence, so it makes sense to do it this way. This time, the cooking is straightforward. Tip-top Shetland lamb and wild garlic burgers served in Bannocks (flatbreads).
Cleared and packed, we head back to Lerwick to catch the 6-hour ferry to Orkney for the next part of our journey. We arrive at the Merkister Hotel at 10:30 p.m. It’s set on the side of Harray Loch. The owners let us in, and we had a beer in my room.
Harray Loch Trout Fishing
It’s up early to a beautiful sunny day, although a bit windy, and at breakfast, we meet our ghillie John, who has been fishing the loch for many years. We film getting in the boat, meeting John, etc., and heading out in two boats to start fishing. Once out, the weather takes a dramatic turn, and in one hour, we had all four seasons. I didn’t catch anything, but John did. Thank goodness we had a nice loch brown trout for the cook.
Back on dry land, the sun bursts through, perfect for my cooking film. Again, I want to use local ingredients, so I stuff the cleaned and boned whole trout with smoked haddock and a squeeze of lemon. Then sauté gently in Orkney butter and serve with local beetroot chutney and oatcakes. Fresh as a daisy, it was superb, and again, less is more when you have fish as fresh as this.
A Hearty Lunch
Lunch at the hotel was a lovely Scottish soup made of smoked haddock, potatoes, and onions called Cullen Skink. It was served with crusty bread and a glass of wine.
We head back to Kirkwall and onto the Churchill Barrier to meet John, the trike man. He has a company that takes tourists around the island on his trike. It’s a great way to get about, and you also get some great stuff on your phone as you don’t have to hang on! We do a couple of runs, and the boss is happy; it is always a bonus when you have great weather. John drops me back in Kirkwall at the Highland Park Distillery.
We filmed here with Sergio, a chap I met many years ago, watching the whole process and tasting some exceptional whiskies. Then, we move on to the Kirkjuvagr Gin Distillery right on the quay. Again, we filmed with Steve and Lily and tasted many of their local gins. Again, thank goodness I’m not driving!
The Tiny Island of North Ronaldsay
The next day, we arrived at Kirkwall airport to fly a short hop to North Ronaldsay to film some extraordinary animals. The island is small. It has one road, one shop/café and a lighthouse. As we land, our bicycles are ready to be collected. We cycle off to meet Kevin from the sheep court, who takes care of all the sheep on the island. He explains that North Ronaldsay sheep are unique and survive in winter solely on seaweed they scavenge from the beach. With about 2,000 sheep and only 70 humans on this tiny island, only 3 x 2 miles, they outnumber the human population vastly. I also met Heather, a local councillor who was born and raised on the island and would live nowhere else. Easy to see why!
I cooked two dishes using the local lamb, one a simple barbeque chop with salt and pepper. I cooked them in their unique back fat, so they rendered nicely. The dark colour and deep-flavoured meat are very different from any lamb I have eaten before.
The second dish was a Lamb Soup, made with local lamb leg chunks, parsnip, onion, and carrot, which I bought from the only shop on the island. I added dried mint, a few slivers of salted anchovy, and some seaweed to boost the savoury umami flavour. I simmered it slowly for 1 hour and 30 minutes until tender. Both went down well and were really tasty.
After, we cycled for 20 minutes or so down to the lighthouse for my last piece to camera before we headed back to the tiny airstrip. Our small 8-seater plane arrived and flew us back to Kirkwall and dinner at Merkister.
Sea Kayaking
The final day of our trip was to catch a ferry to Shapinsay for a spot of sea kayaking with a nice chap called Kristian and his buddy. They are builders in winter and run sea kayaking trips in the long summer days. I thought it would be a nice, leisurely morning, but I didn’t realise how difficult it was. We spent 30-40 minutes getting used to the kayak, any slight wrong move and you’re in the drink. In the end, we got the job done, but once out, my thighs ached for ages, much to the merriment of Janice.
After lunch, we did a final couple of pieces to camera and a complete list of voice-overs, saving me from going into the studio once the edit was done.
We drove back to Stromness and boarded the ferry that would take us back to the mainland. As we left, the sun was out. Still, after an hour or so, the weather deteriorated and was misty and drizzly, which was a shame as I wanted to get some great pics of the Old Man of Hoy; oh well, I’ll just have to come back soon.
We were fortunate on the whole with the weather, and it’s been a great trip, meeting some great people and eating some fantastic food. This was more memorable because I had my 60th birthday here. It is a truly unforgettable location for a birthday.
Inspired Recipes
Some recipes inspired by my all-too-brief trip to Shetland & Orkney
Roasted Red Pepper & Sardines on Toast (Diabetes Meal Planner)
This old classic of sardines on toast, combined with sweet red peppers and seasonings, is simply delicious.
View RecipeWarm Smoked Mackerel with Marinated Roast Carrots and Horseradish Mayo
I love all smoked fish; eels are my particular favourite. There are two types of smoked fish - hot or cold smoked. Cold smoked fish, such as smoked salmon, are just warmed in a low smoke to take on the flavour. Mackerel and eels, though, are actually cooked in hot smoke.
View RecipeSalt & Pepper Squid
Imagine biting into a crispy, golden-brown exterior that gives way to tender, succulent pieces of squid with just the right amount of seasoning. That's precisely what you can expect from Salt & Pepper Squid.
View Recipe