Shetland in a Campervan: Wild cliffs, Stunning Beaches and Puffins Galore 

Ah thank you so much for your kind words! It seems a very big number 😬

Thank you! We are really loving what we do at the moment. We are feeling very blessed👍

Thanks Janet, and thank you for sharing the channel. We just love what we are doing at the moment and enjoying the community that is building round the channel of like minded people. 🙏 Have a great week👍

Wow you have done some epic trips in your camper! Richard is really keen to go to both Sicily and Nordkapp at some point in the future. Having the freedom to just pack up the van and get out exploring the world is just so fantastic - even when we were working it was our saviour to be able to plan lots of weekend escapes as well as holidays. Shetland surpassed any and all of our expectations 😊

Thanks for this Neil. We are not thinking of a drone just yet as we are still getting to grips with the cameras that we have😂 My only concern is that they are a bit unpredictable in the wind and sometimes I feel that they can be a little obtrusive if people are around??? Hope the start of term is going well for you? 👍

🙏

It's a crazy world on the hook front Carol😬- wait until you see next Sundays video...but I won't spoil the anticipation😂 Thanks for your kind words- it makes it easy to capture images when the scenery is beautiful and the weather is being kind. Have a good week👍

Glad you enjoyed it 😊 The hiking in the Northmavine peninsula of the island was definitely my favourite of the whole trip. The cliffs were stunningly wild and rugged, the beaches remote and beautiful and the purple moorland with the heathers in bloom were just the icing on the cake!

Oh you will love Orkney- so much to see and do. The history options are amazing as well as island hopping- our next video is on our 48 hours on Hoy. Be aware you may need to book these smaller ferries, but it is really easy on line. We visited and stayed on Hoy and Westray. Have a great time. Shetland isn't going anywhere and will still be there for you. 👍

@@earlyretirementwanderlust thanks for the advice about ferries, got them booked now so all should be fine. We are visiting Hoy, want to see the Old Man and the Scapa museum. Really looking forward to it now, I still cannot believe the freedom the van has given us and the places we have visited. Hopefully next year we will have 7 day weekends and have more time for adventures.

Hoy was beautiful and Richard really enjoyed the scape flow history - he also enjoyed the drive over the Churchill barriers and exploring the drive across to South Ronaldsay.

Thanks - Shetland and the islands surpassed all our expectations - it was wonderful. We have the medium fire pit and have a link in our Amazon shop to it. The small would literally only burn kindling it is quite tiny.

Thank you Graham- we appreciate your kind words and support🙏 Have a great week👍

Thank you - we have absolutely loved the Shetland and Orkney Islands. We haven't watched Shetland as we don't have a TV license and its on BBC! I will have to Binge watch it when we are mums next week as it will be really interesting seeing all the views 😊 I do also like a good detective drama so double bonus.

@@earlyretirementwanderlust It's nicely written, with some great acting. The nearest I've been in my campervan is the Isle of Lewis - also lovely, though I did visit in mid-winter :-)

@quentinsf we were on Lewis in November 2 years ago which we really enjoyed with the very stormy skies and beaches - we had most places on the island to ourselves and were stranded there for 2 days while a storm passed through 🤣

Thank you so much 😊 We have loved Shetland and Orkney - a trip of a lifetime 🚐

Thank you - that does feel like such a huge milestone! We loved the hiking in this video on the cliffs - it was stunning 🥾🚐

Yes apparently so! Sadly we didn’t see any - oh well we will have return 🚐 glad you enjoyed the video - the cliffs and scenery were beautiful in the north west.

Thank you so much - your lovely comment about the quality of the videos made Richards day 😊 We have loved our time in Scotland and on the Islands - you live in a very beautiful country.

The islands have been absolutely wonderful but to be fair we love Scotland in general. The mountains, the coastline and the cities are all pretty spectacular.

Hi Jonathan- thanks for this. We are in the research phase of our next van and we have a few ideas. We defiantly will be going for a 5.4m van due to where we live in the Dales. We will also be looking for a high van with on board facilities which will be better for our winter adventures and also as we get older😂 We love Nelson and cannot think about life without him. We cope fine as a couple in the VW, so it would be fine for a single person. Have a good week👍

Thanks - 1M seems such a big number! We love the Outer Hebrides - hope you had a great time 🚐 Shetland was fantastic and the beaches every bit as beautiful as those in The Hebrides.

Thanks for this Katrina- I am sure you will be safe for a trip next year😂😂😂 We loved it and found the whole area really quiet- it was so easy to just drift around and explore. There are so many van friendly facilities and communities. We liked to use the community facilities that had loos and often showers as well- all run on a voluntary basis relying on honesty boxes for payment. Shetland is great for highlighting public loos and even have a dedicated map of all the WC's on the islands👍 We found the whole trip really easy. Have a great week👍

Many thanks👍🙏

Gutted for you Jason that the weather wasn't playing ball. Don't give up on the Outer Hebrides- we have been in some monster storms and also perfect conditions. They are such lovely islands and we feel that they keep pulling us back time after time...whatever the weather may choose to throw. Didn't think about the link to Rate My Shower music, but now you say it, I cannot un-hear it😂😂😂 Thanks for the comment👍

Thanks for this Deborah- glad that we could provide some help. We loved our time on Shetland- of course the weather really helped, but the people were so lovely, the wildlife was spectacular and the geography and history was plentiful. We didn't know what to expect when we started, but now we are trying to work out when we will return! Have a great week👍

Thank you - we have really loved our travels around the Shetland Islands. Very true with the no. of showers 😊

Thanks Andrew- you were the first person that came to mind when Jackie was doing laps of the car park😂 Hope the house sitting is going well? Have a great week. 👍

Thank you - 1M seems like such a huge milestone for us! And thanks for watching the channel - it was really scary taking that first step and making the decision to retire early but we have no regrets so far 😊

Come on Richard- we have to have some science to the whole rate my shower😂😂😂 It was a nice touch however that not many places think about.😉 Have a great weekend👍

Thanks Victoria- it's always nice to hear nice things about what we do. We are trying really hard to stick to our values so it is great that you can recognise what we are doing and what we stand for. Have a lovely weekend👍

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching. We certainly fell in love with Shetland (and the puffins) 🚐

Thanks Louise- we were blown away by what Shetland had to offer. It's easy filming nice places in good weather. Have a great week👍

Many thanks- we love our campervan and don't know many people who have made the decision to get one that have regretted it. It has been a real game changer for us and has literally changed our lives for the better. Thanks for the comment👍

@@earlyretirementwanderlust good morning!! I believe you!! Thank you!!

Thank you - it came as a bit of a surprise - 1 million seems a big number!!! I think the Northmavine peninsula takes some beating in its beauty and ruggedness. The fact that we needed to hike to get to the beautiful places made it more special 🥾🚐

Thanks so much! We are still enjoying our RU-vid journey and documenting our early retirement and travels 😊 We have loved the Scottish northern islands

Thank you Angela 🙏

Hi Thanks for watching our channel and hopefully you are getting some ideas of places you can visit in your camper. I still remember our first trip which was to the Yorkshire Dales - little did we know that 5 years later we would have relocated and retired to live just a couple of miles down the road!!! We use 2 APPS - search for sites which has a great list which includes lots of pubs and restaurants on there. They also include lots of the small CAMPrA aires which are small sites with only 5 pitches and there are new sites opening all the time. We also use the P4N APP which has lots of great locations on there but you do need to be more wary and read the reviews carefully - look at the photos and be sensible about where you park as all the places are listed by other motorhome and campervanners and some places are little more than a lay-by that is overlooked by houses. We have used Britstops in the past which also has a good list of places. To find campsites we generally go onto google maps and search the area we are visiting as you can read all the reviews. Happy travels hope you enjoy your van as much as we do 🚐

@@earlyretirementwanderlust thank you. I retired early (before I was 50) because my husband is a little older and we moved to Anglesey. My husband isn’t a traveller so shorter, more local stays are in my plans for now. I’m really enjoying touring by proxy by watching your videos :-) xx.

🙏

We think that it would still be pretty dark. We kept asking the locals what winter was like and they all said pretty dark, surprisingly mild temperatures, but when the storms hit...very windy (the word violent was used to describe the storms by more than one person). When the clocks change at the end of March would obviously help with the daylight. Hope this helps, 👍

@@earlyretirementwanderlust great thank you

If only I could have snuck a cute little puffin home in the van ❤️ 🐧 We were struck by the contrast of wild and rugged cliffs and beautiful white sandy beaches. The Northmavine peninsula was particularly stunning for both! The Ronas Voe cliffs with the red rocks were mesmerising

Thank you as always 😊 On Shetland is was the peacefulness that struck us the most. We were there at peak season and is was so quiet - even at the more touristy destinations. Orkney was also lovely but it was a little busier - probably because it is so much more accessible and cheaper to get to. We loved both sets of islands and hopefully will return one day.

Hi, it's not "the Shetlands"(we hate it!). It's just 'Shetland' or better, Hjaltland.

@@Trollberg60north ooow, sorry. That’s me told off!

@@jillchew-tetlaw3388 Nah, no hard feelings and we probably correct a few hundred people per day ;)

Thank you 😊 1M sounds like such a big number!! Shetland and Orkney were both amazing with beautiful beaches. Shetland was much quieter than Orkney even though is was peak season! But it is also much trickier to get to with a camper.

Thank you - we do love a good hike 🥾 Being from a dairy farming family - the cows don't bother me - the young bullocks can be a bit frisky though 😂 Shetland was mainly sheep and they were wonderful with all the different breeds to what we get in the Dales. One million feels like such a huge landmark! I did enjoy having a wine to celebrate 😊 Orkney and the Islands were very different to Shetland but still just as beautiful and fantastic to explore. Lots of history for Richard and lots of ferries and island hopping.

Thank you very much! We are back in the Dales now and the good weather did pretty much stay with us for the 2 weeks on the Orkney Islands. It was a lot windier and a little cooler but still just as beautiful with LOTS of history.

Yes I think we definitely will have to go back - I think an autumn trip would be good - with the golden light in the evenings and the odd stormy beach for photography!

Thank you 😊 We went expecting the worse and had a van full of wet weather gear and full winter hiking kit - its all still clean and unused 😂

Thank you - we have absolutely loved our time on all of the islands. We just use our mobile phone data when we are on trips - we are both EE and had excellent coverage for most of the trip - even on the remotest points on any of the islands. (so much better than where we live in the Yorkshire Dales!)

Thank you 🐧

It drives Richard potty when you get in a shower and then you push the shower button it only lasts 5 seconds before the shower stops! many European and British campsites have it as a way of not wasting water but when you have shampoo in your eyes and you can't find the button... He loved the electric showers on the island that just keep running 😊

@@earlyretirementwanderlust ,thanks for the prompt reply, nowt worse than shampooey eyes!

😊

Thank you - We have walked for literally miles on our Shetland part of the trip. The cliff top walks are just stunning particularly in the Northmavine area. We also really enjoyed hiking out to some of the ancient ruins so definitely LOTS to do. I challenge myself to climb the equivalent of Everest 4x in a year and we did half an Everest in the 4 weeks we were on the islands. 🥾

@earlyretirementwanderlust we've just put up oor 4th vlog from the isle of Barra which we really enjoyed , we are now looking at Orkney and Shetland next year

Ooooh- we'd love to see those vlogs but we cannot seem to find them on your channel. Are we looking in the wrong place?

@@earlyretirementwanderlust our channel is actually Oot n Aboot wi us