Hermaness, Unst.

I will never, for as long as I am fortunate enough to walk this earth of ours, forget the moment I first laid eyes on the cliffs at Hermaness nature reserve.

The walk in, or rather up and through the reserve is via a board walk - a steep initial assent followed by a slow upward drag - which carrying my MKIII, 500f4l, 70 - 200 f2.8l, 24 - 105 f4l, tripod & wimberly, water, food and clothing for all weathers was a bit of slog.

When I arrived at the 'top', visibility was around 20 yards or less. I could tell the sea was quite a way off as I could hear faint sounds of breaking waves.
I could hear plenty of birds too, but I only caught glimpses as they came through the gloom.

I was a bit knackered from my walk, so I decided to sit down, listen and hope the air cleared.

Half an hour went by - no people, just an overiding sense of isolation and calm.

45 minutes later, and the fog lifted to show me this view......



An incredible scene - towering cliffs, raw weather and a remoteness I've rarely experienced before or since.

Thousands of gannets, fulmar, skua, puffin and many other sea birds, all sharing the cliffs and surrounding seas.

That day, I spent 5 hours on Hermaness. I saw 2 other people.

At times the sun shone, at others, it rained and at others, the sea mist blew back in, but all times I feel in love with this utterly wild and unspoilt place.

I walked back into Hermaness a further 5 times during my week on Unst and in the end, I enjoyed the walk - even with all of my kit !