Yell!

Thick peat bog, combined with wind, equals no trees on Yell. Walking across country is fraught, with bog hidden under grassy or other plants. Yet Yell is breathtakingly beautiful.

Ferries run from Toft to Yell, then you get the bus, which could be a car, van or actual bus, to the other end of Yell, where another ferry waits to take you to Unst. The bus driver uses the most economical vehicle for the number of passengers that the ferry crew has advised.

The ferry costs just 2 pound 90p (less than $6)….not for one crossing, but for both ferries, BOTH ways! Passengers go up to a view-filled lounge on the first ferry. There’s a lift if you’re silly enough to trip over and bruise yourself as I did. Car passengers stay in their cars. Both back and forward noses open, so there’s no reversing.

It’s such a quick crossing, but not as quick as Yell to Unst, which is on an unusually-shaped ferry, looking like there’s no place for passengers. A skinny flight of descending steep steps reveals a lounge under the vehicle deck. The portholes are set very high (please don’t stand on the seats) so passengers have to guess when the boat’s moving, and less than 10 minutes later assume it’s arrival by the change in engine noise.

Yell’s bus driver, in his car, revealed that New Zealand is his favorite place on earth, except stenching Rotorua. He once had a girlfriend from New Zealand.

There is talk of tunnels replacing the ferries. The bus driver isn’t keen. I assumed he was worried about what happened to Skye when a bridge made access available to the masses. But his concern was about the locals. Currently anyone wanting to kick up still has to catch the last ferry, so everyone is safely tucked up in bed, or at least on their own island, at a reasonable time, and in a reasonable state. There’s no traffic cops on the islands; they’re not needed. Tunnels would change that forever.

Last winter was so cold, Yell lost power for 5 days. The driver’s community of 45 collected in his bus (the real one) every evening to keep warm and recharge their phones. It was a chance to check in with each other and share resources. Luckily the driver had plenty of diesel on hand to run the bus. Yell residents had been subjected to a campaign encouraging them to be totally dependent on electricity, but with what could have been disastrous consequences. Maybe a lesson for us all?