Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary

a food & travel blog

Home » Adventure » Shetland » The Eigg, Yell, Shetland

The Eigg, Yell, Shetland

Published on by 52 Comments
Last Updated on

The Eigg, Yell, Shetland

I had one of those I love my life moments yesterday.

That’s me standing on the edge of that cliff you see there.

Taking advantage of the predicted fine weather and the long school holiday weekend, DD and I packed a packed lunch, gathered our provisions and met up with a friend for some coastal exploration.

We went to explore a stretch of coast on the island of Yell, one of Shetland’s outer islands. If I am to be completely honest, Yell has always just been a dull stretch of flat road with unappealing flat hills on either side that we drive through really quickly in order to catch the next ferry to the island of Unst, Britain’s most northerly inhabited island (and one of my most favourite places on the planet!).

The Eigg, Yell, Shetland

My opinion of it has changed, substantially, now. Maybe it was the blanket of snow covering the dull brown hues, or the fact we deviated from the main road for the first time ever, or the fact after spending a few hours trekking through boggy snow covered heathery hills, we stumbled across The Eigg.

The Eigg is a promontory on the north west of the island pointing due west. I’m a bit rubbish when it comes to estimating the height of cliffs – but I reckon this was at least 100 feet of sheer drop into the sea.

The feeling, standing on the edge of this cliff was that of sheer exhilaration and delight to be alive mixed with a touch of vertigo. Just a touch.

The Eigg, Yell, Shetland

Madam was most unimpressed by the cliffs though, and chose to spend her time trying to break the ice in a small pond with her walking stick! Dramatic sea cliffs and stunning views? Never mind – there is ice to break!

If you want to read more about this winter walk and see more photographs of the area, visit my blog post on Shetland.org (you’ll love it, honest!). You can also see some photographs of the small island group you see in the background in the second photo above on my Fethaland post.

I do so love my island home!

#CheckOutThatView

Monkey and Mouse

If you want to be kept up to date on my recipes, occasional craft tutorials, adventure stories and giveaways then please subscribe to my weekly newsletter; it gets sent out every Monday morning if there is new content. Your email address won’t be passed on to anyone, you will never be spammed and you are free to unsubscribe at any time, no questions asked. Make sure you confirm your subscription or you won’t receive the newsletter – if it hasn’t arrived check your junk mail folder.

[wysija_form id=”1″]

Comments

  6. That view is absolutely stunning! The more photos you share of the Shetland, the more I want to visit! I love the cliffs and can’t imagine how amazing it must be to walk along the island with such a sheer drop. Typical child to prefer frozen puddles, I think mine would be the same! Will check out your article too. Thanks so much for linking up to #Whatevertheweather 🙂 x
    Jenny Eaves recently posted…How To Sunday #22My Profile

    Reply

  8. I adore your pictures. They are seriously stunning. I can see why this was one of those ‘I love life’ moments. I’d definitely love to stand where you are. The view is breathtaking! What a day out! You live in such an incredible place. Thank you so much for sharing this with #whatevertheweather !! I’ve also featured one of your pictures on #curiouslittleexplorers this week. It’s so beautiful. x
    Chloe recently posted…CURIOUS LITTLE EXPLORERS #7My Profile

    Reply

  10. WOW, stunning photos Elizabeth! You are so lucky to live in a region so beautiful like this.
    I reckon is always good to have a “I love my life” moment once in a while 😀
    I hope to visit this part of the world someday!

    Happy to have you on #MondayEscapes 😀

    Reply

  21. This is just brilliant! I still haven’t visit any of the cliff like that, so not sure what my vertigo would tell me, but I’d love to give it a go! #MondayEscapes

    Reply

  23. I can get your feeling just by looking at your pictures. I totally understand how one feels when nature takes you by surprise and you just can stand in awe admiring all your surroundings. This year I want to visit more natural spaces.

    Reply

  33. I love how a child’s view on the world differs so much from a parent’s perspective! Mine would be quite happy with a stick and some ice too and I can see now I’d be shouting at them not to try standing on the frozen pond! the landscape is so dramatic and what an amazing view! Thant said I think I’d be feeling more than a touch of vertigo that close to the edge, it is such a vast drop. I always say it but you live in such a beautiful place. Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids

    Reply

  36. Wow! That top picture is fantastic. Makes me want to get a super zoom lense for my camera. What an amazing place you live in 🙂 #CheckOutThatView

    Reply

  40. I can actually feel my anxiety going through the roof agghhh get away from that edge lol no way would you get me up there ha great pictures x

    Reply

  50. I love the shots and the idea of hanging by the cliff, but not for me. I mean, I love the idea of taking pictures of people hanging by the cliff, but I don’t think I can get that near to a cliff like that. But that’s very courageous of you.

    And I do love the shots.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge

Latest Posts

In this easy recipe, lemon zest, lemon extract and lavender flowers are combined to make a delicious, fluffy, moist, perfectly baked doughnut with a lavender icing sugar glaze. #doughnuts #bakeddoughnuts #lavender #lemondoughnut #lemondonut #bakeddonut
Scottish stovies are the ultimate in Scottish comfort food. Made with the leftovers from Sunday night's roast dinner, it's a super easy Monday meal to make. Serve with oatcakes and sliced beetroot for a true taste of Scotland.  #Scottishfood #lamb #stovies
Date and oat muffins are super easy to make, and they taste absolutely fantastic! If you're a fan of sticky toffee pudding or date squares you'll love these breakfast muffins made with rolled oats, buttermilk and chopped dates. #breakfast #muffins #oatmuffins
This lazy chicken tray bake takes five minutes to prep and only has five ingredients! It's a complete meal in one tray bake, and there's only one pan to wash up afterwards! #chickentraybake #sheetpanchicken #chicken
This delicious and warming spicy carrot soup contains seven different store-cupboard spices, as well as fresh ginger and garlic. It freezes and reheats well too, so you can batch cook it if you've got a glut of carrots. #carrotsoup #soup #elizabethskitchendiary
Peanut butter cookies are a classic family favourite. This dairy free version is super easy to make! #peanutbuttercookies #cookierecipe #elizabethskitchendiary

Latest Tweets

Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.