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Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary

Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary

cooking up a storm at the edge of the world

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North Ham, Muckle Roe, Shetland

The Hams of Muckle Roe

Published on August 31, 2015 by Elizabeth

Hams of Muckle Roe: old Norse for havens (or harbours) of the big red island.

North Ham, Muckle Roe, Shetland

I lost the entire month of July to working full time and then August seems to have flown by. The winter weather is going to be starting up again soon, confining us indoors again.

This last week has given us some lovely weather which I’ve taken advantage of by spending the day at the beach, exploring some fossil fish ruins (crossing #14 find a fossil fish, off my 40 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40 list) and hiking with my youngest out to a Pictish broch for a spot of geocaching.

My weekly FitBit step count was at an all time high, and I didn’t want to lose my momentum. Come Sunday morning, I realised (due to my lack of organization) that the two events I thought I was supposed to be attending that day  were, in fact, on the following two Sundays, so I started planning. An unexpected free day!

The weather was supposed to be reasonable (overcast with a slight chance of a small shower mid-afternoon), and I was restless. I wanted to go for a hike.

My family wanted to stay in their pajamas all day and play Minecraft!

So I put out out a call on Facebook and an hour later my Moroccan Shetland lamb stew was in the slow cooker and  three of us were heading up into the hills to the Hams of Muckle Roe, a place I have only ever seen by water before.

Hams of Muckle Roe, Shetland

Muckle Roe is a picturesque island connected by a small bridge to the mainland and it’s a place I’ve visited previously with my family on a walk to the lighthouse. This time, however, my friends and I drove to the end of the road, crossed to the hill near to the beach and then headed up a well maintained crofting track north, flanked on both sides by gorgeous hills covered in purple flowering heath and heather, running alongside a small burn.

4 km later we arrived at North Ham, the site of an abandoned settlement.

Hams of Muckle Roe, Shetland

Hams of Muckle Roe, Shetland

We had a good explore around the area including an old Norse watermill, complete with the millstones!

Hams of Muckle Roe, Shetland

Hams of Muckle Roe, Shetland
Hams of Muckle Roe, Shetland

We found a geocache with a super trackable item in it – my new friend is going to come on a few adventures with me over the coming weeks!

Der Rotfuchs

After the mills we went for a wander around the beach, sheltering from the brief rain shower by some cliffs. We ate the traditional tiffin slices I’d picked up at the Hayfield Croft honesty cupboard on the way to my friend’s house. Mmmm… chocolate!

Traditional Tiffin

North Ham, Muckle Roe, Shetland

North Ham, Muckle Roe, Shetland

After a poke around North Ham we took the path to South Ham where some seals were basking on the wharf. We followed the trail around the hill and back down to the car park area – a total walk of approximately 10 miles/ 16 kilometres.

Seals at South Ham, Muckle Roe, Shetland

Muckle Roe, Shetland

All in all it was a fantastic afternoon in good company! Upon my return home and syncing my Fitbit with my iPad I received two emails: I’d achieved 25,000 steps in one day (first time since I bought my Fitbit in February!) and climbed over 125 floors in one day, earning me two badges. I really do love my Fitbit!

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Category: Adventure, ShetlandTag: Hams Mills, Muckle Roe, Shetland

About Elizabeth

Solivagant. Foodie. Calls Shetland home.

Previous Post:Culswick Broch, ShetlandThe Broch of Culswick and my 100th Geocache
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Comments

  1. Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry

    September 2, 2015 at 7:03 am

    what a gorgeous place. If I lived in a place like that then I would definitely get fit too just trying to get to those views. Well done for your fitbit achievement. I need one.

    Reply
  2. Jeanne Horak-Druiff

    September 1, 2015 at 3:22 pm

    125 floors in a day! And here I was impressed with my 3km on the crosstrainer in the gym 😉 What a glorious, wild place – you live in such a wonderful location!

    Reply
  3. Lucy Parissi

    September 1, 2015 at 12:56 pm

    That just looks otherworldly. Just beautiful. I feel I ought to mix up my holidays a little bit – definitely missing out! I would definitely not have been able to do more than 30 steps in one day though.

    Reply
  4. Emily

    September 1, 2015 at 12:36 pm

    Looks like a lovely break away. And those views! xx

    Reply
  5. kate @veggie desserts

    September 1, 2015 at 9:21 am

    Wow – such stunning photos. It looks like a wonderful day out. 25000 steps? You must have been exhausted, but I can imagine that those glorious views were worth every step!

    Reply
  6. Janie

    September 1, 2015 at 7:29 am

    Wow, what stunning scenery Elizabeth. I am reminded of a place in the north of the south island of New Zealand, one of my most favourite places on earth 🙂
    Janie x
    PS way to go on the 25000 steps, that’s seriously impressive!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      September 1, 2015 at 7:36 am

      The whole place is very Lord of the Rings-ish, which was filmed in NZ I believe? Thank you for stopping by! 😀

      Reply
  7. Rachel

    August 31, 2015 at 5:54 pm

    What wonderful photos and scenery. It is amazing to see those seals up close x

    Reply
  8. Sarah

    August 31, 2015 at 12:15 pm

    Gorgeous pictures, really enjoyed looking at them. We were lucky to get a few nice days last week.

    Well done on doing 25k steps in one day!

    Reply

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Cooking up a storm at the edge of the world

Image of Elizabeth Atia making a cake in the Aald Harbour Hoose, Shetland. Photograph by Misa Hay from Shetland Wool Adventures.

Welcome to Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary, Scotland’s most northerly award-winning food blog.

I’m based in the wild and remote Shetland Islands, where I’ve been sharing my adventure-fuelling recipes since 2011.

“Sometimes you need to go outside, get on your bike, and remind yourself of who you are and who you want to be.

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