The sun is shining (doesn’t it always in the U.K?) and there is a large raft of cruisers (big and small) in Lerwick, the capital of the Shetland Islands. Dockage for yachts is at a premium and this time of year rafting is the norm.

We’ve moved to a floating dock, much more pleasant than the commercial pier to which we were previously affixed.

This is Lesley, one of the many friendly Shetlanders we’ve been meeting. They all have a smile and pleasant greeting when passing on the street, or a driver to driver wave. And they do make their visitors welcome.

Lesley took us for a drive around the local island. High on our priority list was a photo of a real Shetland pony, to go with the polar bear photos from earlier this summer. Just to prove these are real, not mythical, Linda is feeding mom here.

The landscape is lovely to contemplate on a sunny, windless day.

There are the requisite ruined castles. The original owner of this edifice lost his head over some political issues.

Peat is still cut from the bogs and used for heating by some of the locals. It is first stacked on end, and then turned horizontal for drying.

With decent light a photographer could have a jolly time here.

One of the problems that all small communities have is keeping the younger generations interested in the enchantment of scenes like this. The adventure of the big city is always a lure, and sometimes the youngsters need to go off island to gain an appreciation of what they have at home.

The waterfront of Lerwick has a number of these stone buildings, now homes. We are told that prior occupants were smugglers, evading the King’s taxman.

There are new developments, of course, but we like these older areas.

A Scottish, or perhaps we should say Shetland thistle.

We’ll close with a series of interesting signs.