Ling Ness

Our last day on Shetland. It started wet, because of course it did, then turned rather nice — because Shetland seems to do exactly as it pleases.

A tad breezy, mind. Those wind turbines on the Hill of Flamister stood completely still on the horizon, shut down to stop themselves tearing apart. The very thing a turbine exists to harvest becomes, at excess, the thing most likely to destroy it.

We walked the Ling Ness and Moul of Eswick headlands. Good for blowing off the cobwebs.

This coast is not for the faint-hearted navigator. It is savagely indented — islets, stacks, skerries, holms and hidden rocks packed in at every turn. The lighthouse on the Moul of Eswick keeps watch over waters with a reputation for being among the nastiest on earth. Close by stands the Fru Stack, carrying the usual legend of a beauty locked away from the world to no good end.¹Moul of Eswick and Ling Ness, South Nesting. “walkhighlands.co.uk”. https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/shetland/moul-of-eswick.shtml. [Accessed 12 June 2026]

But the finest story belongs to the Noup of Nesting, a perfectly ordinary-looking knoll on the headland. It would not detain you for a moment. It should.

Four brothers had their land stolen by Earl Patrick Stewart, with the help of the parson of Orphir in Orkney. When the Earl fell from favour at court, his accomplice ran. He ran a long way. He ran, presumably sailed, all the way to Shetland.²Cluness, Andrew T. THE SHETLAND ISLES. Page 225. 1956. Robert Hale Limited.

It was not far enough.

The brothers caught him on the Noup, killed him, tore out his heart, and drank his blood. They had vowed to do exactly that, and Shetlanders, it turns out, keep their word.

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  Moul of Eswick and Ling Ness, South Nesting. “walkhighlands.co.uk”. https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/shetland/moul-of-eswick.shtml. [Accessed 12 June 2026]
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  Cluness, Andrew T. THE SHETLAND ISLES. Page 225. 1956. Robert Hale Limited.