Travel day. Except fog on the hill at Tingwall stopped the plane. As with all islands, the weather is hyper-local here - the sky can be clear blue above Fair Isle and 20 miles north on the mainland there can be fog. The weather also moves rapidly, and so there is a certain amount of expecting a call from the airport any moment to say we’re clear to go. But not today.
Claire spends the morning unbooking Plan A and making Plan B travel for the next day, armed with handy phone numbers supplied by Ian. Fortunately the Good Shepherd is heading out to Grutness, so we can make it back to London by boat, plane and train. A day’s difference has affected onward travel for some, so Plan B includes a Plan C.
We go to the school and receive gifts from the children - and many hugs. They have been amazing to work with - joyful, and super-quick learners. Fair Isle School is an extraordinary place with wonderful teachers, an inspiration. In fact all the schools we’ve worked in across Shetland over the years (in Unst, Yell and the west mainland, including children from Fetlar joining us in Unst) have been exemplary.
We wander, Kerry swims again, Daniel dances a pasa doble with Rodrigo the Skerryholm ram, we take photos of the ever-changing sky. It is never a problem, being stuck here!
