Holiday photographs

We are back from holiday and I have over 800 photographs to sort through. Don't worry, I haven't posted all of them although this post is a bit picture heavy.

We all enjoyed rediscovering Shetland after a break of five years since our last visit. Pleasingly, not much had changed and our favourite spots were just the same.

We had lovely weather, perfect for walking, exploring and admiring the view.

Blue skies, blue sea and white sand, perfect for paddling, skimming stones and if you are very hardy (my youngest) for swimming.

In Shetland you are never more than three miles from the sea, a real treat for us as we only get to see it a few times a year - I could sit and watch it for hours in all its different moods.

We saw seals and very briefly an otter but the real stars for me were the very cute puffins. This is the nearest I've ever got to them and they really did look sweet. Puffins have not done well the past few summers, the sand eel population is falling possibly due to rising sea temperatures and there are not enough to feed the young birds. After a couple of really bad years this one has been slightly better although not all birds are laying eggs. It would be a shame to lose these little birds.

Although the best time for wild flowers would have been a little earlier in the summer there were still plenty for me to photograph. The meadows had a slight blue haze due to the Devil's bit Scabious.

I was particularly pleased to spot this Oyster plant which is quite rare and only found in a few locations.

All the walking and exploring meant we were ready for tea, I liked the Fair Isle tea cosy.

It was a great holiday for all four of us, long summer days and evenings spent watching the sunset, lots of memories to store up and revisit in the winter months.