Kirsty's Story and the Voe Shore

Kirsty might have been a sister-in-law to Henry Faquhar who I will mention when reaching Volister.

She lived at Lumbister with her bed-ridden mother. Kirsty herself was elderly and was well known around the area.

Kirsty set out early one morning to go to Mid Yell to get provisions after putting the things her mother would need beside her bed. The old woman said she would love fresh fish if Kirsty could get any.

On the way Kirsty saw the Laird's wife, the Mistress of Dalsetter, riding by and bade her a good day. The Mistress was going to be away for most of the day but unknown to her their children, a girl and a smaller boy, both under five years old, had risen and gone outside to catch her as she left. They sometimes did this hoping for a ride on the horse. She missed them and carried on her way.

When Kirsty got to Mid Yell she first went shopping. There was a fishing boat in and as the men knew Kirsty they gave her some fresh fish to take away. Kirsty set of for the long walk home with her heavy kishie full of provisions.

Her mother was waiting for her and was delighted at the thought of having fresh fish so Kirsty said they would have some for supper but realised she had forgotten to buy salt and fish need to be cooked with salt. She said to her mother that she would go to the Daal and get some sea water and that would do the job just as well. She took a large keg in her kishie to collect the water. When she got to the Daal she heard a noise and when she looked up she saw there on the broo o' da banks a small boy and a girl who was trying to hold him back. She rushed and got hold of both of them. She tried to find out who they were but the girl wouldn't speak and the boy could say that he was, "Nonie." Kirsty could only think that they were the children of the proprietor of Dalsetter, as their son's name was John and the child was trying to say, “Johnie.”

Kirsty tied both children into her kishie. She set the kishie on a bank so she could get it on her back then set off back home. After hearing her story Kirsty's mother advised Kirsty to wait till morning before taking them home but although exhausted Kirsty said she would do it that night.

Meanwhile at the Haa, Dalsetter, a search was being carried out for the children who had been found missing when the Mistress had returned. The family had assumed that she had taken them with her. All of the servants and neighbours had been sent out to look for them and their mother was beyond herself with worry. She had taken to her bed sobbing.

Kirsty arrived at the Haa and the door was opened by the laird himself. Kirsty could hear the wailing of his wife from another room. Kirsty herself put the kishie on the bed and left the children with their mother.

The laird wanted Kirsty to stay the night after all she had done but she told him she must return home to her mother. He said that as soon as the servants came back he would send two of them to stay with her mother with the instructions not to leave until Kirsty herself got back. In the morning when Kirsty was about to leave she had her kishie filled with all sort of things to take away as she would take no money. The proprietor then took her into a room where he produced a piece of paper which was an agreement from him allowing her to live rent free for as long as she was at Lumbister.

Kirsty's mother died a few years later and Kirsty lived to be well through her eighties.

Knowing the distance and difficult ground we had covered when walking from near Dalsetter to Lumbister it was hard to imagine how Kirsty had the strength to do what she did. She had certainly been a hardy character.

Now at the mouth of the Daal we noticed that we were almost opposite the Point of the Stuis. Chas was able to locate, and name the geos and stacks which we could see. Near the mouth of the Daal is Mirka Cave and to the north are the Fugla Stacks. As we travelled along the shoreline I recalled the events and places I had heard about and these stories brought the former inhabitants alive for us.

Ramna Geo is close by. Here a mine blew up during wartime. The Herra man who went to detonate the mine got away just in time or he would have been caught in the blast.

Fugla Geo and the Daal of Lumbister

Nev of Stuis 2005

A little further south we came to Clungis Geo [Clongers Geo or Clingra Geo]. Another tale came to mind. A former Arctic whaler had been put out of his house by his wife and went to live in a cave at Clungis Geo. He would return home for food. While in the cave he collected driftwood and he built a boat in the Barn of Clungis Geo but the rock face ran down and as he was unable to get the boat out all his effort was wasted.

One young man taking his sweetheart home saw the man, naked and carrying a bundle, fleeing from a house then swimming across the voe. The man lived in the cave from November until March and eventually returned home. It seemed he had returned to the croft now and again for essentials.

A dog rose used to grow in Clingra Geo Chas recalled. We did not manage to see it but possibly it is still there.

He showed me which rock is named Docken Stack. It has grass growing on its top so is easy to identify.

Because of its seclusion the voe was used during World War I by German U-boats as they ran little chance of being discovered.

In his book 'The Shetland Isles' page 78 Cluness writes about a U-boat in Whalefirth:

'After the war, in Hamburg, a sailor made the acquaintance of a works manager in the firm of Bloem and Voss. The latter evinced great interest when he heard that the sailor came from Shetland. “Do you know Yell?” said he. “Certainly.” “Do you know Whalfirth?” “It is near my home, but do you know it?” “Many a night I have been there. I was in command of a U-boat, and when your ships at Busta got too nosy, we would shelter under the cliffs.” He then made a recognizable sketch of the place from memory and went on to describe how in this lonely spot miles from anywhere some of the crew would land at night and occasionally steal a sheep. The last one they stole was a ram, and so tough they could not eat it. And then the sailor remembered the man who had lost the ram.'

It would be interesting to know if the Herra people were aware of the U-boats in the voe at the time.

Along the coast we decided to rest when we reached the Lea of Volister. Using binoculars from this side of the hill we could see the geos on the Graveland side of the voe. These geos, particularly Longi Geo, are also notable for the plants growing on the sheltered cliffs at their sides. In days gone by people would have looked into these geos hoping to see some driftwood which they would have 'saved' by dragging it above the high tide mark. Driftwood was valuable to the crofters and along the shore there would have been scattered piles of timber waiting to be taken home.

We noticed now the banks were bare.

Longi Geo reminded me of hearing about a John Smilas who built a house there. It is possible some ruins might be located from the seaward side but we were unable to find them. As its name implies the geo is quite long. Travellers must be wary and keep well back from the geos, as there are several deep gorges where the geos cut into the land. Early superstition had it that it was unlucky to look into Longi Geo when setting off to the fishing. No fish would be caught if you did.

Longi Geo 2000

1790 was the start of 20 years of Press Gang operations when men were press ganged into the navy at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. In 1808 after Trafalgar, 3000 Shetland men were in the Navy. Near the Nev of Stuis is Gosendi Geo [Gorsendigjo meaning a geo at a dyke end]. Here a man riding a horse was being pursued by the Press Gang. Knowing the width of the geo the rider urged his horse to jump across where he knew it was narrower and he escaped when the Press Gang were unable to follow him.

The Dundee whaling ship 'William Torr' left Lerwick in 1833. The ship was wrecked in 1835. In 1845 a cask of whale blubber was found in Whalefirth by local men. The ship’s name was still legible on the cask. I asked Chas if he had ever found anything unusual washed up on the shore. He said he had. One message in a bottle had been sent by Guinness Brewery, Ireland to promote the business. When finders replied telling the locations they were each sent a spoon decorated with the Guiness trade mark. He found it in the 1950s, had replied and got his spoon.

Before proceeding Chas and I decided to stop to take in the views and enjoy the fresh sea air, from here we could see the coast all the way to the mouth of the voe. The sea was calm with a light breeze making it a perfect day for our ramble.

Having rested we continued along the coast again. We passed the Lee Cro, a disused sheep pen, and then over the Heddery Head to the Crying Taing. At this point, where the voe turns eastward the people on the Volister side would go down to the shore to hail a boat to be brought across from Gremister or Graveland to ferry them across which would have been much easier than walking the long route through the heather and around the head of the voe. We thought it was a great idea and there would probably have been plenty of people working about the shore who would have obliged. The distance is quite short. What a difference it must have made to any traveller.

The next stop on our route was the desolate township of Volister where there are several ruined croft houses. Four houses were occupied in 1861. The grassy area is scattered with rocks and thistles.

There were some interesting facts and lore about Volister for me to relate to Chas.