I woke up this morning - after not really having slept - to a dark and very windy island. I packed and watched the Hoobs until 8, the time I'd booked for breakfast, then went downstairs to sit on my own in the bar and wonder how it all worked. The manager appeared at last and offered me tea or coffee, then a choice of things that come in a bowl, like cereal or porridge or yoghurt. I had some cornflakes and having turned down any sort of cooker breakfast he made...

Today I got up earlier than I planned, faffed around trying to decide what to take to Shetland, how to pack it and what I didn't need after all. It was daylight by the time I left. I got the bus from the travel centre and went to the airport where my plane was delayed because of the weather. The weather on Orkney was nothing compared to the weather on Shetland. I went outside to look at massive waves crashing onto the rocks and it was so windy you could lean ...

My first impression of Kirkwall is that I don't like it very much. I left home at 8am to make sure I had plenty of time to catch the 8.55 train. Good thing I did too because it was replaced by an 8.38 bus because of engineering works. That bus got me to Bournemouth to join the train I would have been on and got me into Southampton airport in plenty of time. I had some toast - with added salt in the butter - and orange juice while I finished off Touching the V...

I got up early and had breakfast and finished packing.I went down to the town centre to get the Flybussen. It wasn't due for another half hour, so I went down to the harbour for a bit before coming back to the bus stop to find it populated by men who'd been fishing and sounded like they were from Somerset.I got to the airport, checked in with the machine, scanned my own passport and took my bag over to be handed in. The man behind the desk decided I was Norwegian...

Today I had my breakfast in the restaurant next door (because that's where this hotel serves its breakfasts), came back up to my bed for another hour or two and then went out into Tromso. It was very damp and quite cold. Last night I saw a Eurospar supermarket just down the road so today I went in there. They have cheddar cheese! Cathedral City cheddar cheese!I went down to the TIC where I was told that the last bus from the cable car definitely leaves at 00:15.I...