We're bringing the Lady of Avenel to Shetland for the first time in 2026!

Poised for what is set to be two spectacular voyages, positioned immediately before and after the Northern Summer Solstice - the Simmer Dim of Shetland legend - we will sail out on a musical voyage around Shetland's waters, making the absolute best of this incredible time of year and the music and cultural scene in Shetland's harbours, islands and anchorages.

Expect fiddle music, tunes, songs, local culture, 24-hour daylight, islands, harbours, spectacular scenery and more!

Shetland is famous for fiddle music - and besides this, there's a wealth of other culture to explore and enjoy. Songs, language, dialect - and no end of stories, tales and lore, both of the land and of the sea. 

We'll plan to depart from from Scalloway, just a few miles across a narrow bridge of land from Lerwick. This gives us the best opportunity to make the most of our week sailing around Shetland.

With skipper (and Shetlander) Barry Nisbet at the helm, we'll explore what the islands have to offer, with music sessions taking place in venues, village halls and sailing clubs ashore, as well as around the tables in the Lady of Avenel's legendary saloon. Barry will be showing us around his homeland here in Shetland, along with Sessions and Sail's team of tutors and sailing crew; and we can expect to be joined by some Shetland musicians at various stages of the journey.

This voyage is all about exploring the waters, music and culture of Shetland, and about witnessing this unique archipelago duing the long days of mid summer.

You will be allocated a berth aboard the brigantine 'Lady of Avenel',  in one of our six double cabins. For solo  travellers, cabins will be allocated on a same-sex basis; if two people  travelling together wish to share a cabin, we recommend booking early to  ensure availability.

There are two showers and three toilets in the accommodation; these are shared.

Meals are prepared in the modern upper deck galley; these are of a high standard and prepared by our own chef.

The upper deck saloon provides an ideal place to socialise and, with the tables cleared away, is the perfect session space for the evenings we spend aboard. When the weather is fair, we can play sessions on deck.

Shetland can be reached by aeroplane, with flights from Aberdeen, Inverness, Glasgow, Edinburgh or Orkney – see www.loganair.co.uk 

Northlink Ferries have nightly sailings from Aberdeen - these depart at 1900 or 1700, depending on whether the ship will call at Orkney. We recommend booking the boat well in advance if you want a cabin - and book direct from Northlink's own website at www.northlinkferries.com

We recommend confirming flights and travel arrangements as early as possible to avoid price rises and availability problems.

  We recommend you bring the following:

• Warm jumper/fleece
• Waterproof jacket and trousers
• A warm hat that covers your ears
• Long trousers
• Boots/waterproof footwear
• Sunglasses
• A soft bag (no suitcases please!) 
• ID documents for travelling
• Thermal layers 
• A waterproof cover/case for your instrument
• Thick socks
• Sufficient cash to last the week 

You may also be glad to have:

• Binoculars 
• A reusable water bottle
• Midgie repellent (we like Smidge) 
• Sun Cream
• A RYA logbook if you have one.

 Please note that the Lady of Avenel is a ship built in the 1960s - getting around the ship and above and below decks requires a degree of mobility and ability to negotiate stairs. 

If you have mobility issues it is best to check your suitability for this voyage - please send us a message and we'll be happy to advise.

 The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Nisbet Marine Services/Sessions and Sail, Member Number 5533, and in the event of their insolvency,  protection is provided for:

 -  Non-flight packages

ABTOT  cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if transportation was included in your package. Please note that bookings made outside the UK are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with Nisbet Marine Services/Sessions and Sail.

In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call our 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT protected travel company.

You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here

You can find out more about ABTOT here

This itinerary is a suggestion of how the trip may take form; all destinations and routes are subject to change, are weather dependant, and are at the discretion of the Captain. And, this being the 'Simmer Dim' season, if we are all keen we may elect to make a 'night' passage on one of the nights instead, to really appreciate the silence and perpetual light that Shetland enjoys at this time of year.

You meet the ‘Lady of Avenel’ alongside the pier in the historic village of Scalloway, where Earl Patrick Stewart's imposing castle stands over a picturesque harbour, and Scandinavian-style houses rise up the hillside.

The crew welcome you aboard; you find your cabin, are  given a tour of the ship and a safety briefing from the Captain. 

We  leave the pier by 3pm and head out through the picturesque islands that dot the approaches to Scalloway Harbour, before sailing west the 13 miles to stunning Vaila Sound.

Sheltered by the island of Vaila, Walls (pronouncd 'Waas') is our harbour for tonight; we tie up at the pier and after a dinner on board the Lady we head to the local Sailing Club where the very musical community that lives here is ready to welcome us for an evening of tunes.

We depart Waas in the morning and sail out through Vaila Sound.

If the Atlantic Ocean is relatively still, we may sail West to the imposing island of Foula, home of some of the highest sea-cliffs in Britain; and marvel there at the thousands of sea-birds that wheel over our heads.

We will sail the Lady of Avenel whenever possible; and this may be a good chance for you to help the crew in setting the sails, keeping lookout on the foredeck, or taking a turn at steering this 31 metre brigantine.

Or you may prefer to read a book, enjoy the scenery, or play some tunes with your shipmates. 

Our onboard tutors may lead a workshop in the saloon as we sail back towards mainland Shetland; perhaps teaching a tune inspired by Foula or the West of Shetland.

In the afternoon we sail through the Sound of Papa and come to an anchorage at Housa Bay, Papa Stour - an island known for its caves, cliffs, and the famous Papa Stour Sword Dance, a medieval dance that is still performed in Shetland to this day.

Here we have dinner then gather around the tables for an on-board session in the evening.

Image : Dr Julian Paren, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

We get the anchor up after breakfast and set off further north - crossing St Magnus Bay towards the cliffs of Northmavine.

These are a spectacular sight, topped by a Stevenson lighthouse and we'll sail along headed for a lovely isolated anchorage at Sands Voe.

On the way there's plenty opportunities to work the ship under sail, to pay some tunes - ideally on deck if the weather is good - and to partake in a workshop or tuition session with one of our onboard tutors.

By evening we've dropped anchor at lovely Sands Voe,stopped the generator, and the only sounds are guillemots, curlews, oystercatchers, skylarks, snipes - and the tunes that we'll get going in the Lady's saloon.

Today we're headed for Muckle Flugga, the northernmost tip of Shetland.

We up anchor and sail from Sand Voe, past Shetland landmarks such as 'Ester Keolka', 'Brunt Hill' and 'Garmus Taing'. Barry is a Norn speaker and may be able to elaborate on some of these names as we sail by!

Our route takes us close past the spectacular Ramna Stacks, rocks that rise sheer from the sea; then up towards the North end of Yell - the Holm of Gloup, and the 'Heids of Vigon' from the popular Cullivoe tune.

21 miles takes us to Muckle Flulgga; these rocks are generlly white with gannets and guano, and there is a large puffin and guillemot colony here too. Bonxies, razorbills and more fil the sky as we pass Herma Ness, Tonga Stack and Flugga itself.

Once we're around Flugga, we head for the Skaw Røst, the disturbed waters where two tides meet; the beach at Norwick, and Haraldswick, scene of the Norwegian colonisation of Shetland led by King Harald Harfagr in the late 800s.

By mid afternoon we're rounding Balta Isle and sailing up the voe at Baltasound, headed for a berth at the pier here. And after dinner, there's a session ashore where we play tunes and enjoy the hospitality of the Unst folk.

In the morning, we leave Baltasound on a 20-mile crossing to Skerries. An outlying collection of small islands, Skerries is well-known for its love of music and dancing, with a unique 'Skerries step' that is still known.

Our sailing route takes us past the spectacular cliffs and green slopes of Fetlar, before we strike out for the lighthouse and lower-lying hills of Skerries. This is a particularly good stretch of water for whales, orcas and dolphins so keep your eyes peeled!

There's time on the passage for another workshop with our tutors; and you may now be working towards a piece of music to perform for your shipmates on the last night.

We pull into the tight, sheltered harbour at Skerries and tie up at the pier; this is a very friendly place where we can expect visitors. Later on we'll head up to the Skerries Hall to join the community in a music session.

We're headed towards our destination now, and Lerwick awaits us tomorrow. 

We pick our way out Skerries' South entrance, and head east of the skerries and holms that dot the sea area east of Whalsay, before turning in towards the mainland of Shetland.

With one last chance to get the Lady of Avenel under sail, we will do all we can to sail this passage; get involved as the crew brace yards, haul on haliards and trim sails - or have a go at steering this ship.

Almost every voe on this side of Shetland has a tune named after it - we may head for an anchorage among the 'Isles of Gletness', or make for 'Vidlin Voe'; or we may anchor at Nesting, just north of the 'Unicorn', the isolated rock onto which the Earl of Bothwell's local pilot lured the Scottish Navy ship of that name in 1567!

By evening we're anchored in another Shetland voe, enjoying the food our chef has prepared along with a glass of something, and preparing for the last session aboard the Lady.

Tonight we'll go round the table and hear a tune from everyone - we've all been encouraged to work with a shipmate to prepare a tune or song so we'll see what we've got!

The tunes go on into the evening as the sun gently dips below the horizon sometime approaching 11pm.

The last time a Sessions and Sail group arrived in Lerwick was aboard the Swan in 2022 (pictured)!

We have breakfast as we sail towards Bressay Sound; then we'll aim to make a similar impact and have all guns blazing on arrival - or in our case, all fiddles singing, all guitars sounding, all bodhrans beating, etc...!

We head into the heart of town and find our berth; then, once secured alongside, we say our goodbyes and head off to the next adventure.