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Mary Jane Mucklestone

Hand Knitting Blog & Knitting Patterns

Fair Isle – the place

October 13, 2019 by Mary Jane 6 Comments

Three sheep rounded up during the caa on Fair Isle. Iconic Sheep Rock in the distance. Bright green grass with blue seas and sky.
Sheep with Sheep Rock in the distance, Fair Isle, Shetland.

When an opportunity arose to spend a week on Fair Isle in a creative residency, I jumped at the chance. To enjoy peace and reflection in the place where my favorite knitting technique hails from was a gift.

Lying where the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, it takes a bit of planning to get to Fair Isle. Traveling from Maine, USA, I took a bus, three planes, a car and a boat! Even with the best of planning, you are never guaranteed of getting there, it all depends on the wind and the weather.

  • MJ and
    The Good Shepard IV
  • Farewell Mainland
  • Hello Fair Isle!

I’ve always wanted to take the boat to Fair Isle, but time constraints and unwilling companions meant I’ve always flown. I believe we had a good crossing, or maybe I’m just used to being on lobster boats, but I loved every moment of our journey. Watching Mainland Shetland recede, while Fair Isle slowly came in to focus made it all the more real for me, getting to an island by boat just seems right. I posted some videos on Instagram (@mjmucklestone) if you would like to see more.

And here below is my darling croft-for-the-week, where I spent time working on my upcoming book. Stay tuned for further posts, take a look at my instagram archives, and sign up for my Newsletter!


Lower Leogh Creative Residency with Malcolm’s Head in the background.

Fair Isle Travel information

By Air:

  • Air Task – Shetland Islands inter island air service
  • Air Task Facebook Page Keep an eye on this page for current flight information.

By Sea:

  • The Good Shepard IV  Tuesday year round, also Saturday in Summer, weather permitting.

Where to Stay:

  • Auld Haa Guesthouse
  • South Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast
  • Upper Leogh Guesthouse

Fair Isle Studio – Creative Residency

  • Fair Isle Studio Residency details and application information.

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Air Task, artisinal, Auld Haa Guesthouse, craft, fair isle, Fair Isle Studio, handmade, knit, kntting, Mary Jane Mucklestone, shetland, South Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast, The Good Shepard IV, Upper Leogh Guesthouse, yarn

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. tracey doxey says

    November 26, 2019 at 6:43 am

    That’s such a lovely photo of Lower Leogh. I also captured it in the very same way. How lucky were we?

    Tracey 🙂

    Reply
  2. Mary Jane says

    November 26, 2019 at 2:23 pm

    Rainbow season in Fair isle, rainbows and yellow light every morning. Your images are even more magical because the rainbow comes out of the crofthouse.

    Reply
  3. Laura says

    September 11, 2023 at 9:59 pm

    Hi! Im planning my trip to Scotland next year. Im from Argentina. I want to visit Fair Isle and found your website. Maybe you can help me.
    I want to book my stay here in the South Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast. But I cant find where or how to do it.

    Thanks!
    Regards
    Laura

    Reply
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