Marc'sBoats: We are moving to Shetland In September so I can begin a three year, fully funded PhD on the Shetland boat: history; folklore & construction.

We are moving to Shetland! I've been very lucky in being selected to research the Shetland boat. The PhD is being financially supported by the Shetland Amenity Trust. I will be a full-time student at the Centre for Nordic Studies which is a department of the University of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The purpose of this research is to ensure that the historic fishing boats of Shetland whose heritage can be traced back to the Norwegian Vikings is definatively documented and preserved for the people of Shetland.

Visiting Shetland for the first time and finding somewhere to live.

Rae and I visited Shetland for the first time in May. We were very excited by the prospect of visiting the Islands. The little bit of Shetland we saw during our three day visit was staggeringly beautiful. What impressed me most were the big skies, the quietness, the rugged wildness and the fact that the sea is never far away. Everyone we met made us feel very welcome and the Winward B&B in Scalloway run by Beth Cummings is great.

Whilst in Shetland we made enquiries about finding a place to live. We had tried the usual route of Rightmove and Primelocation with no success at all. Searches on these sites proved fruitless and the reason for this we found out is that most people use shetlink which is the community website.

On our return home we signed-up with Shetlink and placed an advert for rented

accommodation. Low and behold within a week we had found somewhere to live at a

reasonable price. Its a small, pretty croft overlooking the sea which sounds idyllic and

hopefully it will be. We are really looking forward to living in Shetland and becoming part of the

community. Obviously, I am hoping to be able to do some boat building, and I have a

hankering to build a boat related to the PhD, maybe a Norwegian Fairing, we shall see.