6.2 miles walked!

After our lovely walk on Saturday we decided to keep the momentum going and walk to Skaw and back on Whalsay. We didn't think much of it and set out with Esme and the dogs. It was a particularly windy day but we walked at a good pace and made it to Skaw and back in about 2hrs15mins which we thought was quite a good time. It was only when we returned home that we realised that we had actually walked 6.2 miles! Quite an achievement! On the down side though my knee is knackered! I think I need to strap it up next time. Hopefully it will right itself in time for our next outing.

Family Training Walk #1

Well, today the Sh'Emmetts began the family training and what a day to begin on! It was so sunny we couldn't have wished for a better day to begin our walking training. We climbed up to reservoir above Scalloway and then up and along the ridge that looks over Tingwall and down to Scalloway. James carried Esme and she seemed to enjoy herself! My new walking boots turned out to be a good buy and despite walking through numerous peat bogs they didn't leak once which is brilliant - my last pair leaked all the time! We saw quite a few Arctic Hares as well, they stand out against the heather perfectly, but they are very fast and trying to get a good picture of them is not easy, as I found out! I honestly thought that I would find walking on the heather harder going but actually it wasn't too bad once I got used to it and the view at the top was worth it. I have to say our first outing was a complete success and we are feeling very proud of ourselves. It wasn't the hardest of walks but it was a good place to start. Off out to scale Clate hill on Whalsay with the dogs tomorrow - need to keep using the muscles so that they don't seize up!

Anyone for tea?

Not only are we doing the 3 Peak Challenge for the maternity ward but we are also holding a sunday teas on Whalsay on the 1st of May at the Symbister hall from 3 -6. There will also be crafts on sale. I am busy making jewellery for my stall! I love making jewellery but since Esme was born I've not had much chance to do any, so this is the perfect excuse to get back into it. My true ambition is to do silversmithing and hopefully I will get to do that one day but for now the pieces I am making I am really pleased with and I hope that they will make some money towards our final total. I will post some pictures on here so that it might entice some people to come along and buy some. Other than my jewellery of course, there will be some lovely crafts from other island residents who make some beautiful things. There will also be lots of baked goods for your afternoon tea and I have to say that the baking on this island is the best I have ever tasted! You really should try it!!! So if you are free on May the 1st come along!

The preparation begins!

Well we have begun, albeit slowly, to train and prepare for our challenge. I have begun swimming again and managed to swim 1km in half an hour last week! I was very proud of myself but I suffered for it in the following days. Of course walking would be the best way to get prepared for the climbs! We are going to start with Clate hill on Whalsay and then take it from there. Unfortunately the weather has not been great just recently but we are just going to have to go out regardless of the weather if we are going to reach our goal! Wish us luck!!!! We will let you know how we are getting on.

                                                       The Sh'Emmetts

The Challenge

In a moment of madness, sat having a cup of tea in the Bonhoga Gallery, James and I came up with the slightly ridiculous idea of doing our own version of the 3 Peaks Challenge. Usually this would entail walking up Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in the space of 48 hrs (or something silly like that); we however have "tweaked" it slightly to suit the fact that a) we are not super fit, b) we live in the Shetland Islands and c) we have a baby with us. So our 3 peaks are: Rhonas Hill in Shetland, Scafell Pike and Snowdon. Esme will be carried up Rhonas Hill but it will just be James and I doing the other two. We really are not fit enough to carry Esme up the other two! We are going to do all of this in the space of 2 weeks which includes travelling south to the British mainland.

Why are we doing this? Well....not for fun! We are doing this to raise money for the Gilbert Bain Maternity Unit in Lerwick. This cause is close to our hearts because of our beautiful daughter Esme. When she was born, Esme had a few problems one of which was keeping her temperature up; the staff in maternity were brilliant with us and worked hard to keep Esme warm but they didn't have the specialist equipment that would have made this job a little easier and so it was felt best that Esme and I were flown south to Aberdeen so that she could spend a week in the neo-natal unit to give her the best start possible. Esme was fine within a week and we were sent home to start our new life as a family. She is now nearly 5 months old and is doing brilliantly.

We wanted to be able to say thank you to the fantastic maternity team at Lerwick; the level of care and support they offer is second to none and they deserve the equipment that will help make their jobs a little easier. So our goal is to raise enough money to buy a special mattress that will fit into the existing cots that is filled with warm water and kept at a constant temperature which will help keep little babies who need a little help like Esme did warm. It is going to cost £2200 but we want to raise as much money as possible. A difficult task in the current economic conditions but we are hoping that people will be able to give something, no matter how small.

Who are we?

Hello,

We are the Emmett family from Shetland; James, Zoe and baby Esme. We refer to ourselves as the Sh'Emmetts (Emmetts from Shetland) as it helps distinguish us from the other branches of the Emmett family. We live on a small island off the mainland of Shetland, called Whalsay and it is from here that we are embarking on a challenge that we hope will help raise money for a cause that is close to our hearts. Over the next few months we will be training for our own version of the 3 Peak challenge and this blog will document our preparations and the challenge itself. We hope that you will follow us and be inspired to help support us.