The 25th Norwick Up Helly Aa

The second of Unst’s two Up Helly Aa festivals also celebrated a significant anniversary this year, chalking up its quarter century. The Norik Up Helly Aa (Norik is the preferred local spelling, although Norwick appears on the map) began on a small scale in the 1980s, but now rivals the older event in Uyeasound. This year’s festival took place on Saturday 5th March, after being postponed for a week, and after several raw, cold and blustery night in recent years, it was a pleasant calm night. The Guiser Jarl was James Gray, who spent his childhood at Valyie in Norwick. Consequently, the procession started in the traditional location, on the Fluggie above Nor Wick, but took a detour to Vaylie before proceeding to the burning site on the beach.

For more photos, and video, see kozetland1’s blog here , here and here.

 

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