The Cache
This cache is a regular Ammo Can and therefore has space to hold Travel Bugs and Geocoins, but please think about the location of this cache when leaving them here.
The cache itself is not only based on, but also styled on the Bus Shelter. Therefore the contents of the cache match its current theme. The theme for 2012 is The Diamond Jubilee in recognition of Her Majesty's 60 years on the throne.
My Thanks
When I saw this featured on Martin Clunes 'Islands' on ITV I couldn't believe that there wasn't already a cache here. I got straight in touch with Bobby who, between his mother and himself look after and care for The Unst Bus Shelter. They agreed to allow me to place this cache and will also look after it for me. So a huge Thank You to them!!
The (abridged) History
There is much speculation about the origins of the Bus Shelter and how it came to be in the state it is in today. A story like this may be difficult to understand for many city dwellers as it relies on tremendous community spirit and trust, the kind you would only find on an island such as Unst.
The Bus Shelter sits on the corner of the main road through Unst (A968), and the Little Hamar Road on the North-East edge of Baltasound. It was the young residents of the Little Hamar Road that used the Shelter most frequently, catching the bus to school there every morning. A dull, brown but wholly effective bus shelter served this purpose for many years, until it fell fowl to the infamous Shetland weather in 1996. The roof of the shelter was blowing off and it was declared unsafe. To combat this, the windows were removed, causing understandable distress to the occupants. After some time, the council realised that this couldn’t work and simply demolished the shelter. That fateful day the school bus pulled up to a sorry site, the binkled shell of the hardy bus shelter lay broken on the tarmac with the only addition, an old brown chair, left on its side, sodden by the rain. At that time there were 3 regular users of the shelter, none of whom were too happy about a shelterless wait for the bus. Action was required.The youngest, 7 year old Bobby, took that action and wrote to the local paper The Shetland Times expressing his discontent at the situation. Sure enough, this alerted the council who brought a brand new, bright red bus shelter and planted it on the foundations of the last one. There was rebirth and with it came improvement.
A few days after the completion of the replacement shelter, a wicker sofa and table appeared in it. Nobody said anything, nobody claimed responsibility. Soon afterwards, a small TV was added, closely followed by a ‘hot snacks’ counter. In the winter, a 2-bar heater was installed, allowing an even more comfortable wait and it wasn’t long before a carpet was fitted.
In 1998, young Bobby, still just 9 years old, wrote and helped construct the original website which, allowing for a few updates, remained unchanged until recently. Throughout 1998 the Bus Shelter remained pretty similar. The only additions were an old Amstrad computer and a phone. Publicity was starting to come the way of the Bus Shelter through the website and word of mouth.
This attention was vastly increased in 1999 with the addition of many little things. These little things were 2 new users of the Bus Shelter and 2 new residents of the Bus Shelter its self, the now world famous hamsters. They were fed the odd curry and instead of a bland water bottle, they were spoilt with a bottle of genuine Unst beer, Auld Rock. This may have partially explained their almost total lack of movement throughout the summer.
The Bus Shelter isn’t totally self-sufficient. The closest neighbour, retired science teacher Leslie Smith, regularly watered the flowers and the contents of the Shelter were stripped to the bare essentials (sofa, table, TV and hot snacks counter) during the winter months to prevent damage and loss due to them blowing away.
Being the most Northerly Island in Britain, Unst is the logical place to host a massive millennium celebration. Much money was secured for this purpose and various mini-festivals were held, including the Bus Shelter’s very own celebration. The Millennium Bus Shelter Festival was a big hit, a bus was even brought in for the occasion.
Shetland only gets about 2-3 hours light in the depths of the winter and frequent powercuts caused by wind or snow mean that there are times when the whole island is in darkness. This can all get a bit depressing so the Bus Shelter installed fairy lights. These hardy lights were installed during the winter months to do their bit to illuminate the island. During the festive season it served as a visiting stop, boasting a bottle of whisky and a couple of glasses to be enjoyed by any passers by. There was the problem of having to prise the bottle away from its frozen base but the dedicated reveler could always find a way.
Queens Golden Jamboree, the highlight of the year. We were determined not to be forgotten in the most remote parts of her kingdom so we made big plans to celebrate at the Bus Shelter. Literally weeks in advance we wrote a letter to Her Majesty, requesting the pleasure of her company at this massive occasion but unfortunately she had prior engagements. However, to make up for her lack of presence, she leant us some of the crown jewels to be placed in the Bus Shelter to ensure that she was still represented at the event. Read more about the whole celebration here.
Following the celebrations in 2002, not much happened in 2003 however by 2004 we had thought of a new theme, Underwater. The Shelter gained some fishing nets, a very dramatic painting of a rolling sea and other such nautical paraffinalia. Due to life, there was also a change in the management structure during this year.
This was also the year we heard of the tragic death of John Ravenscroft (aka John Peel). Two generations of Bus Shelter HQ were great fans of Mr Peel and felt that we should do something at the Bus Shelter to remember this great man. Therein came the creation of the John Peel Memorial Traffic Island.
Traffic Island in place and Bobby away to Africa, the Bus Shelter was taken over by a local consortium headed by Bobby’s mother, Jane. It was agreed that an appropriate next theme would be simply, Africa. Many metres of giraffe-skin material later, the result was astonishing. During the 2nd year of Bobby’s stay in Africa, the interim-management at BSHQ were worried about him moving further and further away, the founder of the Bus Shelter seemed to be on another planet and it seemed many moons before he would be back. All these bad galactic puns are leading on to the introduction of the Outer Space theme.
Which brings to 2007. Bobby returned from overseas and commenced a role at the House of Commons before starting University. In a year with the Scottish elections concerning the future political atmosphere the Bus Shelter would exist in, the decision was made to do everything in its power to create a better Scotland. 2007 was the year that the Bus Shelter was Yellow and voted Lib-Dem. 2008 was the second year of a coloured theme, this time a cheery turquoise. This had no particular political motivation but is another visually striking theme which was possibly inspired by a Glasgow kebab shop...
2009 had the very striking theme - Pink, 2010 was Orange and 2011 was Blue/Nautical.
This abridged history (yup, it really is the abridged version) was extracted from the Unst Bus Shelter website (no longer available)