Festival of wool stretches islanders

The organisers of Shetland Wool Week have admitted that this year’s festival was “absolutely stretched to capacity” – with pressure high on staff and volunteers.

The Shetland Amenity Trust event, held in September and October, celebrated its 10th year and enjoyed huge popularity with people visiting from across the world.

There was a 50% increase in participants on last year, with more than 1,000 people buying tickets.

More than 400 events were delivered across Shetland, from Unst to Fair Isle.

Trustees of Shetland Amenity Trust heard at a meeting yesterday that the event “stretched our capacity to its maximum”.

Chief executive Mat Roberts said in a report to trustees that the charity is now “reshaping our event delivery functions to make it more sustainable”.

“We knew it was going to be the biggest thing we had ever done . . . we knew it was going to be challenging,” he said.