WATCH: Galley burns at Nesting & Girlsta Up-Helly-A’

Bracing winds from incoming Storm Ciara weren’t enough to stop the Nesting & Girlsta Up-Helly-A’ procession going ahead in style.

These are Vikings after all – with Jarl Peter Hunter and his 30-strong squad leading a procession of guizers down the hill to the burning site, where the Vassa was set alight on a brisk Friday night.

Crowds of folk watched as the guizers marched past, torches in hand, with the procession starting from South Nesting Hall and ending in a volley of torches.

Strong southerlies meant that the galley had to be burnt on the shore rather than in the water, but that did not make it any less impressive.

In fact, the wind fanned whipped the fire up into a huge blaze, warming the crowd and providing a spectacle.

The Up-Helly-A’ action had already got underway on Friday morning, when the squad assembled for a day of festivities, including breakfast at the South Nesting Hall, followed by visits to Whiteness, Tingwall and Vidlin primary schools as well as a stop-off at the Brae Care Centre.

As the head broke off the galley and collapsed into a fiery heap, folk headed out to halls to carry the night on, as squads put on a show at North Nesting, South Nesting and Whiteness & Weisdale halls.