I’ve heard a lot of the famous Wulver (Sea-Wolf) living in the Scottish Highlands. “Wolfburn’s (remark: a whisky distillery in Thurso) motif depicts a creature found in both Scots and Norse mythology. According to ancient lore, the sea-wolf ‘did liveth both on sea and land.’ Walking on water is not its only gift: the sea-wolf also brings good luck to all those fortunate enough to see it.” (Source: Wolfburn whisky distillery in Thurso, ‘the most northerly whisky distillery on the Scottish mainland’).
Does this old famous creature really exist?
I wanted to find out and travelled to the Northwest Highlands of Scotland.
It is a long way to Thurso. And to keep it short: I was not fortunate to see the Wulver. But … hmm – let me explain.
United Kingdom, Thurso (indicated as red dot). ©SNAZZY MAPS.
Scotland, ©Rab-k – self-made using Inkscape to add text then MS Paint (to overcome upload failure), CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
The Wulver – only a Myth?
Originally from the Shetland Islands and its surrounding seas, the Sea-Wolf – also known as Shetland Wulver – is Shetland’s kind and generous werewolf. In contrast to the classic werewolf the Wulver is no shapeshifter, beeing a human and at times of full moon turning into a wolf-like werewolf. According to Celtic beliefs, the Wulver is the stage between evolving from wolf to man; it has a human body but the head and hair of a wolf. The Wulver is not malicious and violent like his werewolf brethren, but is famous for being kindhearted and spending its days sitting on rocks and fishing. The Celtics believe the Wulver is immortal, however one has not been sighted for over 100 years. (Source: slightly modified according to Transceltic.com and ScotlandStopHostels.com).
The Wulver’s Stane, a beautiful video illustration by ©Ethan Bourke.
Wolfburn‘s distillery motif was initially created by the Swiss Konrad Gessner (1516 – 1565).
Von dem Meerwolff. Lupus Marinus. Illustration by Konrad Gessner 1516 – 1565.
No Wulver all along. But a lot of Good Luck.
… and the most dramatic clouds I have ever seen.
Although I have neither spotted the Wulver nor another mystical celtic creature, I had a lot of good luck and plenty of peaceful, beautiful and inspiring moments during my trekking across northern Scotland.
Here are some of my favourite images from the Northwest Highlands.
At the pier of Golspie.
Between Kinbrace and the Garvault House, along the B871.
Help me to decide between warm and cold tones …
I spent two nights at the Garvault House – Mainland Britain’s Most Remote Hotel – a fantastic hotel in the middle of nowhere! Highly recommended!
Shining and shimmering evening sky at the Garvault House, view to the North, moments before sunset.
Scotland’s dramatic sky with sunshine and rain in permanent coexistence.
At the Garvault House, view to the South. Heavy rain and sunshine.
Moonrise at the Garvault House. What a splendiferous day.
Final thoughts
What, if there really is no Wulver? Hmm.
To make sure to have a lot of good luck all the time, I decided to go with a bottle of Wolfburn’s Aurora whisky in my luggage … And it was really worth. 😉
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Images: Ricoh GR II, GR Lens f=18.3 mm 1:2.8. .DNG RAW format. Edited in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
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A lovely tale Chris. You did not find the Wulver on your search, but maybe the Wulver might find you someday and bring you luck. We are glad you enjoyed your stay with us at Garvault House and, if we see the Wulver, we will let you know.
Thank you Adrian and Eva! And have a good time.
Very nice! The wulver ist very sweet at the whisky bottle ♡
Your Cécerli
Wunderschön deine Bilder und die Geschichte vom Wulver, fantastisch! Immer wieder schön deine Blogs! Vielen Dank! I love to read it!
Danke, weisst du, bloggen ist wie Aufarbeiten der Erlebnisse, einfach toll. Danke, dass du in meinem Blog mitmachst.
Hi Interesting subject. However, the Wulver is a Shetland creature. His stomping ground was the area between Haroldswick and Baltasound on the island of Unst. The most famous Shetland author Jesse Saxby lived in Baltasound and called her house Wulver’s Hool (Wulver’s Hill). The hill behind the house was originally known locally as the ‘hill of the wolf headed fairie’ (fairie in Shetland just means like spirit). He purportedly used to sit and fish on a rock known as the ‘Wulver’s Stane’ (Wulver’s Stone) which I guess must have in the bay at Baltasound. I just mentioned that to infer that if you wanted to find him that’s surely the best place to look. Best wishes. Leo Froud
Hi Leo
thank you a lot for your comment and your help – I really appreciate it!
You must know the Wulver has become a synonym to me, it’s standing for a good, helping but slightly frightened creature – some kind of a guardian angel. Of course a guardian angel could be anywhere with you or even within you.
You are right about the exact place and origin of the Wulver in the Shetlands, and as I saw the original writers cottage of Jessie Saxby was sold (see here: https://www.estateagencyshetland.co.uk/archive/wullvers-hool) … I tried to get a copy of her 1932 “Shetland Traditional Lore”, s here: https://amzn.to/2G9F5Ik , but it is hardly available and not as ebook, but I will get a copy of Philip Snow’s “Tales from Wullver’s Hool 2018: The extraordinary life and prodigious works of Jessie Saxby”, s. here: https://amzn.to/2TvDZJQ .
This summer I plan to visit Scotland again and the Shetlands, and I for sure will visit the exact location of the Wulver’s Hool, and also hoping to see the Wulver’s Stane – and maybe even the Wulver himself? 😉 Keeping my fingers crossed.
Thank you once more for your most valuable information and your time reading my blog and leaving a comment! Christian
Hi Christian – I wrote the recently published biography of Jessie Saxby, ‘Tales from Wullver’s Hool’, so it’s interesting that you have a fascination with the mythical beast. Obviously Jessie was aware of the wullver stories associated with the hill above her childhood home, Halligarth, in Unst. She would sit on the hillside as a young girl, and this was naturally the spot to build her retirement cottage. In fact, as she lived to be 98, Jessie spent 40 years there. It is now in a semi-runious state, but has been bought by a local and will be renovated soon. If you get the book, enjoy. There are lots of references to Shetland folklore, especially tales of trows, witches and giants. Jessie lived an incredibly full and varied life too, peppered with personal tragedies
Hi Philip
Thank you very much for your time and your most valuable insights about Jessy Saxby and the wulver. You are right, I am more than fascinated by this mystical creature, and I am looking forward to reading your book and to my visit to Unst this summer. I feel really honored by your comment on my blog post – thank you so much and for your time!
Christian