ORKEY ISLANDS – Ork’s in the mist
Tuesday – day dawns – another restful night of sleep – maybe it has something to do with being dog tired or maybe it is because we are packing so much into each day. Usual thumping breakfast and we head off for our day on the Orkney Islands.
The mists have rolled in and it is really foggy on the way – can hardly see the road. I hope that Kenny knows where he’s going because it could be a pretty short trip !!!!
The coach navigates little windy roads and finally, we arrive in one piece at John O’Groats – the most northerly place on the Scottish mainland. There is of course, the souvenir shop and we do have some time before our ferry is ready to go so we all explore the little shop that is packed to the rafters with every bit of souvenir item that you can imagine.
Another fridge magnet is added to the collection and it is time to go to the wharf, board the ferry and set sail – into the mist and most probably disappear forever!!! I tell myself – the earth is round not flat. Cannot see a thing.
Have decided to sit outside in the fresh air and the fog and with my big jacket on it is actually very refreshing. I take some more photos of the fog and mist. Why?
Because it is there, that’s why. This is a photo of our passage to Orkney. How exciting is that I ask? We are told AGAIN that because of the extremely unusual warm weather and one of the hottest Summers on record the fog and mists roll in. This is about the 50th time we have heard that. I am glad that everyone has got their stories right. This is going to be one exciting day I can tell.
After a very unusual trip of keeping an eye out so that the Captain doesn’t run into anything – we arrive at Orkney – and of course we still can’t see a thing. Things had better improve I say to myself. We get off the ferry and onto one of the local tourist busses. Not as comfortable as our big coach but still it does the job. It’s more like a school bus and I have a giggle to myself as I see some of the faces in our group.
Oh well, everyone on and away we go. Yes, we get the ‘because of the unusual warm weather’ speel – and another smile to myself and I get the cameras ready. Going along we slow down so that we can see (?) a Salmon farm out in the mist and yes, I take some photos.
Our guide on the bus is a local and he tells us tales of Scapa Flow and how the German High Seas Fleet was scuttled there by the German Admiral during the First World War.
HISTORY LESSON: The scuttling of the German fleet took place at the Royal Navy’s base at Scapa Flow in Scotland after the end of the First World War.
The High Seas Fleet had been interned there under the terms of the Armistice whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships. Fearing that all of the ships would be seized and divided amongst the allied powers, the German commander, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, decided to scuttle the fleet.
The scuttling was carried out on 21 June 1919. Intervening British guard ships were able to beach a number of the ships, but 52 of the 74 interned vessels sank. Many of the wrecks were salvaged over the next few years and were towed away for scrapping. The few that remain are popular dive sites.
Let’s just face it – I am a photo addict. We visit the Italian Chapel that was built by Italian Prisoners of War during WWII. Very pretty.
We head off for morning tea at a quaint little place that also has a fossil museum. This is a very interesting place – only a small place – but filled with the most incredible fossils and rocks.
Back on the bus – more touring around and then it is time for lunch at a really picturesque little pub near the water.
Very, very much an English pub and after giving the menu the once over I decide to have the Crumbed and Lightly Fried Pepper Rings. Sounds interesting to say the least. Turns out to be what us Aussies call capsicum slices, crumbed and deep fried. Yummo. I’ll have to try that when I get back home. There is also a nice little side salad and of course a glass of wine and that should keep me going for a while.
The fog and mist have lifted (about time) and the day is heating up. After lunch – we see the Standing Stones of Stenness.
Incredible. These are large pre-historic monolithic stones just standing around doing nothing except looking formidable. Then we stop at the Ring of Brodgar. More prehistoric standing stones but this time they are in a circle.
History lesson – These stones are the finest known truly circular late Neolithic or early Bronze Age stone ring. The Ring of Brodgar along with three other historic sites – Maes Howe, Stones of Stenness and Skara Brae form the heart of Neolithic Orkney. The monuments, dating back to 3000 – 2000 BC are outstanding testimony to the cultural achievements of the Neolithic peoples of northern Europe.
There is a walkway around the stones and there are plenty of opportunities for good photos. I am glad that I brought along my Advantix camera for the landscape shots! Sometimes I even lay down and take some photos of the heather, bluebells and some pretty yellow flowers with the stones blurred in the background. People have stopped looking at me as a photographic idiot long before now – it is I who gets the good shots.
Next stop – Skara Brae. A very interesting prehistoric village and you can even walk down into one of the little places where people used to live. Certainly would have to get on with each other in these places. Very small and cramped for space.
HISTORY LESSON: Skara Brae is a large stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, Orkney, Scotland.
It consists of ten clustered houses, and was occupied from roughly 3180 BC–2500 BC. It is Europe’s most complete Neolithic village and because of its age (older than Stonehenge or the Great Pyramids) and the high level of preservation, it has gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status,and has been called the “Scottish Pompeii”.
After thousands of years these places are now covered with earth but excavation is impossible because they might collapse. Anyway you can still see a lot and after seeing as much as I could I walk down to the beach – no – the surf is definitely not up. I just want to walk along and get sand between my toes and relax.
Next stop Kirkwall. We get a chance to wander around by ourselves after our guide gives us a little bit of a run down on the place.
St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall dominates the skyline. It is the most northerly cathedral in the British Isles, a fine example of Romanesque architecture built for the bishops of Orkney when the islands were ruled by the Norse Earls of Orkney.
It is owned not by the church, but by the burgh of Kirkwall as a result of an act of King James III of Scotland following Orkney’s annexation by the Scottish Crown in 1468. It has its own dungeon.
You can see that there is the ever present tourist posing in my photo. I suppose he thought he was doing me a favour.
The Bishop’s Palace, Kirkwall was built at the same time as the adjacent St Magnus Cathedral was being constructed, and housed the cathedral’s first bishop William the Old of the Norwegian Catholic church who took his authority from the Archbishop of Nidaros (Trondheim). The ruined structure now looks like a small castle.
Originally it is thought to have been like a typical Royal Norwegian Palace, with a large rectangular hall above store rooms and a tower house as the Bishop’s private residence. King Haakon IV of Norway, overwintering after the Battle of Largs, died here in 1263, marking the end of Norse rule over the Outer Hebrides. The neglected palace had fallen into ruins by 1320.
The ruins of the Earl’s Palace, Kirkwall also lie near St Magnus Cathedral. Built by Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney, it was begun in 1607 and built largely by forced labour. Lord Orkney and his father, Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, are acknowledged to have been among the most tyrannical noblemen in Scotland’s history.
I have to do a little bit of shopping – disaster has struck and I have run out of shampoo. I also buy some afternoon tea and an ice cream cone that proceeds to run down my arm faster than I can eat it.
Back on the bus and heading for our ferry back to Thurso. The driver tells us to look out the window and we will see some highland cattle. These are cattle with big horns and long fringes over their eyes. Wouldn’t you know it – they are on the other side of the bus, he doesn’t slow down for us and I miss the photo. No matter.
The ferry ride back to John O’Groats is just as interesting as the one coming over. The mist has rolled in and we still can’t see a thing. We could end up back in Australia for all I know. And here I am thinking that this would be the best time of year to come over here – – – oh well. We arrive back in Thurso late in the afternoon and I have a nice bath and get ready for dinner and an early night. I have also discovered that Thurso is the place for a lot of surfing championships. I knew I should have brought the Malibu!!!!!
This is the main street of Thurso. This photo was taken early in the morning before we left for Orkney – that is why I am standing in the centre of the road without fear of being run over.
I seem to have a thing for standing in the middle of the road as you will find out. Our hotel is on the right hand side of the street – – and it’s a shame I didn’t get a chance to explore the shops – most of them were closed when we had the chance to roam around the town. I didn’t even get a chance to explore the river or parts of the other end of town.
Highlight of the day: Ring of Brodgar.