Liz and Frank: The Orkneys

Well it is about 6 weeks since we took off to the Orkneys, and I am now going to try and finish off this trip on my blog - well soon!.

Travelling to the Orkney Islands was one of the major parts of this trip. We caught the Northlink Car Ferry from Scrabster across the Pentland Firth to Stromness, we would drive and stay in Kirkwall, but the Isle of Shapinsay was really why we are here.

The Pentland House Lodge gave us a wonderful breakfast, and we then headed down to Scrabster Wharf to drive onto the Ferry to Stromness.

Looking back to the Scrabster Lighthouse as we begin our 90 minute ferry ride to the Orkney Isles

the weather was bleak - not too many passengers sitting outside - it was a "5 layer" day for us.

However, I must say that the MV Hamnavoe was really the nicest car ferry we have ever travelled on, I also bought a warm hat on board - it was definitely a handy purchase.

Crossing the Pentland Firth we saw unsual lighting between sky and sea

and the Old Man of Hoy

a 449 feet sea stack on the Island of Hoy

This Old Man is probably less than 400 years old - according to sketches of this coast in 1600-1750

Hoy has huge cliffs on this side of it's coastline

The Old Man was first climbed in 1966 and again in July 1967 - an ascent featured in the Great Climb, a live BBC three night outside broadcast, which had around 15 million viewers.

In May 2008, 3 Base Jumpers took 7 hours to climb the stack, and just 10 seconds to get back down again.

One of these jumpers died 11 days later during a jump in Switzerland

Below passing the Island of Graemsay

and it's Lighthouse

into the Harbour of Stromness - name originates from Old Norse - 'cape in the current'.

Stromness developed a very strong association with the Hudson's Bay Company and saw many of its young men recruited into fur trading enterprises in Canada.

We left the Ferry and drove on to Kirkwall and our Hotel - the West End - built in 1824 as a house for William Richan in Westray. It was then purchased by John Balfour for a hospital in Orkney (more on the Balfours in Shapinsay).. We thoroughly enjoyed it - olde world, and wonderful food.

We decided to stay in Kirkwall for the rest of the day - walked around it, then spent quite a bit of time at the Orkney Library and Archives - checking the January/February 1908 newspapers for any information on the death of my Great Grandfather on the Island of Shapinsay.

I found quite a lot of memorials and write ups in both the Orcadian and the Orkney Herald micro fiche, some of them were A3 in size (this is the smallest one) - my grandfather is the 2nd son, Robert. I had them copied from the micro fiche reader, but have to say the quality is poor - went to the one Newspaper which is still operating, and they had sent the originals away for "digitizing", and they won't be back till the end of this year.

******

The next morning the sun was popping out in Kirkwall, and it felt more like a "4 layer" day with that new hat, and the gloves I had bought in Saundersfoot, Wales.

We walked around early morning and stopped at the St Magnus Cathedral commenced in 1137, the construction took 3 centuries and presently exhibits the different styles of Romanesque, Transitional and Gothic.

St. Magnus Cathedral is unique in Europe in that it belongs to no particular denomination. It has been owned by the people of Orkney since 1486 when King James 111 granted it to the people of Kirkwall.

Love the ceilings again inside St. Magnus

This old Ford looks ancient, but it's owner is most content sitting in the sun in Victoria Road, Kirkwall

*****

Our next step was to explore some of the "Neolithic" (later Stone Age) Monuments on mainland Orkney - the first being the "Standing Stones of Stenness"

The surviving stones are sited on a promontory at the south bank of the stream that joins the southern ends of the sea Loch of Stenness and the freshwater Loch of Harray.

The stones are thin slabs - 1 ft. thick and up to about 16ft high - originally elements of a stone circle of 12 stones laid out in an eclipse about 104 ft.diameter on a levelled platform of 144 ft diameter, surrounded by a ditch.

Even in 18th Century the site was still associated with traditions and rituals, by then relating to the Norse Gods.

The heart of Neolithic Orkney was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in December 1999.

We then moved on to the "Ring of Brodgar" just over a kilometer away.

This is a Neolithic henge and stone circle.

Most henges do not contain stone circles

Brodgar is a striking exception, ranking with Avebury (and to a lesser extent Stonehenge).

Brodgar stands on a small isthmus between the Lochs of Stenness and Harray.

(We are now definitely into a 5 layer day - so pleased I bought that hat!)

These are the northernmost examples of circle henges in Great Britain.

Unlike similar structures such as Avebury, there are no obvious stones inside the circle

but since the interior of the circle has never been excavated by archeologists

the possibility remains that wooden structures, for example, may be present.

The tallest stones stand at the south and west of the ring which originally comprised of 60 stones - of which 27 remain.

The stones are set within a circular ditch up to 9.8ft deep and 30ft wide and 1,250 ft in circumference, that was carved out of solid sandstone bedrock by the ancient residents.