Orkney

The annual family holiday: and this year we went off to Orkney. I’ve never been to the Northern Isles before – the furthest I’ve made it to was the Northern coast of mainland Britain which has such attractive sights as the remains of the Dounreay atomic plant and John o’Groats whose one claim to fame is being 874 miles from Land’s End, which is only of any consolation if one is in Land’s End at the time. Anyway, we headed off, if not quite to the land of the midnight sun, it was the land of the midnight twilight.

Orkney just past midnight - it is possible to read in that light

In fact we had to go via John o’Groats to get to the Ferry that runs to South Ronaldsay, the southernmost island which is now connected to the Mainland via a series of causeways known as the Churchill barriers. Part of the attraction of Orkney is the abundance of historical sites and we had a first glimpse of this passing the island of Stoma – now uninhabited but with the ghostly ruins of the islanders’ farm houses and the Lighthouse – the only remaining sign of active human activity aside from some grazing sheep.

Stoma Lighthouse (ruins in distance)

The islands are full of ancient archaeological remains and a great example was just 30 minutes’ walk from our cottage in the shape of the Broch of Gurness – a fortified iron age settlement dating back some 2,000 years.

Broch of Gurness - entrance

The islands are home to a UNESCO world heritage site consisting of the Ring of Brodgar, Stones of Stenness, Maeshowe and Skara Brae. These all date back some 5,000 years and are well worth seeing, although I have to say that the ring, in particular, was mobbed by tour busses when we saw it which did rather spoil my romantic notion of an ancient, mystic wilderness.

Stones Of Stenness - me standing by them for scale.

Ring of Brodgar

Maeshowe entrance.

Skara Brae - 5,000 year old village.

In fact once away from the well-advertised tourist route there are literally dozens of sites to see. I was quite taken with the Unstan Burial mound which is hidden away behind a private cottage but well documented by Historic Scotland.

Unstan from the outside

Inside Unstan burial mound

The more recent past of Orkney is marked by a series of museums, many run by the local council and with very engaging and knowledgeable staff running them. One place we visited on the recommendation of the museum staff was the Barony Mill, a working watermill (in fact we bought some oatmeal from there – it makes fantastic porridge.)

Barony Mill water wheel

Barony Mill inner workings.

The more recent history of Orkney is centred around its history as a naval base during the World Wars. The German fleet was scuttled there after the First World War and the Churchill barriers were built by Italian prisoners of war after a Royal Navy ship was sunk by a U-Boat. The Orcadians seem to have a great fondness for their Italian “guests” but the Italians also left a delightful artefact of their own in the form of a chapel next to one of the barriers. This was build out of a Nissen hut but with a designed fascia and a beautifully decorated interior.

Itialian Chapel (Orkney)

Italian Chapel - alter

We also had a good look around Kirkwall which is the most populous of the islands towns. The Cathedral dates back to the 12th Century. However one of the most fascinating places was the Wireless Museum – essentially a single room but packed to the roof with all manner of radios, Morse machines, naval equipment and even a working version of the Pong video game.

St Magnus Cathedeal, Kirkwall

Orkney Wireless Museum.

We didn’t venture on to the surrounding islands (there are a series of ferries connecting most of the major islands) but I did manage to get a shot of the Old Man of Hoy from the ferry on the way back – at least that’s it through the rain and mist (there is also a puffin there if you look carefully).

Old Man Of Hoy - in the rain