An island full of surprises

Graham here on Kirsty's account.

Orkney has been fantastic so far, anyone with a passing interest or more in history can't help but be in awe at all the historic sites around this beautiful island.

Some sites date back further than the Great wall of China, the Pyramids and Stonehenge, and 3000 years before the nativity. Then there are Norse inscriptions, Viking villages, iron age settlements, standing stones and archeology in action.

Skara Brae is a Neolithic village, and is in an amazing good state. Little imagination is required to put yourself in the houses, mainly because they have built a replica that you can walk around. The village was exposed in a storm in the 1800s which exposed it from the sand dunes where it lay undiscovered.


Looking around the village overlooking the sea, makes you think about the people who inhabited the village 5000 years ago, and the people who laid the stones so carefully on top of each other. Then there was Skail House, built in the 17th century where you can see a dinner service from the Resolution used by Captain Cook. Incredable to think that Captain Cook had eaten off those plates.

Then we had the first of many informative and entertaining guided tours. This one was on the Brough of Birsay a Pictish settlement that also had a number of Norse longhouse remains. Before the tour we walked around the island and got close to some puffins on the cliffs and enjoyed the views from the cliffs.



Yesterday we booked a 6pm tour around Maes Howe, an impressive burial mound, with Viking graffiti inside. But before that we spent the afternoon in Kirkwall, visiting the cathedral of St Magnus, before heading off to see Andrew Appleby the Harray Potter at Fursbreck Pottery.

This morning we headed to the Ness of Brodgar, an archeological excavation in progress. Where we had the best guided tour so far, it lasted almost 2 hours and was excellent. There was no admission fee, but donations are welcome, and it seemed rude not to leave a donation. The site has hit the headlines a number of times for finds and the size of the buildings they have discovered.

This afternoon we went for yet another guided tour, this time at the Broch of Gurness, an ironage settlement over looking Eynhallow Sound, with walls over 5 metres thick it was a substantial structure.

When we first arrived in Stromness, I recognised the name and make of one of the yachts here, having photographed her when Yachting Monthly did a test on her a few years ago. Unlike most of our new boat tests Roy, the owner was on board at the time. So on Friday last week I knocked on the hull, and Roy popped his head out of the hatch. Roy set off from Plymouth on June 16th and is half way around sailing around the UK singlehanded in just 12 weeks, having made it here in 6 going outside Ireland and up through the Outer Hebrides he's on track for doing his trip within his time limit. Unlike us.

You can follow his progress at http://www.roygoodman.com over the evenings we've been to each others yachts for drink, and tonight we're off to the pub as Roy is setting off for Westray tomorrow. So I'd best be off.