26 June – A Day on the West Coast of Orkney

The day broke clear, calm, and with bright sun!  We were excited.  We made a list, checked it twice, and hit the road.  Our stops: included:

·       The Ring of Brodgar – the first standing stone site on our list.  These awesome stones (27 of 60 survive) stand in a circle 341 feet in diameter surrounded by a ditch 10 feet deep and 40 feet wide.  Parts are cut into bedrock with two entrances on opposite sides with causeways across the ditch.  All this done by generations living about 2500-3000 BC. 

·       Skara Brae archeological site – an amazingly preserved Neolithic village dated at 4500 years ago.  To put it in perspective, people were living here long before the pyramids were built in Egypt and by the time of Stonehenge the village had already been abandoned after 300-400 years of habitation.  The homes were dug into the ground, round, with covered passageways linking six or more sites (some were lost prior to discovery) .  Discovered in the late 1800’s after a ferocious storm blew and washed the turf and sand covering the buildings.  These people had stone beds, dressers, storage areas, and perhaps even toilets with drainage below the house.  Both sites were awesome and made one feel powerfully respectful of these distant ancestors.

These 4 photos show the replica of the homes... the next photos show the ancient ruins.

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·       The Stones of Stenness – another standing stone circle dating to about 3100 BC.   Encompassing decades of work to dig the ditch and haul the stones and erect them, it is incredible to stand next to stones 20 feet tall and think about the work to dig a pit deep enough to hold the stone for thousands of years… by hand… The stones have angled tops… how did they achieve that?

Notice how thin this slab is...

·       Ophir Round Kirk and Earl’s Bu – The round kirk (church) is the only surviving circular medieval church in Scotland, built around 1120 after an Orkney Earl made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and saw the round Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  Little remains because the nave was demolished in 1757 when stone was needed for the construction of a new parish church.  Earl’s Bu (a drinking hall) is at the heart of an Orkney Saga telling of the struggle between brothers who were both Earls, one of whom killed the other.  Only the foundations remain in the turf.

The Hobbister Nature Preserve – caught our eye as we were starting home.  It is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and is filled with lovely wild flowers, heather, ferns, and more which provide cover for birds and wildlife.  Dan walked into it briefly and thrilled at the quiet and peacefulness.

Heading into Kirkwall on our way home we saw the sign for the Scapa Distillery, the “other” distillery in Orkney.  A brief stop to say I was there followed.

·       Our last stop was at a beach in the area of our cottage.  A huge dune separated the parking area from the beach, with steep sandy steps, so Kathy opted to stay in the car while Dan checked it out.  A beautiful sandy beach, with mildly crashing waves as the tide came in.  A short walk yielded some nice photos, a couple pretty shells and, amazement declared, a piece of sea glass for Kathy’s collection.

I like to pick up unusual rocks, but some are too big to bring home!  Loved the lines in this one.

By the time we got home at 5:30 we were both whipped.  A wee dram of Highland Park and a nap helped, but I think we’ll sleep well tonight!  Oh yes, we had lovely visitors after we got home... perhaps Beth and David best get ready..... 

Guess the ducks are tired too.

P.S.  It's 10:00 pm here, the sun is still shining on the field next to the cottage and the two calves out there are chasing each other around like it's mid-day.  Good grief!

 

10:15 pm