Saturday 1 September 2007

After breakfast we have some coffee in the still sleepy centre of Thurso. We read the papers and wait for the ferry which leaves for Orkney at noon. Two hours before departure we head for the port. We check in and put the car in line for boarding. We have still lots of time for a walk around the port and a drink in the dockside pub. At 11 the ferry comes into port and only minutes later embarkation begins. The ferry sails at 12 sharp for the 1 hour and 45 minute journey. The sea is not rough, but there some heavy showers. After an hour we see the first of the islands. Around 2pm we are on land again in  Stromness and drive to our guest house, only a stone's throw away from the terminal. We will spend two nights here in Millers House and Harbour side Guest House. The house was owned for three centuries by the merchant family of Miller, until it was bought by Magnus and Maureen Dennison in 1997, who converted it into a B&B. And not just any B&B. They are the proud winners of the first prize in Best Breakfast of Scotland in  2006. We have lunch at Julia's café near the port and then head for Skara Brae, an archeological discovery of 7 Neolithic houses dating back to 3000 BC. It storms heavily on the Mainland Orkney's West Coast and it is pouring cats and dogs. We put on our rain gear. The houses are in quite good shape and very simple in lay out. There is one round room with a fire place in the middle and a cupboard against the wall. All houses are the same and there is no communal building. The site has been used for about 600 years and was then deserted.  You get a good look at the houses and the connecting alleyways from a wall surrounding the site. There is also a complete full scale replica of a house which we can enter to see what it must have looked like at the time. The site was discovered when the sea washed away a piece of a land during a heavy storm and pieces of the dwellings became exposed. A visit to the site would have set us back £6,50, but  Historic Scotland also offers an Explorer pass, valid for a total of six sites on Orkney for only £16. Three visits will earn us back our investment. Next to the site is also a stately home called Skaill House (same ticket) , built for a bishop in 1620. The last occupant died in 1991 when it was opened up for the public. The bedroom of the last owner look just like she left in 16 years ago. We go back to Stromness and have a break before we go out for a drink at the busy Ferry Inn. A boisterous crowd tries to over shout a football match on television. We have dinner at Bistro 76. Not bad, but it will not win culinary prizes any time soon. Later at night we have a drink in the bar of the Stromness hotel. I take a Highland Park single malt, followed by a Scapa single malt. Both are made here on Orkney.

Weather: Cloudy, Rain showers. 12°C/54°F

Sunday 2 September 2007

We have breakfast in the large breakfast room. I am feeling adventurous and choose Orkney smoked Kippers. On a well filled stomach we go on our way. We drive to the Stones of Stennes. Near the hamlet of Stennes four of originally twelve flat yet gigantic stones stand in an elliptically shaped ring in a meadow. The site is Neolithic. What it means is still a mystery. Nor do we know for certain how people managed to move the extremely heavy stones to this site and then erect them. A bit further on, between to lakes we see the ring of Brogar. Here we find 27 of originally 60 stones a circle . A very impressive sight indeed against the back drop of a raging wind swept sea. We continue towards Birsay, once the centre of Norse power on the island. The Orkney's,     up until the 13th century, were, like Shetland, Norwegian dependencies. Vikings had established settlements and counties and some of them even undertook crusades to the Middle East from here. Here in Birsay we find a ruin of an 16th century Earl's palace. Outside the village on an isthmus there is another curiosity, the Broug of Birsay, but the tide is high and we cannot reach it. It is a Pict settlement (Historic Scotland).  From a cliff we see the rough sea banging on the rocks. We drive on to Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkney islands. Here is the grand St Magnus cathedral, a Norse Church from 1137, next door are the new Earl's palace from 1601 and the bishop's palace, now both ruins. De ruined palaces are also looked after by Historic Scotland. We have a look round and see that most of the rooms are still recognizable.

We have lunch in a bistro and drive on to the Eastern part of the Mainland. Mainland is connected with the islands of Burray and South Ronaldsay by means of dams. These are called the Churchill Barriers and were built during World War II in order to create a safe haven for Navy vessels against German submarines. We end up on South Ronaldsay, where we - after a short stop in the port town of St. Margaret's Hope, drive to the Tombs of the Eagles. In 1958 a farmer, called Ronnie Simpson, found here on his own land a Neolithic tomb which he then excavated himself, because real archeologists were reluctant to help him. They were more interested in a Burnt Mound (a Neolithic waste dump), also on Ronnie's land. The excavations are still in Ronnie's family's possession. The family does its utmost to tell everything they have learned about the finds. Ronnie's daughter is unstoppable and shows off one stone after the other. The tomb itself is about a mile's walk from the farm house. It is an interesting sight. You get in by means of a sort of skateboard that helps you through the extremely low entrance. Once inside you can stand up. For good measure there are four human skulls lined up in a show case, only visible when you press the button of the light switch. We drive back to Stromness, but before we get there we stop at Maeshowe, yet another Neolithic grave (or so they think), controlled by Historic Scotland. Funny enough no bones were ever found in or around the tomb. The tomb can only be visited on a guided tour. Booking is advisable, something we did not do. But we are in luck. This late in the day it is not very busy. Fran, the guide tells all you like to know about the theories on the origins of the site. Even the Vikings paid an involuntary visit to the tomb when they presumably fell through the roof on their return from a crusade. Some them took the time to write texts on the walls in runes - some of the quite corny. Back in Stromness we eat in the Stromness hotel. 

Weather: mostly dry, a few shower and some sunny spells. Stormy wind. 16°C/61°F

Monday 2 September 2007

Stromness - Thurso - Durness 122km / 76mi

After yet another fine breakfast we wander around the town to kill some time before the departure of our ferry at 11am. We buy stamps at the local post office. The cat is sleeping on the counter. We have coffee at Julia's and wait for the ferry. When the ferry finally comes in we check in and board the ship. The crossing is very quiet. We have lunch on board. and I order pizza. "Do you want chips with that?" the waitress asks . A bit to stunned to decline, I say "yes please". But the combination is still a bit alien to me. They are not the first chips we had on this trip and they certainly will not be the last either.  In Scrabster on the Scottish mainland we turn west along the North Coast. A beautiful scenery passes by. Purple coloured mountains, lakes, sheep and a wild coast line. The weather changes all the time. sun, clouds, rain and clear skies. Around 2.30pm we arrive at  Durness . Here we find a room at a  B&B.  The toilet is en suite, but the shower is downstairs. The host family (grandmother, daughter, son-in-law and five grand children) are most friendly. We go for a short hike starting at the beach in Balnakiel. At the Tourist Office I have bought a booklet with walks in the area  (£1). We walk along the beach towards an isthmus into the dunes towards cliffs that serve as bombing targets for practicing air force jets.  We reach the viewing point on top of  Faraid Head, from where we have splendid views of the Kyle of Durness, a sea bay. In all the walk is about 5 miles long. At night we have dinner at   Mackay's, the only real restaurant out here. Fine food in a stylish room. The outside appearance of the place is awful, so don't judge a book by its cover!!.  Today a mobile cinema visits the village. Films are shown in a purpose built container on a lorry. Today's show is the Simpsons. We go for a drink at the local pub near the camp site.

Weather: Four seasons in one day. In Durness sunny and 16°C/61°F