Orkney Island - Day 1

Thursday, 19 September 2019

This AirBnB isn't the best we have ever rented.  It kind of has a smell about it.  Maybe like there has been water damage and they didn't replace the carpet.  Unfortunately, we are here for 3 days...fortunately, the bed is really comfortable and the shower is hot and powerful.  Oh well...we can deal with this for a few days.

Anyway, because the bed is comfortable, we had a good night sleep and woke up ready to go.  We looked out the window and it looked like a miserable day...rain, fog, and wind.  Oh well....we have to do it anyway.

We headed out for our day of touring neolithic sites.  The Orkney Islands have the highest concentration of neolithic sites 5,000 years old, in the UK.  On the way to the first site, Tim clicked this photo.

First neolithic site is called Stones of Stenness.  There are 3 and a half stones still standing from the original 12 that formed a circle.  These stones are 5,000 years old...1,000 years older than Stonehenge and some of the oldest standing stones in Britain.

Just a short walk over to the next field is Barnhouse Village.  This was just discovered in 1984 and was probably the residential area of the priests and custodians of the Stones of Stenness, so it dates back to the same 5,000 year ago.

I noticed a long standing stone down a path from the Barnhouse Village, so I went and checked it out.  By this time, Tim went back to the car since the weather was pretty bad with rain and wind.  I guess it is hard to see in these photos.

I took this photo as I was approaching the Stones of Stenness from Barnhouse Village.

Oh, I forgot to tell you this crazy story...As we parked at the pullout for Stones of Stenness, a car pulled up behind us.  It happened to be the couple we met a week ago on the ferry to Staffa.  It is kind of crazy how small a world it is, but it really isn't since we are both using the Rick Steves tourbook, so we are on about the same schedule.

Anyway, we continued down the road less than 1 mile...I told you this are is very concentrated.  This is the Ring of Brodgar.  This ring, 4,500 years old, is massive.  It is almost 350 feet wide and consisted of 60 stones of which 27 still remain standing.  Another interesting feature of this ring is that it is surrounded by a moat (henge) that was 30 feet wide and 20 feet deep.

Ring of Brodgar

Back in the car...yes, I am getting used to driving on the left side of the road from the right side of the car.

Next stop is the amazing Skara Brae.  This "village under the hills" was uncovered by a sandstorm in 1850.  It is a village dating back 5,100 years ago.  The subterranean housing units are all connected with tunnels that burrow under the hills.  Each of the housing units have a central heath, beds along the wall, and storage areas..pretty amazing.

Included in the ticket for Skara Brae was entrance into Skaill House.  This stone mansion, built in the 1620's  is where William Watt, the discoverer of Skara Brae lived.  It wasn't our cup of tea, but we walked around it and learned a little bit.

Just 2.3 miles past Skara Brae there happened to be Orkney Brewery, so we stopped and had our fight along with lunch.

Orkney Brewery, Orkney Island, Scotland

After the flight, lunch, and a pint we returned to our AirBnB and walked around Kirkwall.  RIght behind our apartment is the impressive St. Magnus Cathdral dating back to the 12th century.

A major highlight of the cathedral is the various gravestones that line the wall.  Some of these stones date back the the 1600's.

The carvings on these stones are just incredible, and I loved the wide array of skull and crossbones that appeared on each of them.

Back outside, it is easy to notice the weathering of the red sandstone.

We then walked around town and stopped at the supermarket to buy some food for dinner then returned home.  I had a plate of smoked trout and salmon that I purchased from a local smoked fish shop along with cheese, crackers, and strawberries...yum.  Tim fried himself up a steak and bought some Roquefort blue cheese to go with it.  We also drank some of the beer we seemed to have been collecting from the breweries we have visited.  It was a great dinner.

Tomorrow we continue our driving tour of the island, this time seeing the famous World War II sites.  Until then...