22 May, Sunday

Excellent weather today (in retrospect!)

Drove around the coast of “mainland” Orkney in arc from Kirkwall to Stromness in an anti-clockwise direction, stopping first at the Broch of Gurness, described as the most outstanding example of Iron Age settlement.  This is a fortified tower and domestic buildings situated on the shore looking out at Rousay. 

A number of these brochs and braes seem to appear after big storms when the sand gets scoured away.  I wonder whether they were originally covered by tsunamis?

Broch  of Gurness

 

 

Cowslips and orchids blooming nearby

On my way to Marwick Head I stopped at the Earl’s Palace in Birsay.  Robert Stewart was an illegitimate son of James V and as Earl of Orkney built this palace along with several others, probably through slave labour.  He and his son, Patrick Stewart were renowned for their tyranny in both Orkney and Shetland.  Patrick Stewart made the Shetlanders build him a palace in Sumburgh where the mortar is supposedly made of blood and eggs – hopefully more to come later on that subject.  The Bishop of Orkney told James VI how dangerous and independent these two Stewarts were becoming and both were executed by JamesVI.  The Bishop’s palace and the Earl’s Palace in Kirkwall are next to each other, friendly neighbours?

Earl’s Palace, Birsay

Standing stone in a cows field

Orkney has lots of standing stones, in circles and just here and there…

I walked up Marwick Head – lots of birds as well as Kitchener’s Memorial.  There was a little bit of rain but not enough to stop me photographing puffins.  That was the first day I saw Eider ducks…but not close enough to photograph.  They have become a bit boring since then!

Puffins in the rain

Marwick Head

Lord Kitchener’s memorial is huge

HMS Hampshire sank in June 1916 on its way to St Petersburg with Kitchener.  He was going to encourage the Czar to stay in the war. Delayed by bad weather she set sail from Stromness against advice, blown up by recently laid mines – or maybe not – there is some mystery as the locals were not allowed to go to the rescue, something about non-military personnel finding secret documents. Anyway the people of Orkney raised money for what is described as large, yes, and unkindly, undistinguished. What I found weird was that there was no door into it so it couldn’t be used for anything else.

I then moved on south to Skara Brae and by this time the weather was deteriorating so I didn’t linger outside too long. This is a neolithic village, eight inter-connecting huts uncovered by a violent storm.  You can’t go into the site itself, just look at it, but there is a reconstruction of a dwelling so you can get the feel for what it was like.  The furniture is made of  flagstones.  They reckon it was built 3000BC.

It doesn’t look it from the photos but it was blowing a gale.  Skaill House, behindwas part of the same deal so I headed for shelter.

It was a lovely house – quirky – and to my delight the first floor sitting room had….

…a tiger skin rug.  I have been full of regrets that when visiting the United Services Training Centre in Pune, India with my father I chickened out from asking the Commandant if I could photograph the tiger skin rug in the middle of his office.  So I don’t mind now, and this one has red frills – even better.