Standing Stones (Orkney in General)

Member Name: helencb

Product:	Orkney in General
Date:	25/06/02 (92 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Scenery, History, Culture

Disadvantages: None

I have wanted to go to Orkney for I don?t know how long really. I think I have been inspired by many holiday programs over the years. The Rings of Brogar on the Mainland is the Henge where Billy Connolly danced round butt naked, for those who watched the World Tour of Scotland Series.

Anyway, I booked a few days in the Far North of Scotland, and I soon realised that Orkney was not difficult to get to at all.

Getting There
--------------

There are a number of ferry companies that operate Pentland Ferries and John O Groats Ferries. The Pentland Ferry Service was attractive, because of the ferry times, and the fact you can take your car on the ferry. The total cost for car and two adults would have been £90. Alternatively, you can do tours with John O Groats Ferries, and the tour we opted for was the Maxi Tour at £33 per head. This includes return ferry crossing and escorted tour to all the main sites. I thought this would be a convenient way to see the main attractions, not to mention slightly cheaper than driving ourselves!

Their website is www.jogferry.co.uk. You can reserve tickets on line for all the major tours, and pick them up half an hour before the ferry crossing from the terminal. We sailed from JOG at 900am, and the return crossing was at 700pm, so it was a pretty full, not to mention tiring day. The journey only takes about 40 minutes on the JOG ferry and it docks at the southernmost point of South Ronaldsay Island. The Pentland ferry docks at St Margaret?s Hope, which is at the top of South Ronaldsay Island and therefore the journey takes slightly longer. Alternatively there are sailings from Scrabster to Stromness, which will take a lot longer and are not suitable for a day trip. However you will get to sail past Hoy, and you could view the Old Man of Hoy rock formation.

The Islands
-----------
The Islands are charming and steeped in five thousands years of history including the Vikings up
to the present day, when the Islands were a strategic post during the wars, and the population increased threefold. There are about 69 islands in the group, although this is debated. An island is defined as a piece of land large enough to feed one sheep for one year.

The largest Island is creatively named Mainland, and this contains the two main towns of Stromness and Kirkwall. The next largest Island is Hoy. The other large Islands are Westray, Papa Westray, Stronsay, Shapinsay and Sanday. Not islands are inhabited, as you will have established when you read the definition of an Island!

The sea crossing goes over the Pentland Firth, an ancient route, and the large expanse of water below the mainland is known as Scapa Flow and is famous for its shipwrecks and a popular spot for divers.

You can get to the Mainland from South Ronaldsay by driving over four causeways known as the Churchill Barriers. These link Burry and a couple of smaller islands on the way. During the war, Italian Prisoners of War were shipped to Orkney and they were told to build these massive barriers, to protect the UK from German Invasion. The Italians were not keen on doing this, but relented and realised it would aide communication between the Islands. The barriers are named Number 1, 2, 3 and 4 Barrier ? more imaginative titles there! Most of them are passable all year round, although Number 2 Barrier is closed during high winds.

Temperatures in Orkney, contrary to popular opinion, rarely drop below 5 degrees Celsius and rarely exceed 22 degrees Celsius in summer. At almost 60 degrees N line of Latitude, the Islands are at equivalent latitude to Oslo, the tip of Greenland, and the south Border of Canada?s North West Territories. During the summer, there is practically 24 hour daylight, with the sun setting a few degrees west of North, and rising again shortly after a few degrees East. During the autumn, Orkney?s Skies are lit with the Northern Lights. <
br>
Things to Do
-------------
1. Visit the Highland Park Distillery and Visitor centre. Here you can watch a short video, which goes into a little history if the Islands as well as the history of the distillery. You can do a tour of the distillery itself. There is a coffee shop and a shop for purchasing your wares. The Distillery makes 12 yr, 18 yr, 25 yr, and rarely 40 yr old single malts. You get to taste one while you are watching the video, and while I am no whisky fan this stuff was fantastic. A bottle of 12 yr old malt costs £21.99 in the shop. The distillery is the most Northern Distillery in the world. It was started in 1798 by a local priest, who used to make the whisky under the church pulpit, and was not caught by the Customs and Excise people. In a nice little twist of fate the present day distillery is on the site of the old customs house. And no distillery is complete without its cat, named MALT!
2. The Italian Chapel is a fantastic building. It stands alone on the island of Lamb Holm, which is one of the small islands that are linked by the four Churchill barriers. It is the only remains of Camp 60 ? a prisoner of war camp housing Italians. It still stands today as a symbol of faith, peace and reconciliation. What is unique about it is that it is constructed from one of the Nissen Huts. The outside was painted to resemble brickwork and a belfry was added to the front to disguise the fact that it is actually a Nissen hut. The results are spectacular, when you consider what little raw materials the Italians had. After the war, the sculptor and artist stayed on at Orkney to complete all the detail of the chapel, and had it not been for intervention by the Orcadians, no doubt the chapel would have simply been destroyed along with the rest of the campsite. On the day of our visit, there was a wedding in the evening (Friday Evenings are traditional wedding times in Orkney), and the chapel is in regular use today.
3. The Standing Sto
nes of Brogar. This henge dates back over 5000 years and is older than Stonehenge in England. The henge originally consisted of 60 standing stones placed 6 degrees apart. Like Stonehenge, it is not certain how the stones were brought to the area. About 27 of the stones are left standing, one being hit by lightning in 1980, causing it to fall over. Many of the broken stones remain where they fell. The story is if you walk around the stones anti clockwise, it will bring fertility. Some of the stones also have graffiti dating back hundreds of years; it?s not a modern thing evidently!
4. St Magnus Church, which dates back to 1064, although it has been rebuilt since then. This is believed to be where St Magnus? remains were taken after he was killed by his brother in 1115AD.
5. St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. Kirkwall was founded in 1035 and is an Old Norse town, with a fabulous cathedral. You can do ours of the upper floors for a £4 fee, although it is donations for the remainder of the cathedral. It is said that the remains of two saints are buried here. It was a most pleasant day on our visit, and it was here we sat outside on the lawns in front of the cathedral for over an hour, with our little picnic of bread and fabulous Grimister Cheese! A really enjoyable location, right on the High Street.
6. Scara Brae. This is a five thousand year old village in the grounds of Skaill House uncovered during a storm in 1850. Since that time there have been a number of excavations, to uncover several houses. You can walk around the houses and view the midden that connected them. A Workshop has also been unearthed. These houses were built before the Pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge! As well as viewing the actual village, there is a reconstructed house that you can walk through to gain an appreciation for what we believe the conditions may have been. There is also a Video show, and gift store, coffee shop. The entrance fee is £4 and this also allows you access to Skail
l House which was built in 1620.

Eating and Drinking
-------------------
Both Kirkwall and Stromness are really one street towns. We snacked in Stromness, but you could eat a pub meal at the Ferry Inn, or the Bistro next door, as well as one or two other pubs and restaurants. And make sure you try some of the local beer from the Orkney Brewery, including the Skull Splitter! Local produce includes Fish and Cheese, although not usually together. Make sure you try some of the Original Orkney Ice-cream made at the Orkney Creamery, it is great.

Shopping
----------
Orkney is full of craft designer jewellers including Sheila Flint, Aurora, Hourston, Ortak; as well as the obligatory local knitwear shops.

Overall, a trip I have been waiting to make for years, and it was certainly worth the wait. Orkney has a magical aurora about it, and is a beautiful part of the world. If I go again, we would certainly get accommodation on the Island and take our car over, to spend a few more days just relaxing and enjoying the attractions and the scenery.

Helen Bradshaw

June 2002

Summary: