Blogs from Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 5

Well have I got some stories for you guys! Sorry it has been awhile since I have done an update but we have been flat out and trying to get to a compuiter is quite difficult!! Anway I will write about our time in Scotland (we are in Spain now) and what we got up to... First I had better mention of course that back in London before we started to go travelling Skip came up for a night to ctach up and see what we were doing.. Long story short he ended up in the cell for the night hahaha Still a little smart ass as usuall and gave a little to the police so they cuffed him and through him into the clicker for the night. Well our first port of call from London ... read more

Sunday 15th June Day two on Orkney began with sunshine, but it was thin and only mildly warm at this latitude. The wind, although still present, was a breeze, rather than a gale. Caz had emailed us an itinerary before we left home, but our hard copy which had gone west with the rest of the Britain and Estonia info that had been lost by British Post, and we no longer had our original laptop. Our first destination today was Earl's Bu. Bu is Norse for a large farm or hall. (Most place names in Orkney reflect the influence of the Vikings here). These foundations were supposedly the Drinking Hall where a murder took place in 1136. .There is a Norse Saga, called imaginatively, the Orkneyinga saga, which relates the details of this crime. (Pretty much ... read more

Monday May 12 - Tuesday May 13 My last traveling of the year took me back up to Scotland. I really wanted to see the Orkney Isles and found that the easiest and most cost effective way was to go with a tour group. And then I would get to see some of the Highlands as well instead of just from a train window. So I booked with a group called Wild in Scotland and hoped for the best. On Monday, about 16 hours after I had got back from London, I boarded a bus bound for Edinburgh. It was a long bus ride. At 7 am Tuesday morning, my bus pulled into Edinburgh bus station and I began to make my way up towards the Royal Mile and the Wild in Scotland office and at ... read more

Orkney, a group of stunningly beautiful, barren and mystical islands off the North coast of Scotland was our destination to visit some more far flung family members. The islands fill the visitor with a real sense of history, there were civilisations here 2000 years before the birth of Christ and it was a popular destination for the scariest of invaders, the Vikings. The resulting culture is kind of Scottish with more than a hint of Norse thrown in for good measure. Scattered around the islands are incredible remnants of all the different periods of life on Orkney; ancient dwellings, spooky stone circles with unknown purposes and the eerie resting place of the German naval fleet, scuttled here in defeat at the end of WW1. Wendy’s mum’s family are from the islands, so there is lots of ... read more

Today I had the chance to revel in my geeky love of anthropology and archeology. You might not know, but I minored in anthropology, and have always had a passion for it. I even wanted to major in it for awhile, but never knew what I would do with the degree. I just love to learn anything about it. So the chance to see a real Neolithic village was a dream come true!! I took a day tour from Inverness, which meant a three hour drive up to John O'Groats, the northern most settlement in mainland Britain. Then there was an easy 40 minute ferry ride to the Islands. Or that was the plan, at least. In reality, the ferry ride took almost an hour, and the seas were very rough. The ferry operators said ... read more