Motorhome News from Europe 36 Orkney 13th September Orkney - Isles of History The morning sun shone in greeting as we approached the grey exterior of Kirkwall, Orkney’s capital. But once inside the town we were stunned by an unexpected air of affluence. The red sandstone Cathedral of St Magnus stands proudly above Broad Street, bright with hanging baskets on smart Victorian buildings and elegant modern shops. Shrubs, trees and flowers adorn the town’s gardens and mature sycamores surround the ruins of the Earl’s Palace behind the Cathedral. The shops portray immediate evidence of Orkney’s successful craft tradition; it is famed for its jewellery, knitwear, glass, art and textiles. At first sight, the mainland of Orkney is a green continuation of the shining sea, with broad fertile pastures, cows and sheep and fields of barley rising
... read more