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Published: April 20th 2010
St Magnus Cathedral
Old, tall, and lots of characterArrived in Kirkwall via 6 hour ferry journey from Aberdeen. Easy crossing and I even managed to watch a movie, 'Sherlock Holmes' on the way.
My hostel (Orcades Hostel) was awesome. It is a recent addition in Kirkwall and I could not fault it. Everything was no bother, including my arrival at midnight, the rooms were spacious, the kitchen better equipped than my own, free internet and a great lounge/dining area. I was initially booked for 2 nights but ended up staying for all 5 nights I was in the Orkneys.
Weather was dreich on day 1- it did not stop raining all day but that didn't stop me exploring Kirkwall township and organising everything for the remainder of my trip.
Day 2, the weather improved markedly, and I toured St Magnus Cathedral. Built in the 12th century, it is a magnificent building created by the same stonemasons who built Durham Cathedral (see upcoming entry for more on that).
This also started my interest in the explorer, John Rae, an Orcadian who discovered the north-west passage in Canada and about whom I am now reading a biography. See the photo of his sarcophagus included in this blog.
In the afternoon, I hired a car and drove south to the islands of Burray and South Ronaldsay. The south is famous for the Italian Chapel, built by Italian POWs during WWII, and the Churchill Barriers, built to keep out the German fleet. 'Scapa flow' is home to the scuttled German fleet as well as plenty of British craft. As a result, it is a particularly popular diving site - but I was too much of a wuss to take to the water, even in a dry suit!
Day 3 had a mostly Neolithic theme. I visited Maes Howe (a tomb), the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae (a village), the Brough of Birsay - a little island - and also site of a neolithic village.
I also managed to wander about the lovely town of Stromness and visit the Stromness Museum. As the curator advised, it was a museum with a bit of everything - information about the role of the Orkneys during the first and second world wars, the employment of 1/3 of the population by the Canadian ‘Hudson Bay Company’ and, of course, quite a bit about the explorers, including
Inside the cathedral
Loved the color and the shape John Rae. The museum also housed a large collection of stuffed animals and birds which are seen in the region. Interesting but …….creepy?
Day 4 was all about finalising the Neolithic component of the trip with a visit to the Broch of Gurness. After being a little underwhelmed by Skara Brae, I was completely fascinated with the Broch. I was able to wander around amongst the village remains unlike at Skara Brae where it is completely “look from a distance” only. However, the accessibility of the Broch also meant that it featured some metal supports to ensure the structure did not fall on unsuspecting tourists. So, overall, I have to say both sites have done their best to show off the ruins in the most sustainable way possible.
Day 5 - the pinnacle - Highland Park distillery! However, before that, I returned to the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar with Miranda, a young English lady with whom I was sharing a dorm room. She had been in Kirkwall for several days without having left the township as she was researching her family history. So, she appreciated the journey and I enjoyed seeing the standing
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Couldn't stop photographing the arch ways stones in a completely different light - literally! When I had visited 2 days earlier, there were blue skies and few clouds. However, both structures now had an eeriness about them with large, dark clouds looming.
Onto Highland Park - one of the six remaining distilleries in Scotland with their own floor maltings - even if this only does account for 20%!o(MISSING)f their total malted barley! Unfortunately, Friday afternoon is a period of non-production at the distillery so whilst I was thrilled to see the barley itself spread across the floor, I did not get to witness them firing up the kiln to heat the barley, to cease the germination process and add some of that famous peat character to the end product. Oh well, next time! And I was asked by one of the other participants in the tour if I was involved in the industry (given my obviously educated questions of my tour guide, James!!!!) so that gave me a little buzz! James was a great guide but, unlike Dennis at Aberlour, did not offer to let us try the beer-like product (around 8%!a(MISSING)lcohol) directly from the washbacks! [And whilst I did try it at
Up the top
It was windy outside at the top of the cathedral (and need I say cold?) but even on an overcast day, it was lovely. Aberlour, I still don’t like beer, no matter what it is later turned into!]
At the end of the tour, the others all went back into the Visitor Centre for their wee drams whilst James and I went to the tasting room for my connoisseur tasting. I had paid a ridiculous additional sum for this privilege but I must say it was well worth it. In a little over an hour of chatting and tasting, I had a dram of the 10yo, a 15yo special edition named ‘The Magnus’, the 18yo and the 25yo Highland Park single malts. Enjoyed them all thoroughly with my favourite ‘nose’ being the 18yo and the favourite taste being the 25yo. Needless to say, it was a slow wander back down the hill and into the village after all of that alcohol. I did meet up with an English couple from my tour whilst shopping in Kirkwall and they noted my cheeks were a little rosier than when I had last seen them!
So a fantastic 5 days where I had plenty of time wandering around and visiting some interesting locations as well as plenty of downtime at the hostel to relax and
John Rae
Sarcophagus for a previously unheralded explorer. He discovered the north-west passage through Canada but, due to this accurate assertion that the previous party undertaking this exploration had resorted to cannibalism, he was largely ignored until recently. I was so interested in his story that I bought a book about him - so ask for more info in a few weeks time! enjoy the slow pace of these northern islands.
Just two final notes regarding my Orkney jaunt - the price of petrol and the continuing use of copper coins in the UK.
Petrol - When I left Australia, the price of petrol was around A$1.20 per litre. As I mentioned in my Dubai blog, petrol in the UAE is around 6c per litre. In the Orkneys, £1.28 per litre (a quick conversion would be around A$2.10 per litre). Ouch! Mainland UK is really not much better and makes it understandable why public transport is not cheap in the UK.
Pennies - Both Australia and New Zealand removed 1 and 2 cent coins from circulation by the early 1990s and I always wondered why the rest of the world had not done away with the small change. On the BBC radio, as I was driving around the beautiful Orkney Islands, I came across a most astounding discussion about this issue and why the UK would never do away with their pennies. Arguments relating to British retailers not rounding up and down on total prices, that all £9.99 bargains would be abolished etcetera, etcetera put me in mind of the
St Christopher
My main man - patron saint of travellers - has been keeping me safe throughout my journey. equally illogical arguments put forward regarding daylight savings in Western Australia. A good laugh and a reminder that people will believe anything if it is repeated often enough.
Upon returning from the Orkneys, I had a final sojourn in Aberdeen before heading south into England. The final day in Aberdeen was mostly about R&R and finished with dinner at an Indian restaurant with Martin and Irina followed by more whisky at a local bar, 'The Grill'. I was literally in single malt heaven. There was a single malt menu longer than most restaurant food menus and offered numerous tasting suites including vertical tastings from individual distilleries, 'around the world' and 'Scotland whisky region' tastings as well as singular tastings from everywhere! I had an Ardbeg (Islay, very peated) followed by a Bowmore (Islay, also peated and port-cask finished). Had a 'hot toddy' when I returned to Martin's - had to leave Martin and Irina to continue the whisky-tasting - I was vanquished!
It was indeed the perfect way to finish my Scottish adventure -thanks so much Martin!
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Dermot
non-member comment
Whisky and all that is good
Merryn, Fantastic reading your adventures I am very envious of your whisky adventures - that's it I am going to do a whisky tour. Regards Dermot