An archaeologists dream

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Orkney is full of interesting things to see and the Mainland has a huge number of prehistoric monuments, mostly from the Neolithic Stone Age 5000 to 4000 years ago. Its an archaeologist´s dream with ancient village remains, burial mounds, standing stones, Iron Age broughs and viking and pictish sites. There are also unique remnants from World War II and a vibrant local arts and crafts scene.

We´ve got a car today so we can take in a bit of a selection. It also proves to be handy for sheltering from the biting North wind that has come up.

We visit a number of standing stones sites, the most impressive being the Ring of Brodgar, with 36 of the original 60 stones still remaining. The stones sit in the middle of a windswept plain between two lochs with views to other standing stones.

The world famous Skara Brae is a very well-preserved Neolithic village on the sea shore. The dwellings are almost underground, partially covered in grass and joined by small tunnels, so we can understand how they remained undiscovered for years until a storm uncovered part of them. They even have stone funiture inside and as we wander around the site we imagine living here sheltered from the elements. As a squall of rain arrives we run for the car.

We spend some contemplative moments in the hugely impressive 12th century St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, with its high vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows, tombs and elaborate carvings. Then its time for a bit of a local art and craft hit, browsing beautiful jewellery, creative felt and knitware and paintings.

We stop at a natural feature with a somewhat ´Dr Seuss´name - the Gloup of Deerness. Its a huge collapsed sea cave in the cliffs, but there´s not a star-bellied sneech to be seen. Its rough today, but on calm days they take boat tours through the gloup.

South of Orkney Mainland is a string of islands, we head for the Southern one. We can drive there as they´re all connected by causeways called the ´Churchill Barriers´. These were built in World War II to halt German naval access to the British fleet sheltering in nearby Scapa Flow. Numerous shipwrecks are obvious in the shallow waters around the barriers.

Italian prisoners of war who were interned here to work on the barriers created a unique place of worship on one of the islands. They used Nissen huts and any available materials to create this beautiful intricately crafted chapel. Its a very peaceful place to visit and feels quite special as we exit to a striking sunset with ´God rays´. The peace is shattered by the hiss of airbrakes and snap-happy tourists streaming out of their bus just as we accelerate out of the carpark.

There are so many more islands and features to explore in Orkney, we could spend months here, but mainland Scotland is calling again, so thats our Orkney experience for now.

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Photos

Ancient stone circle
The Ring of Brodgar

The beautiful Italian Chapel
And the crew