Blogs from Stromness, Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe

We took the ferry from Scrabster to Stromness in the Orkney Islands, an island archipelago consisting of about 70 islands about an hour and a half ferry ride north off the coast. Mom was really into genealogy and she had been able to trace our ancestors from Orkney during the 1700-1800’s. She also had DNA testing done which shows Danish and Norwegian reference populations, making perfect sense when you look at a map or are familiar with Viking/Scottish history. The Orkney Islands have been continuously inhabited for about 8500 years making it an archaeological treasure trove earning it the name “Egypt of the North,” however most of it’s sites are twice as old as the pyramids. Orkney has over 160 archaeological sites ranging from standing stones to burial cairns to settlements. The islands are covered in ... read more

We took the morning ferry to Stromness in the Orkney Islands, an island archipelago consisting of about 70 islands about an hour and a half ride north off the coast. My mother is really into genealogy and she has been able to trace our ancestors dating from Orkney during the 1700-1800’s. She had DNA testing done which shows Danish and Norwegian reference populations, making perfect sense when you look at a map or are familiar with Viking/Scottish history. The Orkney Islands have been inhabited for about 8500 years making it an archaeological treasure trove earning it the name “Egypt of the North,” however most of it’s sites are twice as old as the pyramids (without any of the irritating souvenir merchants and camel touts ruining your enjoyment). Orkney has over 160 archaeological sites ranging from standing ... read more

Some would say it's a little late in the game; others might think that it's about time. Whatever. This is us. Use the information however you wish but at your own peril. We four have been friends for quite a while. Four days ago Kit and Kathy celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary - a wedding that Karen and I attended. We babysat Yellow Island for them for two weeks back in the early days when they were the caretakers of that special place. Our two properties at Three Meadows are just a short walk away from each other. And two years ago we traveled to China together. So, you can see we have some history of friendship and could expect that we would get along well for our trip to England and Scotland. But, could we ... read more

The northern coast apperars as we leave the idyllic Strath Naver valley. As we approach the end of the ride, Scotland continues to throw its weather at us. Wind is the dominating force everywhere and may be our strongest memory of Scotland. Wind turning huge wind generators lined on hills. Wind churning the waves to froth on the shore. Wind blowing handfuls of wool from sheep as they graze undisturbed in their pastures. Wind in our faces as we push the pedals to make it down a hill. Huge gusts of side wind that turn a down hill run into a test of skill. Wind driving sleet and rain into our faces. Wind that sucks the breath from our bodies and throws it back in our faces. And sometimes even wind at our backs sending us ... read more