Chapter 2-DAY 7 - Orkney Islands

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ORKNEY ISLANDS

We left the Hotel at 8.15am for the short trip to the town of John O' Groats to catch the ferry to the Orkney Islands, a trip that would take about an hour. Despite concerns about the roughness of the Strait the trip was reasonably smooth and the time passed quickly.
On Orkney we were picked up by another coach with a local guide to show us around. Orkney is actually a collection of Islands and the main central/southern ones have been joined by a roadway so you can easily travel between them.

Orkney is famous for two main things:

THE WARS (WW1 and WW2)
It was the major base for the British fleet during the World Wars. The natural harbour was perfect, strategically placed and very defendable. However a German U Boat managed to breach defences and sink the battle ship Royal Oak in the harbour, with the loss of over 800 lives. The place of the sinking is marked and as a mark of respect divers are not allowed to dive on the wreck

There was also a prison camp on the islands which housed Italian prisoners. They were given permission to build a Chapel and with extremely limited materials and a huge amount of ingenuity the turned two army huts into the most beautiful chapel. We visited the Chapel as part of our tour and were stunned by the results they had achieved.

STONEAGE HISTORY
There have also been a number of historic archaeological finds on the island. The most recent a 5000 year old stone age village – Skara Brae. It was rediscovered 150 years ago after a severe storm blew way the sand dunes which had been hiding it for almost 5000 years. There is a visitor centre on the site, plus they have recreated a Stone Age house which you can go into and get a real sense of how people lived during that time. You could also wander freely (within reason) around the actual village. Incredible history.

They have also recreated at dwelling based as closely as possible on the original layout. The replica is amazing, you can go into the house and get a real sense of what things were like all those centuries ago. I even managed to slip a Hutt News onto the table area - will raise a few eyebrows until it is taken away by the staff!

We also visited the mystical prehistoric Stone Circle at Brodgar. There are three sites the oldest dating back to 1300BC. It is similar concept to Stonehenge except you are free to walk amongst the stone, touch them (hug them if you want!)

We also stopped at the biggest town on the Orkneys – Kirkwell and Jeanette bought some lovely local Jewellery.
At 5pm we boarded the Ferry and headed back to the mainland, if anything this crossing was even better!
Its a fair hike to get there but the Ornkeys were just fantastic to visit. So much history and such lovely islands. Just an amazing day in a special and unique part of the world.

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Photos

Italian POW Chapel
chapel built by Italian Prisoners of War

Skara Brae
5000 year old stone age village

Ring of Stones
Orkneys Stonehenge