South Ronaldsay

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17 June 2017

Our last complete day on the Northern Isles was most enjoyable.

We drove to the south of South Ronaldsay and visited another chambered tomb, The Tomb of the Eagles. The tomb itself was not particularly impressive but there was an interesting small exhibition which displayed eagle’s talons and other finds made when it was excavated. A fish lunch at a nearby restaurant was delicious.

Then it was back north again. A walk around the pleasant St Margaret’s Hope, the main village in the area, was followed by a look into the tapestry gallery of local artist, Leila Tompson. I was particularly struck with a 13ft x 6ft work called Secrets of Creation and most unusually for me made an impulse purchase of a print of it. We plan to hang it at home and it will remind us of our time amongst the thousands of sea birds in Shetland and Orkney.

Having seen the Churchill Barriers, I wondered how the entrance to Scarpa Flow used by the war ships was protected. This was answered when we took a walk around Hoxa Head and passed the remains of rapid fire canons on both sides of the Sound of Hoxa. Submarine netting was also used. In the event the defences were never tested.

We went back to the Sands of Wright for the Night.

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