Orkney
“1969 — First man on the moon
1961 — First man in space
1876 — Telephone invented
1776 — American Declaration of Independence
1400 — Inca civilisaton
1095 — First crusade
476 — Fall of Rome
AD / BC — Birth of Christ
220 BC — Great Wall of China
480 BC — The Parthenon
962 BC — Temple of Solomon
2100 BC — Stonehenge
2500 BC — Pyramids of Giza
3100 BC — Skara Brae”
Farewell Stornoway
On Tuesday (Aug 1) we hung out in Stornoway. While shopping at Superdrug, Amanda found another dime.
We checked out of Willow Cottage on Wednesday morning and enjoyed breakfast at Artizan café in Stornoway.
After hanging out in the café, Amanda and Christa went off to do a bit of shopping.
Dave decided it was time to move from coffee to beer, so we walked down the street to The Criterion Bar. If criterion is a standard by which you decide about something, then the criterion for being inside this bar was being a crotchety old man.
We both ordered a Guinness and, once we said we’d be sitting outside away from the sea of grumpy faces, were given our pints in plastic cups. Yikes! I did find the sign above the bar funny however.
We boarded the ferry Loch Seaforth and departed promptly at 2 pm.
Heading out of Stornoway, we passed another cruise ship anchored just outside the harbor.
Stornoway and the cruise ship in the far distance.
Amanda and I walked into a shop on the boat and look what she found.
Keith strikes again!
The journey to Ullapool on the Scottish mainland took 2 hours and 45 minutes. This was our final trip on a Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) ferry.
Our ferry travels thus far:
Amanda and I used CalMac to travel to and from the Isles of Islay, Mull, and Iona.
With Dave and Christa we used CalMac to travel from Syke to the mainland and back for the highland games, and to travel from Skye to the Isle of Lewis and Harris.
Now, our tenth and final journey—Stornoway to Ullapool.
Except for the delay in sailing from Skye to Tarbert (they needed to replace a defective life raft, so I applaud the delay), every other journey departed right on time. Thank you CalMac!
Our very first round-trip ferry journey was on Irish Ferries between Holyhead, Wales and Dublin, Ireland.
We have three more ventures at sea before we wrap up our travels; all of those will be on NorthLink ferries.
Coming into Ullapool.
From Ullapool, we drove an hour and a half to Inverness Airport where we both checked in to our rooms at the Courtyard by Marriott and removed all our belongings from the Jeep.
I then turned in the Jeep Compass to Enterprise.
Enterprise dropped me off at the terminal, where I picked up this MG HS from Avis. We ordered a compact, so this was a pleasant upgrade.
The four of us drove the new MG into Inverness and retrieved the luggage Amanda and I had placed into holding at Radical Storage.
We then walked around looking for somewhere to enjoy a final dinner together. Surprisingly, especially on a Wednesday night, we found several restaurants that were booked solid. (Who knew Inverness could be so popular?)
We eventually found Ash restaurant, located inside the Royal Highland Hotel. All our food was great and it was fun enjoying one more dinner together.
We drove back to our hotel at the airport where we shared a final wee dram of Ardnamurchan before heading off to bed (in a true King Size bed!!).
Scrabster Ferry Terminal
On Thursday morning (Aug 3), we said our final goodbye’s over breakfast at the hotel. Afterward, Dave and Christa walked the short distance to the Inverness Airport terminal for their flight to Heathrow and we began our 2.5-hour trek to the northern tip of the Scottish mainland.
We did not have time to tour Dunrobin Castle, but we’ve heard a lot of great things about it, so we stopped briefly so we could at least see the building.
The Castle, which resembles a French château with its towering conical spires, has seen the architectural influences of Sir Charles Barry, who designed London’s Houses of Parliament.
With 189 rooms, it’s larger than most castles. If you’re interested, here is a quick video tour of the amazing grounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzP-lVsFw_k
Driving onto our ferry at the Scrabster Ferry Terminal for our 2 hour journey to Orkney.
As we were arriving at the Stromness Ferry Terminal on Orkney, Dave and Christa were already on their flight to LAX. Safe travels friends!
After arriving in Stromness, we made the 25-minute drive to our apartment in Kirkwall.
Ivy Cottage in Kirkwall is definitely not the best place we’ve stayed, but I guess it will have to do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hatMQhWUfBk
As we went to bed that night, Dave and Christa were nearly back over the USA again.
We had a wonderful time with Dave and Christa, and are so glad they were able to join us. It was Dave who first mentioned the Hebrides to me, so their joining us there—especially in the Outer Hebrides—was apropos. It was great having you both here and we’ll miss you.
Thankfully, as we said goodbye to our final visitors, it was less painful knowing we were only one month away from returning home!
Skara Brae
Amanda and I first learned about Skara Brae roughly 20 years ago and have always wanted to see it in person. So, it was a real moment on Friday, August 4, 2023, to finally visit Skara Brae after all of those years. It was a dream come true and one of the highlights of our trip.
Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland.
Skara Brae received UNESCO World Heritage Site status and is older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza. It has been called the "Scottish Pompeii" because of its excellent preservation.
In winter 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths.
In the Bay of Skaill the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll known as Skara Brae. When the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village consisting of several small houses without roofs.
What was revealed has proved to be one of the most remarkable discoveries of our time. For beneath the dune lay the ruins of a 5,000 year old farming village.
Because the actual houses are fragile, this replica was built.
The village consisted of ten clustered houses, each of similar design. The houses were made of flagstones, in earthen dams that provided support for the walls, and were connected by covered pathways.
The replica house and this drawing show how each living space was roofed, and had a central hearth, beds, and cupboards for storing items. Each house also had a stone or wooden slab serving as a door and offering privacy from the central passageway.
The site was occupied from roughly 3180 BC to about 2500 BC and is Europe's most complete Neolithic village.
At some time before 2500 BC, the village was gradually deserted. For centuries upon centuries, this village laid buried, hidden from the world.
The houses were discovered following the storm in 1850. Amateur excavation began soon after, but was abandoned in 1868. During a single weekend in 1913, the site was plundered, and an unknown quantity of artifacts were stolen.
In 1924 another storm swept away part of one of the houses, and it was determined the site should be secured and properly investigated. The job was given to the University of Edinburgh’s Professor V. Gordon Childe, who travelled to Skara Brae for the first time in mid-1927.
“When I reached the site that year (1928), Skara Brae appeared as a grass-grown sand-dune from the seaward side of which protruded the ruinous walls of five huts and some sections of connecting passage.”
The wooden roofs are long gone, but roughly 4,523 years after the village was abandoned, much of the village houses can still seen.
The “house” behind Amanda’s right elbow (above) is #10 on the map.
One of the entrances into the internal passageways leading to the houses.
You may be having a heat wave back in Cen Cal, but out here on Orkney—we’re back in the wind and cold again!
In the most complete house, standing over the doorway, you can see the hearth in the center, the cupboard at the top, two beds on the left, and a possibly a sitting area to the right.
As it says in the visitor center, “Skara Brae is the oldest known village in Europe where you can still see the houses with their original stone furniture.”
A section of the inner passageway with a doorway to a house on the right.
Skara Brae—Absolutely Brilliant!
A wedding taking place at St Peter’s Kirk, just up the road from Skara Brae, another reminder that time stands still for no one.
Marwick Head Nature Reserve
Some wonderful geology at Marwick Head Nature Reserve.
From here we could just make out the Old Man of Hoy sea stack. On the ferry ride to the island we passed right by the famous landmark, but it was shrouded in clouds at the time. To reach it now would require another ferry ride, so I think we’ll settle for this long view.
The puffins were long gone as expected; however, we did see this one Razorbill and a chick at the nesting site. Very cute, especially when the adult completely covered the chick to keep it warm.
The bird nests were in the cliffs at the north end of the preserve (behind me). This photo was taken along the path to the south, which leads to another well-known site.
At the south end of the preserve is a site known locally as the Sand Geo Fishermen's Huts.
Here, three fishing boat huts were built between 1898-1913.
The fishermen were actually local farmers who also worked with handlines to catch cod and haddock, mostly for themselves rather than for sale.
The remains of the winch which was used to haul the boats up the steep beach. It is said that the winch came from a beached tramp steamer.
Twatt, Orkney
One final stop. Not in the village of Twatt, but to the sign pointing you to the village.
The name Twatt is similar to the common British expletive “Twat,” (a vulgar word for vulva and also an insulting term meaning a weak or contemptible individual).
For this reason, Twatt remains a source of amusement to people from outside the parish.
This was one of several signs that had become quite famous, not only because of the near-expletive, but because the arrow pointed in such a way that a person could stand next to the sign and have the arrow pointing at them.
We had tracked down one such sign, but this is how we found it. Apparently the sign kept being stolen, so the local Council decided not replace it. I guess we’re all just stuck with old photos from this point forward.
Or you can go to the local souvenir shop in Kirkwall and purchase a replica sign, hat, mug, tea towel, large coaster, small coaster, pin, magnet, etc. The options are many and the choice is all yours! Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
