In 2015 my wife and I went on a caravan journey around England and Scotland. Our aim was to spend a week or so in Orkney. Here is an account of our time there., which is mainly a description of historic sights. Our base was a campsite on the outskirts of Kirkwall on the largest island, called Mainland.
We travelled via Wick and John O’Groats to Gill’s Bay where we caught the ferry. Scottish roads have only two modes of being either straight as a die for miles or nothing but bends. In either case they are narrow and need concentration when towing a caravan – not much chance of sightseeing from the driving seat.
Crossing the Pentland Firth was interesting. Apparently, it’s one of the most dangerous stretches of sea in the world and has seen many wrecks. The water is very turbulent because it is where the tides and currents of the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet. Whirlpools are frequent and can occur anywhere. The ferry seemed to steer around strange areas of the sea which were sometimes flat and sometimes quite violent with waves breaking as if on a shore.
.The camp site was very nice and had excellent facilities. After sorting ourselves out we had a walk into the town which is the capital of Orkney. It seems and looks very pleasant. It’s quite familiar to someone from West Cornwall because it’s all stone and render – very grey! The wind blows at 20 mph all the time and it seems that is a normal breeze here.
The Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar
We visited the Stones of Stenness and the adjacent Barn house Settlement; The Ring of Brodgar; and the Ness of Brodgar.
These prehistoric places are at the heart of the Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. Close by is the burial mound of Maes Howe.
I have seen films, photographs and read books about this area but it was still an emotional moment to stand in this special place. The lochs of Stenness and Harry are separated by a narrow isthmus of land called the Ness of Brodgar. It’s only a few hundred yards long and in one part is only wide enough for single file traffic. The Stones of Stenness are at one end of the isthmus and the Ring of Brodgar at the other. For the last six years archaeologists have been excavating on the Ness itself because they have discovered what appears to be one of the largest stone age ritual complexes in Europe. Two hundred yards to one side of the Stones of Stenness lies the Barnhouse Settlement – a stone age group of buildings.
The Stenness Stones are few, but they are huge (19 feet tall) and we revelled in standing amongst them. The Barnhouse Settlement is a reconstruction of what the excavations found with the originals buried under the ground. Some appear to be houses but others probably had a ritual significance. Standing here one seems to be in a huge natural amphitheatre with water virtually on three sides and the large mound of Maes Howe behind. No sound but the wind, curlews and skylarks –wonderful.
Unfortunately, there was nothing to see at the Ness of Brodgar excavations because the area is covered over to protect it from the elements. Excavation takes place only in July and August and members of the public can take part!
The Ring of Brodgar is much more of a complete stone circle although there are only some 37 stones left of what was almost certainly 60. This is a huge ring. It is an accurate circle and the stones are set at 6 degrees apart which means the 60 stones would have added up to 360 degrees. It’s amazing that people had such mathematical and surveying skills so long ago. These stones are sandstone and have suffered from weathering. A sign indicates one split and fallen stone as having been broken by lightning in 1980. It is thought that other stones may have suffered the same. We played “peek-a-boo” with a split in one stone just for a laugh.
After enjoying the peace and solitude and drinking in the atmosphere we both agreed that to visit any more special places straight away would result in overload. So, we went off to the town of Stromness. This is the second major town in Orkney and the main port. It’s here that the Folk Festival is based and so we went to collect our tickets. We had a lovely meal in a cafe but otherwise, suffice it to say, we were not impressed by the town, although it did have two charity shops!! The main street is interesting in that it’s as narrow as the narrow bit of Fore Street in St Ives and traffic runs both ways!! There is very little in the way of shops though and it has a dour, survivalist feel about it.
Skara Brae
Skara Brae has fascinated me for years ever since I first saw it on TV. It was very exciting for me to stand there and see it for myself. For some reason my enthusiasm had convinced me that I would be able to stand in the houses just like Neil Oliver on the telly. Of course, the public cannot enter the houses for obvious reasons of preservation. Indeed, the most complete house with stone inscriptions is roofed with a modern peat roof and the door is sealed to protect it. Nevertheless, to stand here, in a full gale force wind, and see these remarkable testaments to the ingenuity and skill of the human race was for me truly the highlight of our tour so far.
The visitor centre at Skara Brae has a very detailed exhibition about the village and what is known and what is inferred by archaeologists. The cafe also sells a mean cheese scone but is stingy on the amount of tea. We have never understood how any cafe can be stupid enough to serve tea in paltry sized tea pots. We had tea for two and I can’t imagine a smaller pot could be found to serve tea for one. Tea is cheap and so is hot water and what better way is there to impress your customers than being generous with their tea? We asked for some hot water and surprised the dear lady behind the counter. I say dear lady not in a patronising way but to express a genuine feeling. Everyone we met was so very friendly. The pace of life is so gentle that even shop assistants in supermarkets are quite happy to have a friendly chat to strangers. One of the staff in the visitor centre was a chap from somewhere in the North of England (I didn’t get to ask where he was from, but his accent gave him away). I did ask him if there was any time of year when the wind didn’t blow in Orkney. He told me the wind always blew and that he had to reappraise his ideas about wind when he came to live here. The customary wind is about 20 mph and he says that is a breeze to locals. The 45-mph gale we were experiencing was he said what the locals would say was a bit windy. He said they can have winds of 160 mph in winter. I asked why he wanted to live there and, just like a young man on a check out in Tesco, he said he liked the style of life (stress free and gentle) and he liked the people and community life. The young fella in Tesco also said that it doesn’t rain or blow on you when you’re in the pub.
Anyway – the Stone Age village – Because one can’t go into the houses and must stay outside and above them on a pathway, Scottish Heritage has built a replica of the main house and you can go in, which was wonderful and no less an experience because it was a replica.
Archaeological evidence shows there were at least three phases of occupation. The first phase has left traces but no buildings. The second phase has left just two partial houses with the rest underneath the houses of the third phase. To reveal more of the first houses would mean digging up the ones we can see. The houses are part subterranean linked by covered passageways and had very low doorways to keep out the weather and the cold air. The original village and the early part of the later one was not partially subterranean and did not have the covered pathways. The houses are remarkable, not only because they are earlier than the Great Pyramids, but also because they are complete with stone furniture. Each house had a central hearth and facing the door (across the hearth) was a stone “dresser”. To each side were bed boxes with various storage spaces in the walls. The floors had sunken stone boxes (no lids), which were waterproofed with clay, and it is believed they were used to soak limpets for fishing bait. It is not certain what the roofs were made of but there would have been no hole for the fire smoke so it would have been a smoky atmosphere and the only light would be from the hearth.
The earlier houses had the bed boxes built into the walls rather than in the room as the later ones do. The people farmed animals – cattle, sheep and pigs for food and hides and would also have fished, hunted and gathered. There is evidence that they used the inner flesh of puffballs for medicinal purposes. There is evidence in the way of pottery and decoration on pots and stones that shows the villagers had active connections elsewhere. They certainly imported haematite ore from the island of Hoy in Orkney but the style of decorations is the same as that in the great Neolithic tombs in the Boyne valley in Ireland such as Newgrange. Recent excavations at Durrington Walls near Stonehenge shows the same house plans as at Skara Brae although the Durrington ones were built of wood. Far from being an out-flung outpost it seems Neolithic Orkney was in the “centre” of things.
The village has suffered from erosion by the sea. Indeed, it was a violent storm that revealed the buildings in the mid-19th century. They had been buried by sand dunes for thousands of years. When the village was occupied the sea would have been a lot further away. It is easy to see how threatening the sea is and a protective wall has been rebuilt several times.
Circle Dancing on Shapinsay
We caught the ferry from Kirkwall to Shapinsay to go Circle Dancing. The ferry took 30 minutes and we arrived at Shapinsay. We were given a lift to the community centre by, a dancer who lives on the island. At the time of our visit Circle Dancing normally took place on the island of Rousay approximately every month on Thursdays. We wouldn’t have been around for the right week, but this particular day was a special occasion held on Shapinsay to bid farewell to one of the dancers from the island who was moving to Elgin on the Scottish mainland. So, we were very fortunate to get the chance to dance. Saturday is a busy day for islanders, so the group was small. We were so pleased to be dancing after weeks of abstinence. We hadn’t danced since Kings Norton in Birmingham on our journey North. The Group were so welcoming and glad to see us. It was lovely for us to meet such a friendly group. It really was like being with old friends. We did lots of traditional dances, Greek and Balkan, which we love, with plenty of short breaks. What’s more, we learned a dance the group had choreographed which we thought was great and my wife was able to teach it back in Cornwall in due course. We shared a tasty lunch and we had a great natter. Time seemed to fly because we were enjoying ourselves. Both of us felt fully charged up. There really is nothing like Circle Dance to boost the spirit.
As we waited to board the ferry back to Kirkwall, we were treated to the sight of a curious seal popping up to look at us only a short distance offshore. Sadly, all attempts to photograph her failed.
I think Orkney attracts special people. People who obviously love the gentle pace of life and the relative isolation but who also are the most friendly, generous and outgoing folks you could ever hope to meet and so we found our hosts that day.
We felt blessed and I hope they did too. After returning to our caravan we heard that one of our dancing friends was dancing at a dance day in Somerset and another friend was dancing alone in her garden, at the same time as we were dancing on Shapinsay. As one of them said “Kernow, Somerset and Orkney – May the Land Unite”
A Folk Concert with Sharon Shannon
After a wonderful afternoon of dancing we went to a concert in the Pickaquoy Centre right next to the camp site. The concert was part of the Orkney Folk Festival. This was a splendid venue about the same size as the Hall for Cornwall with great acoustics (and comfy seats!). Normally I’m not over keen on what I rather dismissively call diddly diddly music, but I have to say this was on a different level.
First up was Gnoss, made up of Graham Rorie (Fiddle and Mandolin), and Aidan Moodie (Guitar and Vocals), both young Orkney men who were studying at the Royal Conservatoire Scotland and winners of the Danny Kyle Award at Celtic Connections 2015. The boys play a mixture of their own compositions and traditional tunes reflecting their Orkney roots.
Next up and ending the first half was another group of young Orkney musicians, this time five young women – four fiddles and a piano- called Fara. They all come from Mainland and have known each other since they were little. Their sound was dynamic with lovely harmonies but with a driving undertone that, put together, sounded very modern yet still traditional. With funny chat between numbers they were really entertaining. They were on the bill for the Cambridge Folk Festival that year – so they are going places, I think. We thought they were great.
Starting the second half was the wonderful Seth Lakeman from Dartmoor. This guy has appeared at just about every major folk festival, has loads of Radio 2 awards and in 2014 performed at the Royal Albert Hall in the D Day landings concert. What a voice and what a sound. Although on his own he had an electronic foot operated drum gadget which added drive to his performance. There was really power and energy in a variety of tunes. My favourites were “Each Man” about the Tolpuddle Martyrs and one about the Solomon Browne tragedy. I would definitely pay to see him again. A great talent and a very handsome man.
Then we were treated to the legendary Sharon Shannon accompanied by Alan Connor. How such a little unassuming person can handle the accordion with such vigour is amazing. She had been playing with Alan Connor for three years and the addition of his talents puts Sharon’s music into realms of jazz, blues, honky tonk, rock and of course traditional. Alan played a synthesizer, a drum gadget and an electric guitar – sometimes all at once. The energy, the drive, the pace – wow- but also the melodies the harmonies and the grace – truly a wonderful performance that was over all too soon. We returned to our caravan and bed very content after one of the best days of our trip.
The Earls Palace at Birsay
We visited The Earl’s Palace at Birsay. This site is set on the low-lying cliffs at the north of Mainland. The Earl’s Palace was built by Lord Robert Stewart (1533-93), an illegitimate son of James V. The Renaissance Palace was built between 1569 and 1574 and is a monument both to Robert’s royal pretensions and to his people’s oppression. The tyrannical way in which Lord Robert administered his estates made many an Orcadian’s life a misery. But the blackness of his reputation pales into a lighter shade of grey beside that of his son Patrick who succeeded him as Earl in 1600. Patrick built a splendid palace of his own at Kirkwall, as well as Scalloway Castle on Shetland. The architecture, internal decoration and furnishing of these buildings would have linked the Northern Isles via Scotland to mainstream European artistic fashion. These were unsettled times and the palace played an important part in the rebellion masterminded by Patrick’s son, another Robert. The building was seized in 1614 and defended against the Sheriff of Kirkwall’s men during Robert’s armed rebellion against James VI (James I of England). For this both Patrick and his son were executed the following year for treason. The palace was used only occasionally by future Earls and by 1700 had fallen into disrepair and decay.
The Broch of Gurness
We visited the Broch of Gurness. Brochs are a feature of the Northern Isles and Highlands. They are Iron Age in date and are tall round towers with double skinned walls which are very thick. They usually have a staircase between the walls to reach upper levels. They have a low door and no windows. Most opinions are that they were the home of a local chieftain but may also have been a refuge for the people in times of violence. Gurness is remarkable among brochs because surrounding the remains of the broch are the remains of an Iron Age village. The Broch stands on the shore of Mainland at Eynhallow Sound with the Broch of Midhowe across the sound on Rousay. This suggest that passage through the sound was important and guarded. There has been some erosion so that the site is now closer to the sea than it was originally. Inside the broch there was a central hearth, a well and a circle of stone cupboards and cubicles against the walls. Perhaps 50 or 100 years after the broch was built the interior was redesigned because the tower had partly collapsed. A new staircase had to be built and at the same time the stone furniture was added. The well was covered up under thick paving slabs.
The entrance to the broch was along a causeway through the village, through a narrow gateway, along an enclosed passage past other doorways, up to the door of the Broch itself. As you approach the tower there are low structures on either side and guard dogs may have been kept in them. The main door hinged on two pivot stones, one remains, and in the walls on either side of the door are square holes through which ran a bar to bolt the door. The bar was worked from one of the two guard cells in the broch wall.
St agnus Cathedral and the Earls Palace at Kirkwall
A day in Kirkwall saw us visit the cathedral and a ruined palace. St Magnus Cathedral is the most northerly cathedral in the UK. It looks remarkable as it stands much taller than any other part of Kirkwall and stands out because of the use of red sandstone for its construction. It was commenced by Earl Rognvald in the 12th century in honour of his ancestor Earl Magnus who was considered a martyr and made into a saint. Apparently, the earldom was shared between two cousins and Sigurd was a harsh man who had Magnus murdered. Some stories say Magnus voluntarily allowed himself to be killed to save the people from the strife between the cousins. He was killed on the island of Egilsay so I’m not sure why the cathedral was built on Mainland. His remains are kept in the cathedral. The interior is quite remarkable because of the sandstone and the columns have a pinkish hue.
The Earl’s Palace is across the road from the cathedral and, although it is a ruin, one can get a clear impression of the grandeur of how it must have looked in its heyday. The round turrets jutting out from the first floor would have had conical roofs. Inside them would have been splendid rooms with great views, off the grand hall which itself had floor to ceiling windows probably not seen again until the 20th century. The enormous fireplaces indicate the builder’s intention to impress and the walls would have been plastered, painted and hung with tapestries, portraits and the like. This was also built by the infamous Patrick Stewart, so he didn’t get to enjoy it for very long.
The Churchill Barriers and Scapa Flow
Our trip across the Churchill Barriers was the most memorable experience. The so-called Churchill Barriers join together the islands of Mainland, Holm, Burray and South Ronaldsay. To understand the barriers, one needs first to know about Scapa Flow. Scapa Flow is the name of the huge sheltered anchorage which lies south of Mainland and which is surrounded by other islands. This area of water is several miles across and was where the British Navy was based in both the First and Second World Wars. Scapa was chosen because there was direct access to the North Sea and the North Atlantic. In the First War the German Fleet was captured and interned in Scapa Flow and the German sailors scuppered (deliberately sunk) the fleet to prevent it being used by the British. So, Scapa Flow is full of wrecks and is a popular dive area. The authorities do protect the sunken vessels as war graves At the start of the Second War these sunken wrecks were believed to be sufficient a barrier between the islands to block the eastern entrances to Scapa Flow. However, a German submarine got though and torpedoed the Royal Oak which sank with the loss of 800 lives.
This prompted Churchill to have the barriers built to close the stable door after the horse etc. The fleet was moved elsewhere while the work was done. Much of it was done by Italian prisoners of war. Huge concrete blocks were made and sunk onto the seabed and then more piled on top until a road could be constructed across the barriers. The road is still in use although signs warn that you cross at your own risk due to the possibility of waves. Personally, I thought all car driving was at your own risk but there we are – I’m a pedant.
The Gloup
So, having explained the barriers, I can now tell you a bit about our trip to the islands across them. We had two purposes in mind – The Skerries Bistro and the Italian Chapel. However, we caught sight of a sign that pointed to “The Gloup” – so we just had to follow it. The Gloup turned out to be a chasm in the cliff where a cave roof had collapsed. The wind was its usual spiteful self, but we walked down alongside a little stream which was fully dressed in Marsh Marigolds. At the end of the path the stream falls into the chasm which still has the arch of the cave mouth in place. A beautiful spot which was well worth the diversion and the walk in the wind.
The Bistro
The Bistro is on the cliffs at the southern end of South Ronaldsay, the southernmost island in Orkney. The bistro has glass walls on three sides and has lovely views across to the Scottish Mainland and The Pentland Skerries, a group of islets. The bistro is well known for its sea food. In the car park there is a chambered tomb only recently discovered complete
with human skulls and other bones but sadly it was not open when we visited.
The Italian Chapel
On the tiny island of Holm is the Italian Chapel and this proved to be the most moving visit we made whilst on Orkney. The chapel was built in the Second World War by Italian prisoners who lived in a camp on the island while they helped to build the barriers. The British Camp Commandant was mindful of their welfare and was concerned that they had nowhere to worship as Catholics. He made available two Nissen huts and, led by one prisoner, Domenico Chiocchetti, who back home was an artist, they converted the huts to a chapel.
The interior was covered in plasterboard and then decorated. Wood from shipwrecks was put to use and objects including a font were carved from concrete. The lanterns were made from bully beef tins. The decoration on the walls is quite something else. I had to touch it to be sure it was in fact a painted flat surface and not 3D stonework. By the time the chapel was complete the war was over, and the prisoners went back home. Domenico stayed behind to finish the font he was working on. Outside the chapel he also created a statue of St George as a symbol of peace between nations. Remarkably it is made of concrete sculptured to shape. He returned in 1960 to restore the paintwork. The chapel is cared for by a voluntary group of Orcadians. For us it was a great testimony to the human ability to create beauty and peace even in the face of hardship and adversity. This chapel alone was worth the journey to Orkney
.Although the sites and sights in Orkney were wonderful, I have to say that we were both ground down by the weather. The constant wind and the frequent rain left us feeling a bit under siege and caused me to become a little down in mood. We visited in early May, which is the driest month of Orkney’s climatic year, yet there was not a single 24 hours in which it didn’t rain at some point. The strange thing, though, is that I’ve wanted to go back there ever since!