Tuesday, 19 July 2011

The Orkney Tourist

Well, we did some tourist bits, but there’s loads left to do, we’ll just have to go back…

3rd July

SDC11860

Replica of Skara Brae

SG102702 Hole perfectly sized for a 10 year old boy, but no lock and key

SDC11858 No hole big enough for a strapping 14 year old

SDC11869 The remains of the real thing

SG102716Skail House

SG102722Kayak graveyard in Stromness

SG102725What?!

5th July

SG102733    The Italian Chapel

An interesting WII PoW story, but I won’t go into the details here.

SG102737Astounding interior

SG102741One of the wrecks as we crossed the Churchill Barriers

SG102743Bronze Age site at the Tomb of the Eagles

SG102742The Original Visitor Centre

SG102747Recycling at it’s best…

SG102750      One..

SG102751…by one…

SG102752…by one…

SG102754  …they disappeared!

My interior photographs are not very good.

  10th July

SG102964Bishop’s Palace, Kirkwall

SG102974St Magnus Cathedral, well, bits of it

SG102992Inside the Earl’s Palace

11th July

SG103044  A terrible photograph of The Gloop

It was a tunnel from the sea into a cave until the roof collapsed. Or it could have been a blow hole.

SG103083 The nice steps going to the Brough of Deerness

SG103089The slightly less nice steps…

There is currently an archaeological excavation at the Brough, but I didn’t get any photographs.

We made our way to the trig at Mull Head and carried on to complete a circuit. Well, for a little while, before we turned back to try to find an alternative route. The resident arctic skuas didn’t like us much, poor Aedan was dive-bombed! If I had realised they were nesting there, obviously I would have found the other path straight off, but we’d grown so accustomed to seeing them patrolling the cliff tops, I hadn’t paid attention. As soon as I saw it swooping along the moorland skyline towards Aedan, I realised my mistake and we beat a hasty retreat to find the less distinct cliff top path. Ooops. Added a little excitement to the day.

12th July

SG103123

The causeway to the Brough of Birsay

This trip has to be well planned, there is a four hour window which allows you to walk the causeway to visit the Brough

SG103154The orange ant in the middle is TTS going back to the car to retrieve the picnic

14th July

SG103198

  The Broch of Gurness

15th July

SG103201Waulkmill Bay

SG103209Who needs the Med?

Next, the Nature Bit

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