Orkney escapes......2

Realising that this blog is meant to be all about cycling, and not simply as a travel guide, let’s get back to talking about bikes!

Our trip to Orkney was planned with more or less military precision for one good reason….the ferry timetables. We originally had the rather romantic idea that you could spend a week or a fortnight hopping from one island to another, but a more in depth look at the inter-island timetables quickly put paid to this idea. Most of Orkney’s ferries, whilst handy for tourists, are really there to serve the islanders who live there year round, and most of them want to travel to and from Kirkwall for monthly stocking up on shopping etc. Whilst there are ferries between the smaller islands, these only run very occasionally ( once a month! ) unless there’s an agricultural fair or annual event on, so you really have no choice but to travel between your island of choice and Kirkwall, unless you have unlimited time to spend on the islands or can plan your trip specifically around these dates.

To the north of the Orkney mainland there are several ‘large’ islands, using the term loosely as the permanent populations can be in the low hundreds outside the tourist season. After a bit of research as to which ones would be the best to visit for a couple of days each, we settled on Westray to the north west, and Sanday to the north east of Kirkwall. As taking the car could prove expensive for these short trips, we intended to bike it with the tent, and had chosen these islands for several reasons, but also because there were campsites available on both.

Taking the ferry proved really easy and hassle free. We headed for Westray first, taking the ferry from Kirkwall harbour, and as more or less a foot passenger, there was no need to book ahead but simply turn up at the allotted time and cycle on. All the northern isles ferries leave from the same harbour, and are well signed to make sure you don’t get on the wrong one, and paying fares on the ferry was easy so again no need to get tickets in advance. The ferries are pretty basic, with some having a small coffee kiosk selling hot and cold drinks and snacks, and some with simply a vending machine, so if you need anything more exotic you’ll need to take it with you. Our journey to Westray took about 90 minutes, and cost £7.50 single for each of us plus £1.50 for each bike so hardly breaking the bank in that respect. Bikes were tied up on the car deck and we settled down upstairs to watch the islands go by.

The vast majority of Orkney’s islands are pretty flat, with the exception of Hoy and Rousay, but that’s not to say there aren’t hills to climb as we found out. Our campsite for these two days on Westray was approximately seven miles from the ferry terminal, which involved a couple of long drags up and down rolling hills to get the legs going. The roads were generally quite good, and there’s little traffic to worry about, with everyone being considerate and giving us plenty of room as they passed. An hour or so later we arrived at ‘The Barn Hostel and campsite’ (http://www.thebarnwestray.co.uk )and got settled in. All in all it was a good wee site with a camper’s kitchen which is handy if you’re in a tiny wee tent like ours and it’s cold and windy. The site has a nice grassed pitching area with a good mix of tents, campervans and caravans, and is located on the edge of Pierowall just as you enter the town.

Over the next couple of days we explored the island on the bikes, managing to cover most of it and visit all the main places of any interest. Westray is a good place to see puffins at this time of year, and we managed to see some at the ‘Castle o’Burrian’ at the south of the island. They were there in pretty decent numbers and we spent a while watching them fly to and from their nests, however like us they weren’t happy to hang around outside much….seems like puffins don’t like the cold much either! Noup Head is good for bird watching, with plenty of gannets, fulmars, kittiwakes and razorbills if you like that kind of thing, and some spectacular cliff walks. It’s worthwhile taking a decent detailed OS map with you if you can for these island trips as there are plenty of small farm and minor roads which don’t show up on larger scale versions. You can’t really get lost but having a good map avoids the hassle of going down a one way track, and can also show up footpaths, many of which are suitable for bikes.

So what about the practicalities? We had stocked up on food etc in Kirkwall for at least a day, but found a couple of good grocers shops in Pierowall selling more than enough to make a good camping meal. The only place you can buy beer or wine however, on the whole island, is in the Pierowall Hotel as neither grocer is licenced, and when we popped in there for a drink the barmaid was doing a roaring off-licence service for locals - so don’t be afraid to ask! The camper’s kitchen on the site has sink, cookers, kettle and a toaster, but you’d be better not to rely on the dishes or pans etc and just use your own if you can. Washing and drying facilities are provided, including washing machine and free showers, and there is a good green for hanging out wet clothes. A treat, if you’re there on the right day ( Wednesday and Saturday 5-9pm http://www.pierowall-fish.co.uk ), is to get fish and chips from Jack’s Chippy on the harbour front ( Look out for the big blue building), and as well as a large take out choice, including monkfish and scallops, they also sell fresh fish and shellfish if you fancy cooking something a little more exciting.

Westray isn’t the best place for archaeological sites but the few that there are are easily accessible and free! There are some norse settlement ruins and we didn’t have time to go into the heritage centre in Pierowall which looked worthwhile if you have time. Again had we had more time, and if we ever go back, we would have taken the ferry or flown to Papa Westray, the islands smaller sister to the north east. The flight takes two minutes and is the shortest scheduled flight in the world….maybe next time!



Orkney escape.....1

Setting off for Orkney early on the Saturday morning, it was raining. All holidays in Scotland have the potential to be marred or even ruined by bad weather, and many of us who have spent a miserable wet week in a caravan can testify to this! We had been watching the forecast for the week before we left, happy that it was bad, as surely it had to clear up just as we left on holiday. Clearing up before this would have been just our bad luck.

As we approached and passed Stirling, then Perth, then Inverness, the skies gradually lightened until we reached the A9 north of the Black Isle when we found ourselves in sunshine, at last. At the risk of going on too much about the weather, we were very lucky for our two weeks. It was bright but quite cold ( about 12 degrees ) the first week, rising to a balmier 14 degrees on the second. You can't escape the wind in the northern isles, so adding a north easterly wind chill factor to this meant that this was never going to be a 'shorts and t-shirts ' kind of holiday, but nevertheless we both returned looking wind blown and weather-beaten, if only in the face!

Our first stop was Wick, where we spent Saturday night. The first outing for the tent was a lovely campsite just on the outskirts of town, a short walk along the river path to the town centre. Wick, despite a fairly interesting past as a Norse settlement and then major 19th century herring port, doesn't seem to have a huge amount to offer today's tourists but is pretty enough, especially along the river path, and has a couple of decent pubs. It also has the claim to fame that it holds the Guinness World Record for the shortest street in the world. Nothing would satisfy Al till we'd found it, but I was a bit disappointed as it was really just a street corner with one number on it. 

The campsite was basic but well run and just as we like it, and there were plenty of bikers and cyclists overnighting when we were there (http://www.wickcaravansite.co.uk/)  Wick is a natural  stop off point for those going north or south on the Land's End - John O'Groats and there were a couple of lads there on their last leg, literally, before getting to the end of their journey - the weather hadn't been kind to them and their tent looked like it was destined to end its life in a bin somewhere near John O'Groats. 

We were genuinely surprised at how lovely the drive was between Inverness and Gill's Bay where we were to get the ferry the next day. Completely different to the more barren and unpopulated north-west coast, in contrast it was lush and green with steeply rolling hills and pretty villages dotted all along its length. Some of the hills however were monsters and we really pitied the end-to-enders we saw peching their way up them with heavily panniered bikes.



Wheems Organic Farm - South Ronaldsay



Our rough plan was to spend the first week exploring the islands by bike, using the car as little as possible, if at all. There are 70 islands which make up the Orkney Islands, 20 of which are inhabited, so we knew we couldn't see them all, but had a rough plan to spend a couple of nights on a few islands to get a feel for the place. We arrived at St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay after our short one hour crossing of the Pentland Firth, and went in search of our first campsite which I had seen on-line. Wheems Organic Farm is run by a very nice gentleman who is, shall we say, very organic! Produce grown on the farm can be bought, and everything is recycled where possible. Thankfully showers were provided, and there was even a small area where we could cook if it got a bit cold or windy which it did. We spent two nights there, and it was pretty cheap, and the only criticism I would have is that they could have done with cutting the grass in the field which was basically a free' pitch where you like' kind of affair. That said, we did enjoy it and it was a good base from which to explore the island. 

( http://www.wheemsorganic.co.uk/) 



 South Ronaldsay and the neighbouring smaller northern isles are joined to the mainland via a series of man made causeways constructed during the Second World War. Known as the Churchill Barriers, these were built by Italian POWs to prevent German U-boats from entering the protected bay at Scapa Flow and sinking the allied fleet based there, after the sinking of the HMS Royal Oak. The Orkney Isles have a long history as a military/naval base even pre WW1, and when looking at the map it's easy to see why, the sheltered bay at Scapa Flow providing a fantastic natural harbour. Dotted with look out posts, and gun emplacements, the more remote islands bear testament to the suffering of the young naval staff posted here during the war who had to endure a great deal of boredom and hardship for months on end. If you want a taste of this Google a poem called 'Bloody Orkney' which says it all and is very funny to read. 

The Churchill Barriers



Hoxa Head























The clouds threatening on our first full day, we wimped out and took the car down to the south of the island to see the 'Tomb of the Eagles' our first prehistoric site of the many we would visit. Sited on private land and privately run you paid a fair amount to get in, but the talk was informative and we got to see plenty of artifacts removed from the tomb and on display. Like many of these sites the Tomb, so called because of the plethora of eagles talons found there, was discovered accidentally by a farmer, and carefully excavated over many years. The inhabitants of the nearby settlement are though to have used 'sky burials' similar to those still used in Tibet, where the dead were left out for the birds before the cleaned bones were ceremoniously entombed. A short walk took us up to the tomb itself, where you climbed in via a very low and narrow entrance tunnel. We finished our afternoon with lunch at a small bistro serving lovely seafood, and explored some of the coastline on foot.



Tomb of the Eagles entrance - complete with 'Granny Trolley!






















In the evening, and desperate to get out on the bikes, we cycled down the 10 miles or so to Hoxa Head, where you could walk out and see some of the WW2 structures up close. A lot smaller than they looked from the ferry on the way in ( we thought they looked like you could have refurbished them in a modern style as holiday lets! ) they were in a bit of a sorry state but still standing nonetheless. it was interesting to imagine the guys stationed there and what life must have been like for them, especially through the dark winter months. Back via St Margaret's Hope we stopped for a couple of beers at the local hotel. This small village is pretty, and has a pretty good restaurant ( The Creel ), a couple of shops, two hotels and a backpacker's hostel. 

Not a bad place to spend a few days but it was time to move on and get island hopping!