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.
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.
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| 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.
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.
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| The Churchill Barriers |
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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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