The Standing Stones o’ Stenness
If you are one of those people who have fleetingly entertained the idea of The Orkney Islands as a possible destination for exploration but you haven’t got around to it yet – then I’m here to give you the virtual push you need.
I’ll admit I am slightly bias for all things Scottish, but The Orkney Islands is a place you must visit at least once in your life.
Now I’ll grant you, if you live in Scotland, you are probably thinking you would like to go somewhere warmer and less windy than from whence you came, but please don’t let climate cast your deciding vote. This place is awe-inspiring and well worth packing your woollies, hats and Kagool for. In fact, where The Orkney Islands are concerned I am reminded of the well known phrase “there is no such thing as bad weather – only the wrong clothing”.
The sight of those Viking inspired buildings vying for position as we neared the seaside port at Stromness is something that will stay with me for a very long time. I was enchanted before I even stepped off the ferry and I’m sure I’m not the first to have felt like that.
One of the things you will notice as you start up your engines and disembark from the ferry is an endless vista of lush green fields. We drove straight to Kirkwall which only took about half an hour. As we meandered through the lush farmlands I noticed many signs for areas of historic interest. This was the Orkney I had come to visit – everything from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age and Viking years can be found here.
Top of my list to visit is Skara Brae, a remarkably well-preserved Neolithic village on the edge of the bay of Skaill. It was covered up for thousands of years by shifting sand and was only revealed when a huge storm swept The Orkney Islands in 1850. I have always had a hankering to see this village for myself.
Scapa Flow also featured highly on our list of things to see and do. It is actually ranked as one of the world’s top diving sites since it so rich with maritime archaeology, but we are quite happy to see where all the action took place from dry land.
Kirkwall itself boasts the magnificent St Magnus Cathedral established in 1137, which is most definitely worth a wander around, however, it was tiny Italian chapel built by the Italian prisoners of war on the island of Lamb Holm that really moved me. The chapel started life as two Nissan huts pushed together end-to-end. The decorative artwork inside is stunning. I really felt I was in a sacred and spiritual space. There is a real sense of peace and serenity inside.
As you travel around you often find the best experiences are the ones that happen by chance – the ones you didn’t plan for. Until I had visited The Orkney Islands I had no knowledge of Maeshowe but an old wooden sign pointed it out to us on our way back from one of trips. We had time to spare so we thought we would check it out. I am so glad we did. I don’t know how many times I thought ‘wow’.
Maeshow is a Neolithic chambered tomb which pre-dates the Egyptian pyramids. The fascinating story about Meashowe is the fact that not only does it have its own history dating back nearly 5000 years, but that history has been overlaid by another story nearly 4000 years later courtesy of the Vikings.
Of course this is just a very brief taster of the magic of The Orkney Islands. Over the coming weeks I will add further posts with more on the ‘not to be missed’ aspects of this incredible place as well as some useful information about getting there and where to stay.
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