Day 23 Orkney sightseeing day
We woke this morning to quite heavy fog/mist. Apparently this is normal. Little wind and definitely no rain. The mist began to slowly clear as we enjoyed our cooked breakfast.....the Brits really know how to do this best! The sun slowly peeked through and it was the start of a really lovely day for touring.
We are staying in a very sleek, modern home in the village of Dounby which is about 15 minutes outside of Kirkwall, the Orkney's capital. Audrey, our hostess was helpful advising on some of the islands highlights. She also let us know that at this time of the year huge cruise ships visit Orkney and dock in Kirkwall. The Caribbean Princess was due today with just over 3,000 passengers!! which effectively doubles Kirkwall's population. We promptly decided to visit some of the sights in the
northern parts of the main island.
Our first stop is Skara Brae and the tourist information center to get further advice. They could not have been more helpful. Skara Brae is a significant archeological find. A stone age village dating back over 5000 years was discovered in the 1920's when the sand dunes shifted and uncovered a very well preserved village. This can be viewed either on the ground or from above. It is difficult to grasp the time that has passed since early man placed these stones here creating such well thought out shelters and passageways which protected them from the elements.
We woke this morning to quite heavy fog/mist. Apparently this is normal. Little wind and definitely no rain. The mist began to slowly clear as we enjoyed our cooked breakfast.....the Brits really know how to do this best! The sun slowly peeked through and it was the start of a really lovely day for touring.
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| Our B&B in Dounby |
Our first stop is Skara Brae and the tourist information center to get further advice. They could not have been more helpful. Skara Brae is a significant archeological find. A stone age village dating back over 5000 years was discovered in the 1920's when the sand dunes shifted and uncovered a very well preserved village. This can be viewed either on the ground or from above. It is difficult to grasp the time that has passed since early man placed these stones here creating such well thought out shelters and passageways which protected them from the elements.
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| Mist across Skara Brae - slowly clearing |
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| Inside one of the recreated stone age houses in the tourist information centre. |
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| Mist is still about when we walk to the archeological dig site at Skara Brae |
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| Walking into the archeological site |
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| Maritta and Kay outside the entrance to the 5,000 year old village at Skara Brae which had been covered by sand for thousands of years |
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| Intricate walkways and passageways between the houses. |
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| Walking through the 5000 year old ruins is amazing! |
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| Morning tea at Skara Brae cafe |
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| Skailll House |
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| Sunken gardens at Skaill House |
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| Early form of "Beam Balance" for weighing grain |
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| Library with a secret door?? This was the early form of safe keeping the family fortune. |
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| Not my favorite room. Animal trophys' adorned most rooms. |
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| Alan cannot help himself - must see whats on the other side. Tomb site of Unstan |
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| Inside Unstan |
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| A white swan and its chicks |
From here we
went to observe to Standing Stones of Stennes then onto the Ring of Brodger, a
circular formation of standing stones.
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| The standing stones of the Ring of Broger - these apparently predate Stonehenge |
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| One of the Standing Stones of the ring - weather and time is taking it toll.. |
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| Ring of Brodger |
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| Alan and Noeline...discussion on next stop. |
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| View across to KItchner memorial |
Then on to Marwick Head where it was rumored Puffins could be seen, but alas no! The Kitchener Memorial is also here but it was getting late so we returned to the B&B as dinner was from 5:30 to 7 in the local Hotel - and don't be late!!
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