Scotland - only a wee bit delayed
OK, we’ve finally managed to upload the photos from Scotland. And here is a small selection for those of you interested in such things.
When we talk to about driving to Orkney everyone says “Scotland is so big! It’s so far!” but really, when you are driving through scenary like this who notices the distance? Please note the squishy peat bog in the front. I love peat bogs.
A random side trip yielded sights such as the ruins of Elgin Cathedral. Lots of beautiful stonework and interesting tombs.
Now on to Orkney, home of neolithic monuments and ruins. This is one of the most impressive, the Ring of Brodgar (fans of Laurie R King’s latest The language of bees may remember this site, although we don’t have a photo of the nearby Stones of Stenness). It was such a treat to walk around this site without any other visitors, listening to the strange calls of the curlews.
Here is a closer up picture of one of the stones.
I knew more about Skara Brae before arriving, so it was less of a surprise. But it was still very strange to stand on a remote(ish) island and look into the well planned home of people who lived thousands of years ago.
Orkney is also a great place for walking and bird watching. Here I am looking at the early arrivals of breeding seabirds. Once again, we had this whole place to ourselves. The tower in the distance is the Kitchener Memorial for the British Minister of War who was sunk near here in WW1 along with 643 of the men on board his ship (not that you'd know that many men had died from the wording on the memorial).
We were nearly blown off our feet at the Broch of Gurness but it was worth it to ramble around a ruined tower and settlement from 2000 years ago.
For a change of scene, here is the malting floor at Highland Park whisky distillery. These people are obsessive about maintaining tradition, and part of that is drying their own barley on these floors. Someone shovels it over every 8 hours - one guy has been doing it for over 30 years!
Here is Cuween Cairn, the site of my ignonmious scramble.
A more modern place - a converted prefab hut from WWII called the Italian Chapel. Homesick Italian POWs built this chapel, and cleverly painted the inside to look like a stone church. Orkney is full of these interesting war stories, such as the huge number of scuttled WWI German ships in the Scapa Flow.
Back to the mainland for one last picture. The Scots aren’t lying when they say they have gorgeous beaches. You can even forget that it’s the bloody freezing North Sea when you see sights like this.
And this is ignoring the capercaillie, Maes Howe, and other spectacular scenery. A great holiday!
When we talk to about driving to Orkney everyone says “Scotland is so big! It’s so far!” but really, when you are driving through scenary like this who notices the distance? Please note the squishy peat bog in the front. I love peat bogs.
A random side trip yielded sights such as the ruins of Elgin Cathedral. Lots of beautiful stonework and interesting tombs.
Now on to Orkney, home of neolithic monuments and ruins. This is one of the most impressive, the Ring of Brodgar (fans of Laurie R King’s latest The language of bees may remember this site, although we don’t have a photo of the nearby Stones of Stenness). It was such a treat to walk around this site without any other visitors, listening to the strange calls of the curlews.
Here is a closer up picture of one of the stones.
I knew more about Skara Brae before arriving, so it was less of a surprise. But it was still very strange to stand on a remote(ish) island and look into the well planned home of people who lived thousands of years ago.
Orkney is also a great place for walking and bird watching. Here I am looking at the early arrivals of breeding seabirds. Once again, we had this whole place to ourselves. The tower in the distance is the Kitchener Memorial for the British Minister of War who was sunk near here in WW1 along with 643 of the men on board his ship (not that you'd know that many men had died from the wording on the memorial).
We were nearly blown off our feet at the Broch of Gurness but it was worth it to ramble around a ruined tower and settlement from 2000 years ago.
For a change of scene, here is the malting floor at Highland Park whisky distillery. These people are obsessive about maintaining tradition, and part of that is drying their own barley on these floors. Someone shovels it over every 8 hours - one guy has been doing it for over 30 years!
Here is Cuween Cairn, the site of my ignonmious scramble.
A more modern place - a converted prefab hut from WWII called the Italian Chapel. Homesick Italian POWs built this chapel, and cleverly painted the inside to look like a stone church. Orkney is full of these interesting war stories, such as the huge number of scuttled WWI German ships in the Scapa Flow.
Back to the mainland for one last picture. The Scots aren’t lying when they say they have gorgeous beaches. You can even forget that it’s the bloody freezing North Sea when you see sights like this.
And this is ignoring the capercaillie, Maes Howe, and other spectacular scenery. A great holiday!