Michael M's 2013 Travels: Orkney Islands

We caught the day ferry from John O'Groats and did the whole day maxi tour. I would recommend this as a great day to see a lot of what the Orkneys had to offer and wet one's appetite to visit again or for a longer time.

Crossing Pentland Firth - the waters that separate the Adlantic Ocean and the North Sea.

The Orkneys are a chain of about 70 islands. They are flat, gently undulating islands with rich soil.

The southern islands are linked by a man made causeway.

The Orkneys were owned by Norway 500 years ago.The Earldom of Orkney was held for the Norwegian (and later Danish) Crown until 1468, at which time the impoverished Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, gave Orkney to the Scottish Crown as part of a marriage agreement with King James III.

The Scottish king was to marry Christian's daughter, Margaret, and by this agreement Orkney was held as a pledge, redeemable by the payment of 50,000 Rhenish Florins.

At the end of the first year the payment had not been forthcoming so Shetland was pledged for a further 8,000 Florins. Two years later, Christian had still not made the payment so the Earldom of Orkney and Lordship of Shetland were annexed to the Scottish Crown.

As the years passed, the Scottish influence over the islands grew and gradually the Norse way of life and language slipped away. By the late 17th century the variant of the Norse language of Orkney - Norn - was spoken only by the inhabitants of one or two remote parishes. The flag of the Orkney Islands is almost identical to that of Norway, excepting a yellow stripe instead of white on the cross.

Churchill Barriers

Some blockships sunk to make the naval barriers can be seen at low tide.

The Churchill Barriers are a series of four causeways with a total length of 1.5 miles (2.3 km). They link the Orkney Mainland in the north to the island of South Ronaldsay via Burray and the two smaller islands of Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm.

The barriers were built in the 1940s primarily as naval defences to protect the anchorage at Scapa Flow, but now serve as road links from Kirkwall to Burwick. The blockships sunk between theses islands blocking passage from the Atlantic Ocean side to the North Sea and providing safe anchorage were thought to protect the large contingent of naval ships stationed in the Bay of Scapa Flow early in the war however a German U boat did manage to penetrate the barrier of ships and sunk a British ship, Royal Oak which is a still submerged in the harbour.

In addition to the blockships, Italian prisoners of war built the large cement foundations and old roads between the islands.

Kirkwall

Flagstone streets and a busy harbour are at Kirkwall. It is the administrative centre of the Orkney Islands.

St Magnus Cathedral. A 860 year old yellow and red stone masterpiece.

The right hand side door shows the different sandstones used in construction.

The Romanesque Cathedral begun in 1137 has fine examples of Norman architecture, attributed to English masons who may have worked on Durham Cathedral. The masonry uses red sandstone quarried near Kirkwall and yellow sandstone from the island of Eday, often in alternating courses or in a chequerboard pattern to give a polychrome effect

John Rae, Arctic explorer. Discovered the NorthWest Passage .the sea roots through the Arctic Ocean between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

in 1987 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom unveiled a magnificent new west window. St. Magnus is the only wholly mediaeval Scottish Cathedral, and one of the best-preserved buildings of the era in Britain.

In memory of the crew of the Royal Oak

Skara Brae

Scapa Brae was inhabited from about 3,100 BC for about 500 years until berried by shifting sands. A storm uncovered the remains in 1850. Stone Age beds, dressers and kitchens and habitations are on display.

Ring of Brodgar.

This is a henge and stone circle is 104m. In diameter and the largest in Britain. The dating is thought to be between 2500BC and 2000BC.

Some of the graffiti.

Just over 1km away are the standing stones of Stenness.

The surviving ones of the 12 original are about 300cm thick and approx 5m tall. Pottery and bones found at the site link it to Scara Brae and date at 3000BC.

Back into Kirkwall and another places visited was Bishops Palace which had 12 century architecture.

The ruins of Earls palace was opposite

The last place we visited was the Italian chapel located back on the last Churchill barrier near where we caught the ferry.

St George and the dragon statue at the front of the church

Despite an external appearance of a large hangar ( it's actually two small ones) the interior shows exquisite craftsmanship and dedication. The same prisoners who built the barriers built the church.