Orkney's small coastal towns are rooted in fishing and trade, while WW1 memorials and many WW2 remains are a vivid reminder of Orkney's strategic importance.
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On the east coast of the mainland, Kirkwall is its main town, compact, with a small harbour and a fine cathedral, it is a good base for exploring the islands.
We stayed in the lovely Storehouse Hotel in Kirkwall while visiting Orkney. This sympathetically restored building, dating from 1880, was once a herring curing store. Many of the timbers are thought to come from wrecked sailing ships - one of the few sources of wood on the islands.
Though there may well have been a Neolithic settlement in the area thousands of years ago, the town became important only in the early 12th century when the Norse Earl of Orkney, Rognvald Kolsson, moved his seat of power here from Birsay in the north west of the Mainland (the main island of Orkney).
At this time Orkney was part of Norway and had been ruled for 300 years by Viking earls. They superseded the Pictish society establishing efficient farms and small settlements. Many of today's Orcadians are descended from the Norse people. Norn, a new language for Orkney, evolved from Old Norse.
The cathedral in Kirkwall superseded the church on Birsay as the repository of St Magnus's bones - or so it's said. Magnus was born in 1080, son of Erland who shared the earldom with his brother Paul. The story goes that eventually Magnus shared the earldom with Paul's son Haakon but was more popular with the people. The pious Magnus was eventually sentenced to death by Haakon and his body buried on Birsay. Soon numerous miracles were attributed to Magnus which led to his canonisation in1135.
The cathedral was founded in 1137 by Earl Rognvald, who was St Magnus's nephew, and originally stood close to the shore. Land reclamation over the centuries means that it now stands 500 yds inland.
Between 1913 and 1930 the steeple was erected, and stained glass windows replaced the plain windows.
There is a memorial in the cathedral to those lost when HMS Royal Oak sank in Scapa Bay, just to the south of Kirkwall, in 1939, little more than a month after Britain and France declared war on Germany. In truth this First World War Royal Sovereign Class Battleship was obsolete but was anchored in Scapa Flow as a floating anti-aircraft battery to protect the east side of Scapa Flow and the town of Kirkwall. For the Germans this was as much a symbolic attack as anything, at Scapa Flow where the German First World War fleet had scuttled itself. 834 men and boys died. It was a huge blow to British morale at the start of the war.1
The ship lies upside down just 5m below the surface and is a designated war grave. It is marked by an orange buoy which we were unable to spot when we walked down to the bay one cold, cloudy morning - a much longer walk than we'd anticipated!
Anchors and the ship's propeller have been preserved at the bay, near a large hut which houses a small exhibition.
Outside there is a memorial pillar inscribed "HMS Royal Oak commemorates the tree near Boscobel in which Charles II hid after his escape from the Field of Worcester in 1651".
Fortunately this was one of the few dull mornings on Orkney - the afternoon was lovely and sunny even then! But we did have quite strong winds for the first three or four days, which locals typically said were nothing more than "a gentle breeze"!
Close to the cathedral stand the Bishop's and Earl's palaces, the latter founded at about the same time as the cathedral. Little remains of the Bishop's Palace, mostly a shell of walls and a large round tower. It was the grand residence of the medieval bishops of Orkney and built in a Norwegian style, the same design as the Haakon Hall in Bergen, emphasising the strong links between Orkney and Norway.
The Earl's Palace was built around 500 years after the Bishop's Palace and has more substantial remains in a peaceful setting.
Kirkwall is well-known for the legendary mayhem of the Ba' game which takes place every Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The two teams of boys or men are divided traditionally on where they were born, the divisions dating back to the twelfth century. Apparently all those born "up the gates" between the cathedral and the shore, north of St Magnus' Lane, were the bishop's men, those born "down the gates" roughly south of the cathedral and St Magnus' Lane, were the earl's men.2 Over time the teams became "Uppies" and "Doonies" and an intense rivalry developed.
The heavy ball is made from cork-stuffed leather, just as well as the goal for the Doonies is to get it into Kirkwall Basin at the harbour! The goal for the Uppies is the south end of Main Street.
The starting point is the Mercat (Market) Cross on Broad Street by the cathedral. The ball is tossed into the crowd of waiting men (or boys, who use a smaller ball) and the tussle begins for possession. The game can last for hours and there are few, if any, rules. The ba' is presented to a popular member of the winning side.
The Orkney Museum on Broad Street has several of the balls alongside other memorabilia.
Many times we passed through Finstown, about 5km NW of Kirkwall, as we explored Orkney. And once we stopped at Leigh's Burger Van which is found in a car park on the Bay of Firth. The burgers are very highly rated and we certainly enjoyed ours! I had the Smoke Stack: 2 x 2oz burgers, bacon, aioli, smoked cheese and caramelised onions, Andrew the Rossini Burger: 2 x 2oz burgers, Orkney cheddar, smoked duck paté, streaky bacon and BBQ blueberry sauce - sounds weird but Andrew said it worked!
These well-preserved farm buildings are very evocative of the hard life lived by most islanders over the centuries. It stands on the east shore of the Loch of Boardhouse in the north of the mainland (the main island of Orkney). For over 400 years farming families have lived here, worked the land, looked after their animals. They must have fished in the loch to supplement their diet, perhaps trapped water fowl, collected shellfish and grown a few varieties of vegetables - root crops such as turnips and basic hardy greens.
The central room at Kirbuster is the firehoose, a space which the inhabitants shared with their cattle, though each keeping to their own end! It has a central hearth where peat would be the main fuel - there would have been few trees even then on Orkney. Fish would have smoked, suspended above the fire. The smoke itself escaped through a hole in the roof which was offset from the fire so that any rain did not fall on it.
In an alcove is a neuk bed, a shelf of stone, very similar to the arrangement in the prehistoric homes of Skara Brae. The firehoose, though once ubiquitous, is now unique in Northern Europe. Other rooms of the farmstead were added or modernised over the years, until it was abandoned in 1960.
The sinking of the Royal Oak in Scapa Flow in 1939 exposed the weakness of the sea defences. During the First World War ships were deliberately sunk in the passages between the mainland and the islands of Lamb Holm, Glimps Holm, Burray and South Ronaldsay.
The high tides which allowed the German submarine to penetrate into Scapa Bay proved how inadequate these blockships alone were. As Scapa Flow had been designated as the main British naval base in WW2 it was supremely important to make it secure from attack.
Churchill ordered the construction of barriers between the islands to block the approaches. More blockships were scuttled to improve the defences while over half a million tons of rock and 66,000 concrete blocks were used to form the barriers. They can still be seen - and driven over - today.
The four causeways are named for the four sounds they blocked: Kirk Sound, between the Mainland and Lamb Holm, Skerry Sound, between Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm, Weddell Sound, between Glimps Holm and Burray, and Water Sound, between Burray and South Ronaldsay.
As well as Orcadian, British and Irish labourers working on the barriers, 1,300 Italian prisoners of war were also brought in after being captured in North Africa in 1941. It was rather controversial to use POWs to support the war effort, which is in contravention of the Geneva Convention,but it was justified on the grounds that the barriers would have significant benefits to the islanders after the war had ended in terms of improved transport links.
Some of these POWs built the famous Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm. The incredible, ornate chapel was built at Camp 60 from two Nissen huts. The artwork inside is quite something, even mimicking tiling, brickwork, and stone sculpture. The artist was Domenico Chiocchetti who originally came from Moena and was a professional artist.
The chapel deteriorated in the years after the Italians left and in 1960 Chiocchetti was traced to Moena and agreed to return to restore his work. He returned once more in 1964 bringing 14 hand-carved Stations of the Cross. Sadly some despicable person chose to steal three of these in 2014, a truly shocking event for the islanders. They have been replaced, though the original three have never been found. The theft has resulted in restricted opening, CCTV, and a fee for entry to pay for the enhanced security measures.
A lovely clifftop walk, with substantial WW2 remains. The Head guards the southern entrance to Scapa Flow, the main Fleet anchorage for the Royal Navy in both World Wars. On each side of Hoxa Sound - Flotta is in the west - 6 inch guns capable of engaging war ships at long range were supported by smaller short range rapid fire guns to counter U boats and fast attack aircraft.
In addition there was an anti-submarine net strung across the sound, mines could be detonated when the metal hulls of surface or submerged vessels were detected by electric induction loops and aircraft and small surface warships patrolled the waters. The defences were so effective that they acted as a complete deterrent and the guns never needed to be fired.
There are excellent information boards to help identify what you are looking at.
Approaching from the north along the west coast you first come to the WW2 Balfour Battery, initially equipped with 12-pounder guns which fulfilled the rapid fire, close range role. Later two twin (two-barrelled) six pounder guns were emplaced on the cliff, much more lethal, a skilled crew was capable of firing 72 rounds per minute.
The first time we attempted this walk it was so windy we had to abandon it after reaching Balfour Battery. The second time the weather was idyllic and we walked right down to the southern end of the head and back through the Hoxa Head Battery which is right on the tip.
It's a great walk with lots of interest besides the military history - lots of bird life, including frantic curlews who were nesting and desperate to keep us away!
We were really lucky to see orcas - killer whales - in the sound south of Hoxa Head. There were at least three of them, submerging, surfacing, blowing spray, wonderful to see.
The whale with the very tall pointed dorsal fin is a mature male. Our hotel owner, Judith, said he is often to be seen in the sound.
There looked to be at least two females, with the smaller curved dorsal fin, maybe an immature male, and a youngster as well, but very difficult to tell.
We spent quite a time watching them before they disappeared beneath the waves.
Smaller than Kirkwall, but with a busy harbour area, a long main street with views of the sea between traditional gabled houses, narrow cobbled lanes and an excellent small museum.
The deep anchorage of Hamnavoe, the bay of Stromness, is well- sheltered from stormy weather - unless it's a south-easterly gale!
It was a one-time whaling port and an important trading post - the famous Hudson's Bay Company used the town to supply it's ships with water and food and recruited men to work on them. Though not without competition the company dominated the fur trade with Canada from the late 17th to the early 19th century.
Stromness played a part in many North American and Arctic explorations, including Franklin's ill-fated quest for the Northwest Passage and in the late 19th century, the herring industry boomed. More than 400 fishing vessels packed the harbour at its peak, coming from all over the north east of Scotland.
Captain Cook's ships, the Resolution and Discovery, docked here after Cook was killed in Hawaii.
This rather grim looking building - probably even more foreboding in stormy weather! - stands close to Skara Brae. Dating from the 1620s it has always been a domestic residence of the local lairds. Entrance to Skara Brae includes entrance to the house and as it's so close we decided to visit.
It is quite pleasant inside, with a bright dining room and some interesting items on display, including a dinner service from the ships of Captain Cook. After he was killed in Hawaii in 1779 the ships, HMS Resolution and HMS Discovery, returned to Britain where bad weather forced them to dock at Stromness.
It is thought that the dinner service was presented at this time as a condolence gift to the wife of the recently deceased Lt Robert Graham, the 4th Laird of Breckness.
At the foot of the stairs is a large cupboard known as the Armada Chest. The panels are said to have come from one of the Spanish galleons wrecked of the coast here after attempting to invade England. Driven north they rounded the coast of Scotland where they encountered storms and many ships were lost. The panels might have come from El Gran Grifon which was wrecked on Fair Isle in 1588.
The floor on which the chest stands was relaid in the 1930s and several skeletons were found beneath the original flagstones. The house was discovered to have been built on a Pictish graveyard! The skeletons were reinterred and the current oak floor laid on top.
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