While in Cornwall, Mom and I had visited Land’s End, the southernmost point on the British mainland. It was a very foggy day, so we didn’t see much. Twelve years later, my friend, Tommie, and I were at Dunnet Head, the northernmost point on the British mainland. As you will see in the photo, a storm was coming in with lots of wind and rain and very low visibility. So much for great scenic locations.
From Dunnet Head, we were driven to John O’Groats, from where we were taking a passenger-only ferry to Orkney. A different bus and driver were waiting for us there. But first, we needed to cross the Pentland Firth. The body of water that separates Orkney from mainland Scotland is where the North Sea meets the Atlantic. They don’t play well together. In fact, in the best of weather, they tend to fight. In poor weather, the ferries can sometimes be shut down due to the danger of what is called a “confusion of seas”. Our Tour Director, John, likened it to the film “The Perfect Storm”. Good thing I don’t get seasick. There were a few extremely pale faces and very wide eyes on the ferry. It was quite a ride.
When we arrived at Burwick, we were immediately taken to a cozy little café where we received a very tasty homestyle meal. With very satisfied stomachs, we drove around a body of water called Scappa Flow to the Italian Chapel built by prisoners of war in 1943.
Roughly 1,000 years ago, Vikings used to anchor their ships at Scapa Flow. During World Wars I & II, it was used as a naval base. The Germans chose to scuttle their fleet when it was captured and interned at Scapa Flow during WWI. The wrecks of the ships can still be seen jutting out of the water.
The prisoners of war who built the Italian Chapel were building the Churchill Barriers, which are causeways linking some of the southern islands of Orkney to the main island and blocking access to Scapa Flow. They joined together two Quonset huts and then decorated the church with materials at hand. They did a beautiful job.
Stonehenge dates to about 3000 BC. But the Neolithic Standing Stones of Stenness on Orkney is thought to possibly be the oldest henge site in all of the British Isles (3100 BC). A short distance away is the Ring of Brodgar, which was thought to have been erected roughly 2500 BC. By the time we reached the Ring of Brodgar (in which people can walk around and even touch the stones), it was raining horizontally. Orkney doesn’t have a lot of trees on a good share of its islands, so the wind can barrel its way across quite easily, bringing the rain with it. I hid behind one of the stones to photograph the others. I also wiped out my video camera to show that the rain was horizontal. Maeshowe, a burial mound built about 2800 BC, can be seen from the Ring of Brodgar.
When I was in Egypt, I encountered some very old structures, but Skara Brae, a Neolithic village on Orkney, is older than the pyramids or anything else I saw in Egypt. A cluster of stone and earth houses, Skara Brae was unearthed by a storm in 1850. It was occupied roughly from 3180 BC to about 2500 BC. A couple of the houses still have furnishings – beds, cupboards, dressers, seats and storage benches – all made of stone. It appears that the inhabitants were taken by surprise and fled, leaving some of their personal belongings behind.
Just steps from Skara Brae is Skaill House. The oldest parts of the house are thought to date back to the 15th century, but the majority of the building dates to the 17th century. Some of the house was inadvertently built over an ancient pre-Pictish burial ground. Several Pictish burial mounds are scattered around the area as well. Some of the house is rented out for people on holiday (vacation). There have been several stories about possible hauntings in parts of the house.
I had a very odd experience while there. It had begun to rain again while I was walking around Skara Brae, photographing and filming. By the time I was headed over to Skaill House to tour it, the rain was coming down quite hard. When looking at the house, there is an archway to the right of the building that actually predates the house itself. When I passed through the arch to go to the entrance, the rain stopped. I turned around and looked back through the arch to see that it was still raining on the other side. Ooooweeeooo! The place does have a very odd, mysterious, spooky vibe to it.
Once again, no photography was allowed inside. We could tour the main building and the kitchens, but not the wings. It is fairly large and spread out. In the library was a large, low, round window in a very thick wall. Sort of an unusual choice, I thought. I used Skaill House as a setting for a novel (that needs a rewrite) because it is so sprawling and foreboding on the outside, but quite pleasant and comfortable inside. Except for the ghosts.
Back in Orkney’s main city, Kirkwall (which is one of the few parts of Orkney with trees), is the 900 year old St Magnus Cathedral. It was built by Earl Rognvold of Orkney to commemorate his uncle, St Magnus. It even has its own dungeon.
Magnus was killed with an axe to the head and is always depicted with an axe. I don’t know that I’d like to be depicted for all eternity with a symbol of what killed me. But that seems to be the way they did things back then. When Rognvold had the cathedral constructed, he had Magnus’ bones interred in it. Nobody knew where they were until 1917 when they were found inside of a hidden cavity in a column. The skull clearly had what looked like an axe wound. There is now a statue of Magnus next to the column where he was discovered.
The ferry ride back to mainland Scotland was even rougher than on the way over. A very choppy ride. We headed back down to Wick for a second night and left for the Isle of Skye the following day.
