Orkney-copy of article done for club newsletter

A bit more about our travels-Adrian and Avril

Orkney-

Know where that is? Right off the top of Scotland, in fact you can see it from John O Groats. You can get a ferry over from there but it doesn't take vehicles so we went along to the port of Scrabster by Thurso to get over to the islands.

Why go there you might ask? Conveniently my little sister moved there about 4 years ago. She likes the quiet life!!

After missing her out last time we were over, felt we just had to make the effort this time-and quite an effort it is.

So what makes Orkney tick?

It consists of over 70 islands of which 17 are inhabited and has a population of around 20,000. There have been people living there for 6,000 years!!! It is mainly fertile agricultural land, farming beef and sheep, few trees and a wide open grassy landscape where you can see for miles. The main island is Main Island, with largest towns being Kirkwall and Stromness, where the ferry docked.

The islands are probably best known for the Neolithic remains, the bird life, and  Scapa Flow, the natural harbour used by the British Navy in WW 1 and 2. We were both fascinated by the history of this area.

Some highlights were the Neolithic village of Scara Brae and the Italian Chapel.

Scara Brae was uncovered in a storm in 1850, they found a well preserved Neolithic village inhabited about 5,000 years ago. It consisted of 6 well constructed houses partially underground with stone slab furniture, including beds, shelving, and small storage containers for live bait.

After Scapa Flow was penetrated by a German sub and the battleship, The Royal Oak, sunk early in WW2, it was decided to build causeways between 4 islands to prevent attack from the North Sea and ensure Scapa Flow remained a safe harbour. Due to the war effort, labour in the area was in short supply, so around 2,000 Italian prisoners of war were sent to Orkney to build the barriers. These became known as the Churchill Barriers. During their stay on Orkney the prisoners used concrete and other scraps to make their camp more homely, building paths, a recreation hut and gardens. 

Italian Chapel

They were given a nissen hut which they converted into a chapel. One of the prisoners was an artist and he painted much of the interior. This is the only building remaining and was restored in the 60’s. They managed to find the guy in Italy who had done the painting and got him back to help with restoring the paintwork.

Maeshowe, another of the Neolithic remains was a burial cairn built into a mount and lined with stone slabs. An interesting feature of this structure was the way it was built to get the sun at certain times of the year shining down a long passage into the central chamber.

Religious needs appeared to have revolved around stone circles of which  the Ring of Brodgar is a good example.

A perfect circle of 103m diameter  consisting of 60– stones originally, with 27 now left standing. Standing between 2 and 4.5m hign the circle is surrounded by a 10 m wide ditch.

A bit more about our travels-Adrian and Avril Orkney- Know where that is? Right off the top of Scotland, in fact you can see it from John O Groats. You can get a ferry over from there but it doesn't take vehicles so we went along to the port of Scrabster by Thurso to get over to the islands. Why go there you might ask? Conveniently my little sister moved there about 4 years ago. She likes the quiet life!! After missing her out last time we were over, felt we just had to make the effort this time-and quite an effort it is. So what makes Orkney tick? It consists of over 70 islands of which 17 are inhabited and has a population of around 20,000. There have been people living there for 6,000 years!!! It is mainly fertile agricultural land, farming beef and sheep, few trees and a wide open grassy landscape where you can see for miles. The main island is Main Island, with largest towns being Kirkwall and Stromness, where the ferry docked. The islands are probably best known for the Neolithic remains, the bird life, and  Scapa Flow, the natural harbour used by the British Navy in WW 1 and 2. We were both fascinated by the history of this area. Some highlights were the Neolithic village of Scara Brae and the Italian Chapel. Scara Brae was uncovered in a storm in 1850, they found a well preserved Neolithic village inhabited about 5,000 years ago. It consisted of 6 well constructed houses partially underground with stone slab furniture, including beds, shelving, and small storage containers for live bait.