3:19pm Tuesday 12th May 2009
By Angela Willgress
I managed to get sunburnt this Easter, and before you think this was because I sunned myself on beaches in the south, it was actually because I went walking, over hills and fields, on a little island called Eday in the Orkneys. One of those surprisingly warm days, where the clouds that loom are full of empty threats, and we discovered a chambered burial cairn, gorgeous views, calm seas, a giant stone, and an abandoned farmstead. This was halfway through a two week backpacking adventure, which began at London Euston, took us across the countryside of Scotland, on a ferry to Stromness and all over the Orkneys (bar some). An uneasy ferry took us to North Ronaldsay, where what could be described as an inadvertent lighthouse tour began (after this one we found ourselves inextricably drawn to the lighthouses on the rest of the islands) but with good reason, as they are designed by Robert Stevenson, grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson (who wrote Treasure Island). They are also good sites for puffin spotting, and for lying on cliffs with a deadly vertical drop to watch the white foamy sea and the gulls that nest in the crags. North Ronaldsay also boasts the longest dry stone wall structure in the UK, a wall that encloses the island and keeps the sheep on the beach, eating the seaweed, which gives their mutton a unique flavour (it’s good stuff). There is also a stone with a hole in it.
Other islands of note include the mainland, fairly obviously, on which we found many stone circles (like Stonehenge but slightly smaller, and free), beaches, historical sites and pretty villages. On Westray we discovered the best salmon in the world, (making it hard for me to go back to Sainsburys own), Scapa whiskey, and the horseshoe bay that is Pierowall harbour. We also got beaten up by the wind on Westray, making our way out to the lighthouse and the cliffs which is a glorious walk but I’m not entirely sure some of the burning I attributed to the sun wasn’t caused by strong winds.
Returning on the sleeper train 916 photos richer, I feel I have learned a lot about island communities, enough, even to rival recent television efforts to introduce them to your living rooms in all their glory. Martin Clunes doesn’t even mention the Orkneys – perhaps I should call up ITV...
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