Much easier getting off the ship, we took the coach trip to see the Churchill Barriers in Scapa Flow and the Italian Cathedral. The landscape in Orkney is more agricultural, with very few trees, but the historical aspects made up for the scenery. ...
While the Middleton Distillery (Scapa) and the Italian Chapel were wonderful, the frustration was that we were on a schedule. We were on a bus for over an hour before we got to a place that I would have loved to have stopped and experienced - standing stone circle that predated Stone Henge - but we had to keep going because we were held to a schedule to be at the chapel at a certain time. ...
We had previously been to Kirkwall and toured Skara Brae (a fascinating archeological site) so this time we ventured on our own. We were fortunate to be docked and the city provided a free shuttle into Kirkwall. (We felt bad for another ship in port which had to tender in high winds). We toured the ruins of the Earl’s Palace and the Bishop’s Palace, then St. Magnus Cathedral. We had arranged for a ...
After driving to the Standing Stones of Stenness, three tall stones from the Neolithic period, we walked around the neolithic Ring of Brodgar, Not as impressive as Stonehenge, but older. If the rain had let up some, it would have been more fun.
Later we had some time in the coastal village of Stromness which was very exposed to the sea but had grown and established itself as a port city for ...
