June 30 Mainland Island, Orkney archipelago

 After an overnight sea voyage from the northern Shetland Islands, this morning we arrived at the port of Kirkwall on Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago. Kirkwall is the largest town in the Orkneys and was once an ancient Norse town founded approximately 1000 years ago. A bus met us at the port and took us for a tour of the island with an couple of interesting stops. One was to the Ring of Brodgar, a Neolithic henge and stone circle and the other was to Skara Brae which is a stone-built Neolithic settlement.  This ancient settlement was unearthed by a severe storm in 1850 which stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll known as ‘Skara Brae’. When the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village consisting of 10 small houses without roofs. Called the ‘Scottish Pompeii’ because of its excellent preservation, the site had been occupied for about 700 years about 5000 years ago and now has UNESCO World Heritage status. The houses were made of flagstones sunk into earthen dams which provided support for the wall. The houses included stone hearths, beds, storage areas and each house had a sewer system with ‘toilets’ and drains. More recent excavations unearthed seed grains from a midden suggesting that barley was cultivated here. Fish bones and shells are commonly found in the middens; the fish and bait was kept fresh in stone boxes filled with sea water. The boxes were formed from thin stone slabs with joints carefully sealed with clay to make them waterproof.

An impressive collection of dwellings

Living areas had a central hearth

Storage units

This was the closest I got to the Ring of Brodgar 

We were eventually bused back to Kirkwall and dropped off at the imposing St Magnus Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in Scotland.  It was built when the islands were ruled by the Norse Earls of Orkney as a semi-autonomous part of the Kingdom of Norway (I got the impression that many of the Scottish islanders wish they were still part of Norway!). The Orkneyinga saga tells how bloodthirsty intrigue and saintly piety led to the cathedral's foundation but perhaps I'll leave you to investigate that for yourselves. Construction began in 1137 and it was added to over the next 300 years. Today the building is owned by Orkney Islands Council rather than by the Church of Scotland. The interior is grand and within its walls it houses the relics of St Magnus. It is quite an imposing structure of red and yellow sandstone. As a result, the intricate carvings and columns on the outside of the cathedral have undergone severe weathering - the weathering pattern on the columns on the facade of the cathedral intrigued me. 

St Magnus Cathdral 

Cathedral-like proportions

Unknown tomb but people accused of witchcraft from 1594–1708 were usually incarcerated in the dungeons and their trials held here

Honeycomb weathering

Severely worn columns

We had a ‘free afternoon’ to do what we wished and some people chose to buy their own lunch and go shopping, visit one of the distilleries or sightseeing until the last zodiac left for the ship. But we decided to return to the ship - which we did manage to do, eventually.  At the port we encountered a dragon lady guarding her port!  "Where are our authority cards?  What, no boarding passes? No papers authorising you to board the zodiacs" – this was despite having cruise staff and zodiac drivers with us.  She had seen us come in when we arrived and recognised some of us but no way we were going to get past her security checks to get off the island again.  After a lengthy phone consultation with her boss, she agreed to let one zodiac, including the expedition staff (and fortunately us), go to the ship to bring back a formal manifest identifying the people who were allowed to go back on board. It was rather comical if she hadn't been so very serious. Relieved to be back on board, we had lunch and did our packing and sorted some photos during the afternoon. After an early evening entertainment provided by local musicians, dinner was a bit celebratory given that it was our Last Supper on board but most people drew stumps early so they could finalise their packing - we would be disembarking early in the morning. They didn't tell us that we had to organise our own transport from the port - it is all a learning experience!

Kirkwall port

June 29 - it is a Fair Isle!

Fair Isle too was a wonderful and remote place. Inhabited by just 55 people. I wandered on my own enjoying the quiet, the flowers and the views out of the sea. I came across an oldbuilding, perhaps once a school, that is now a memorial centre and museum.  The collection on display covers Fair Isle’s fascinating social history, fishing and crofting culture, natural history and archaeology. Sadly I didn't have enough time to explore it all but there were interesting displays of wool processing before it is made into the world-famous Fair Isle patterned knitwear. They have plenty of orders made well in advance (the wool is a bit to prickly for me but it is fairly weather-proof).  In the meantime, Lindsay was off looking for birds - and he saw plenty. He also visited the lighthouse at the end of the road. At one time, he inadvertently stumbled into a big colony of ground-nesting Great Skuas and they were not happy. They screamed at him incessantly and took turns at dive-bombing him as he scrambled to find his way back to the road and safety.  The island is home to a bird observatory which attracts bird lovers from around the world - I think Lindsay would be happy to return to volunteer.

The day we arrived was a special day and a unique experience for us - it was shearing time for the ‘wild’ island sheep. That involves people from the whole island! They have domesticated farmed sheep, but there is a couple of hundred of the wild ancient breed that wander the highlands all year. Each family has responsibility for anallocated lot. The local people walk the steep hills in a big annual roundup and drive the sheep to a spot where the shearing and health checks take place. A few people had battery-operated shears, but most used hand clippers. It was fascinating to watch and the islanders were very happy for us to be there chatting to them. Many of us came away with little gifts of fresh-shorn brown wool. A wonderful experience! 

I felt a bit like Heathcliff out on the moors.

There is larger kirk on the island as well as this old chapel

There were fulmar nesting inside the ruins of this old farmhouse

Old red telephone boxes no longer with a phone service are used to house defibrillators. Great idea eh!

The island was thick with wild Angelica. The flowers are pretty

You can’t have a Scottish scene without thistles - there’s about 20 varieties. This is at the bud stage.

Och Aye! You can’t have a Scottish scene without thistles - there’s about 20 varieties Not sure what these are but I rather like them in bud stage.

I love the patterning on this sweet Marsh-orchid 

Massed Seea Thrift crowd the rocks and pathways

'Eggs and Bacon' (Birdsfoot Trefoil)

The first bunch of sheep penned for shearing. They check and shear their own but look out for each other’s

This man was pulling the wool off. Looked easy.

Some used electric clippers but most used hand shears

Great care taken over this fat ewe; het fleece was think and dense. He gave me some to take home.

June 28 Papa Stour

The Shetlands are Scotland’s most northerly islands ~100 islands 100 miles north of the Scottish mainland. They are located at a similar latitude to southern Greenland and are kept ‘warm’ by the Gulf Stream. But to Papa Stour ..... 

This island has spectacular sea caves. Of volcanic origin, they say, the rock type and colour is rather spectacular - a little reminiscent of the Kimberley. We nosed into dark holes in the dripping silence of the cliff face and quietly burbled our way slowly into deeper caves some of which exited onto hidden beaches of rubble where the cliffs or cave-roofs had collapsed. In some caves we wound our way through a number of tunnels through the cliff looking for faint glimmers of light to indicate alternative exits - and surprisingly and thankfully found them! We had to watch our heads and backs at times in narrow tunnels and caves. I expected at any moment to hear the hissing voice of Gollum (Tolkien, 1937 The Hobbit) echoing from the dark corners of the caves. It was thrilling and extremely beautiful.

Back out on the open sea, European Shags and huge Black-backed Gulls stood like sentinels high on sea stacks silhouetted against a burnt blue sky. 

We were dwarfed by the towering cliffs looming above us

The vivid colours and angular shapes were breathtaking

We ventured in here drawn by a glimmer of light in the distance ....

...  we struck out for the back tunnel and that pale glimmer of light

It was quite thrilling

I felt like a kid at Luna Park - the tunnel of love, almost. One poor passenger didn't enjoy it at all

A relief to see our ship still out there!

'Elephant Rock'

European Shags stood guard

That night we had a bbq on the back deck with mulled wine and a DJ, dancing - and silly hats1 

June 28 Foula, perhaps my favourite place!

Almost where the North Sea meets the Atlantic and in the path of old Norse trade routes, lies Foula one of Shetland’s remote islands. The island has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age and is unique in many ways. It has a number of international designations - Site of Special Scientific Interest for its flora and fauna as well as for the geomorphology of its coastline. And it is also a Special Protection Area for its birds.  The island has a small ferry that goes to the ‘mainland’ once a week weather permitting - a 2-hour rough trip. The harbour is fairly protected but the seas are so wild that they hoist the boat out of the water when it is not in use. That menas 6 out of 7 days a week as storms can blow out of nowhere. Weather notwithstamding, it’s a place where I think I’d quite like to live - for a time! 

We spent the entire morning wandering the cliff tops and hillsides looking at flowers, but also birds. The backdrop was breathtaking in a wonderfully quiet and gentle way - clouds of mist came and went over magnificent hills, stone cottages and walls, Shetland ponies and sheep shedding their coats, flower-decked cliffs like high-rise apartments dotted with fulmars nesting in tiny ‘cliff gardens’ - fulmars are quiet birds but if you get to close or threaten them they regurgitate a foul smelling ‘oil’ which is pretty bad I’m told. Skylarks fluttering high above our heads singing their hearts out and close in to shore Harbour as well as Grey Seals kept track of our progress. The peaty ground, soft under foot, was potholed by grazing sheep and ponies as well as rabbits - not to mention peat cutters. Absolutely magical! Everywhere we came across yellow iris. They are so bright. The children make boats out of the leaves. With the fog sliding down the hill, I was totally enraptured. So peaceful.

My small group was fortunately to have a very knowledgeable woman as its guide - Sheila Gear the island’s Matriarch, whose family have been Foula islanders for many generations.  We finished at the schoolhouse-cum-community centre for morning tea with cakes made by the kids and locals - there are just 35 people living on the island and everyone mucks in for absolutely everything. The climate is harsh at times, but Foula is a glorious, magical place and the people open and friendly. It was a place to dream, I loved it!

The tiny protected harbour and ferry which is lifted out of the water between runs

Words can’t describe wee paradise! To me it must be one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  

The Shetland ponies in their native land are adorable. This wee foal is a month old and just a metre tall!

The roof of this old house is tarred sailcloth, maybe more durable than thatch but not insurable!

Idyllic moody landscape emblazoned with bright yellow itises

We walked through lush patch with orchids and silver weed - and other lovely things.

This is a Northern Marsh Orchid. Quite small - 25cm.

These pretty Red Campions were a vivid blaze in the lush green and along the roadside

The skeleton of an old fishing boat is now the home of this nesting Northern Fulmar.

The quite lush gardens are walled against the sheep which eat anything and everything 

Heath Spotted-orchid with cotton grass on the background.

Old peat fields on the cliff now covered in Cotton-grass.

‘Fulmar cliff mansions’. A tranquil spot for nesting. Each fulmar pair had its own wee 'garden' 

June 27 Noss in the fog!

Scotland has a coastline of over 16,000 km including offshore islands. We visited a few including the Island of Noss in the Shetlands - the island s now unihabited except gor the birds. There we spent a wonderful few hours out on the sea in a zodiac with 8 other people cutting through quite sizeable waves and swells cloaked in a fine blanket of fog. Sheer cliffs towering above us were nesting and resting places for thousands of Northern Gannets, guillemots, Atlantic Puffins, fulmar, Black-backed Gulls, cormorants and shags. And where there are birds and chicks and eggs and any promise of a feed, there are Great Skuas. They are quite magnificent birds but are very aggressive. Like Frigatebirds, they hassle the birds in the air to drop their fish. But they also attack and kill birds of all sizes. A constant chattering followed us as we slowly made our way along the cliff face towards the Noup of Noss. The name tickles my fancy!  We nosed into a narrow gap in the cliff to explore and found calm crystal-clear water with waving kelp fanning the rocks and surface. Anemones, starfish and large jellyfish flourished in the gentle lapping of this quiet hidey-hole.    

The Noop of Noss is a high rocky headland dropping over 180 metres vertically into the roiling sea on which we were bobbing up and down. Balanced on our quite bouncy perches on the edge of our black rubber-duckies, we craned our necks this way and that watching huge flocks of birds constantly circling above us in the fog. It was truly magical - but I seem to have a permanently stiff neck!

Many of the birds were as curious of us as we were of them and flew in for a closer look. One passenger received many ‘bird blessings’ and we reckoned it was his hat - it looked a bit like a target. 

That day on both morning and afternoon excursions, our zodiac skippers had to use handheld GPS devices to find our way back to the mothership. ‘Interesting’ experience driving through fog on a vast sea of heaving waves to finally and thankfully see the ship slowly emerge out of the dense blanket of invisibility. We all collectively let our out breath!

Noup of Noss was just around that headland which was cut off from the rest of the island by a cliff collapse.

These are Common Guillemots. One of my favourites - actually most of them are my favourites!

Jim's hat looked a bit like a target - he copped a lot of bird blessings. Most of us got a few little splashes The boat in the background were actually feeding the birds - bad practice!

A Great Skua hopeful of a feed from us - he was out of luck

We managed to get very quite to this large community but we were careful not to spook them

Most of these are Northern Gannets

Most of the birds were as curious about us as we were about them. This one flew in for a closer look

Magnificent bird

To say the least it was very atmospheric 

These gannets are sitting on nests made of scraps of seaweed and other things such as fishing nets and lines (a bit blurry)

This is Heidi, the ship’s naturalist, our zodiac driver for that excursion. When we came back out to open sea the kayakers paddled in to this chasm of calm.