We were up early with the alarm clock (whoa,
that was a shock to the system!) and very glad to see the weather was calm for the Pentland Firth crossing. The waters were calm until we met the cross
currents where the Atlantic Ocean and
North Sea meet which always creates a swell (and on our return sailing, to such
an extent it brought a few startled 'oohs' and 'aahs' from some
passengers!).
The inhabitants of the Orkneys do not consider themselves Scottish but Orcadian, they have their own flag.
We landed at Burwick on South
Ronaldsay for our 7 hour guided tour.
The landscape of the Orkneys is flat and
expansive with a distinct lack of trees. Very strong winds whip
across the Orkneys and the leaves become burnt and cannot survive such conditions.
We
travelled across one of the four Churchill Barriers. These great causeways were built by the
Italian PoWs during WWII to protect the British fleet in the bay of Scapa
Flow. Prior to this, sunken block ships and anti-submarine nets had been
strategically placed to create barriers but on 14 October 1939 battleship HMS
Royal Oak was sunk while at anchor in the Scapa Flow during a night attack by a
German U-boat who had managed to navigate through the barrier. One
torpedo of 3 hit on the first attack.
The men were startled from their sleep and confused by such noise but
believing their battleship was protected behind the barrier no-one believed it
could be anything but a boiler blow-out and the crew were instructed to return to
their bunks. Shortly afterwards the
German U-boat fired again - 3 torpedoes all of which were a sure hit and the
battleship went down taking 833 officers and crew with it. The 100' watery grave, where all those souls
perished, remains to this day marked by buoys.
Realising the block ships had begun
to shift with the continual tidal movement the decision was made to create
permanent barriers. The erection of the
4 Churchill Barriers - foundations of broken rock put in place using an overhead cableway system which were then flanked by 5 and 10 tonne blocks. Over
the decades the block ships have broken up and shown themselves above the water
line.
St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall,
houses the ship's bell -the only item to be removed from the wreck.
Our tour included visits to:
Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney with its flag stoned streets on the northern shore of the
mainland where cruise liners dock and disgorge passengers for a glimpse of
Orkney.
We soon regretted not having taken a
vehicle ferry to Orkney with Libby when we realised how much there was to
see in the Orkneys - we're not cut out for coach tours which made us feel we were
constantly on a piece of string pulling us back to the coach at a
set time! However, it was worth the day
trip just for a flavour and we can return another time.
We enjoyed coffee surrounded by well-loved violins and heaps of sheet music all for sale whilst listening to some lovely music. That the cafe is part of the local music school was very evidence and upstairs one had a chance to watch through the glass doors to hear various musicians practising! A great place to stop a while.
It seemed completely random to us to find a small selection of vintage tractors and
cars parked on the frontage to the cathedral - apparently the island's vintage vehicle rally!
On 16 April 1116, St Magnus, Earl of Orkney, laid down his life so that his people would be spared from a bloody civil war. In 1136 his nephew, Rognvald, became Earl of Orkney and built St Magnus in honour of his uncle.
On 16 April 1116, St Magnus, Earl of Orkney, laid down his life so that his people would be spared from a bloody civil war. In 1136 his nephew, Rognvald, became Earl of Orkney and built St Magnus in honour of his uncle.
Stromness is a charming harbour town where its one street twists
and turns through little character houses and shops. It was like a walk through time. The only exits off this one street appeared
to be accesses to houses and their waterfront gardens.
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| Anything look familiar?! |
Skara Brae - A storm in 1850 uncovered this stone age
village which had been hidden under sand dunes and perfectly preserved for
almost 5,000 years. These 8 dwelling houses are linked together by
passageways and are all similarly furnished with central fireplace, box beds
and a shelved dresser, all in stone. It had been inhabited from about 3,100 BC
for around 500 years when it was buried by the shifting sands.
Quite mind-boggling and in some way rather creepy standing there looking at
strong evidence of everyday life there so many years ago - an intriguing
insight into the lives of villagers all those years ago.
The
Italian Chapel - this was a very poignant experience.
During their time on Orkney during WWII, the
Italian PoWs (captured during the North African campaign) were sent to Orkney
to build the Churchill Barriers. They deeply
felt the need for a place of worship and eventually two Nissen huts were made
available. They placed these end to end and joined them together.
Prisoner and artist, Domenico Chiocchetti put
together a team of craftsmen and began the work, all of which was carried out under
his supervision. Chiocchetti had already sculpted a concrete memorial of St
George slaying the dragon - symbolical of their triumph
over defeat and loneliness during their captivity on Lambholm.
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Inside, the
ugly corrugated iron was hidden by plasterboard and with amazing skill and
artistry was painted to give the appearance of tiles and stonework frieze. The
altar and rail were moulded in concrete.
Only the simplest of tools and basic raw materials were available to create
this beautiful chapel - scrap wood from a wrecked ship and sculpted concrete.
Standing there trying to absorb this marvel, I felt only out of a deep rooted desire and
love can such beauty be created in such harsh circumstances with so little. Then I found this quote on a board outside the
chapel:
"It was
the wish to show to oneself first, and to the world then, that in spite of
being trapped in a barbed wire camp, down in spirit, physically and morally deprived
of many things, one could still find something inside that could be set
free.................."
Even the exterior had been masked by an
impressive facade made from concrete.
After more than 60 years it remains a reminder of a faith that
flourished in adversity. The Orcadians continue to cherish this chapel, their promise at the end of the war to those prisoners.
A few scraps of interest:
- Once the Churchill barriers were built, the fishermen were unable to get round the islands without exposing themselves to a long and dangerous sea journey. As a result many of them turned to chicken farming. This came to an abrupt and traumatic end one very stormy night in the '50s when the islands were hit by a hurricane and thousands of chickens literally got blown away. (It is said that a Norwegian was looking up into the sky that night and saw clouds of flying chickens - a paltry story - a foul joke ................ ??)
- We noticed they retain the red phone boxes which have long gone on the mainland - again, high winds destroyed the flimsier new style boxes!
- There are 70 islands in all with a total population 20,000.
- There are no traffic lights, no roundabouts and 1 traffic warden. Though folks can learn to drive and take their tests it is recommended they re-take their tests if intending to drive on the mainland!
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| Orkney sky |
On our return after a long, full and very
interesting day, the evening was fine and calm with an unusual warmth in the
air - ooooh that felt good!!
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| That was some day - we're 'toured out' from all we've seen and learnt today ! |
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