A Trip to The Orkney Islands

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The Orkney Islands is an archipelago off the northernmost coast of Scotland. We took a 40 minute ferry ride from John O’Groats across the Pentland Firth to get there.
I lived in the lowlands of Scotland as a child and the nearest I’d ever been to The Orkney Islands was when I went to the Edinburgh Tattoo with my parents and I was too young to remember that. I had a strong desire to visit the Orkney Islands and had to convince my husband who wasn’t enamored about going to some remote area that experiences gale force winds and bleak weather for most of the year. (The Orkney Islands in latitude are only about 50 miles south of Greenland.) However, we went; the weather was better than expected – some wind and rain, but nothing exceptional and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
I was surprised to discover that there was no Gaelic influence here – no clan system or tartans. The predominant influence historically were the Vikings or Norse from Norway, who were only about a day’s sailing trip away. They settled on Orkney in the late 700’s displacing the Picts, and their influence is all over the place.

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

The Churchill Barriers – in 1939 a German submarine sank a British ship in the Scapa Flow. Winston Churchill, at that time the First Lord of the Admiralty, ordered a series of four causeways or barriers to be built to block the channels between the islands. These barriers were topped by roads which enabled better access to local communities for the Orkney residents.

 

 

 


St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall

 

This was one of highlights of the Orkney Islands for me. I felt like I’d stepped back into the world of Sigrid Undset’s Kristin Lavransdatter – it’s such an atmospheric place that you really do feel like you’re stepping back in time to medieval Norway.

 

 

A modern wooden statue of St Olaf that I think is a replica of the one found in the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. The Nidaros Cathedral was built over the remains of King Olav II, the patron saint of Norway. More information here.

 

 

 

 

 

The Cathedral here was named after Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, also known as Magnus the Martyr. There’s some history here.

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
Kirkwall
 
 
 
Stromness

 

 
 
The Standing Stones of Stenness – Neolithic monuments

 

 

Skara Brae, a 5,000 year old Neolithic village, was uncovered by a storm that swept the area in 1850.

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
Sunset as we head back to John O’Groats
 
 
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

14 thoughts on “A Trip to The Orkney Islands”

  8. Hi Gretchen Joanna, if we ever went back I’d like to have a bit more time there. We looked at the map & everything looks so close compared to here in Australia but the roads are narrow & windy and it takes longer than you think to get around. Glad we made the effort, though. Happy New Year to you. 🙂

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  10. I hadn't heard of the book but I looked it up and it had some good reviews. I'm tempted to buy it as I didn't find anything like that when we were there. Looks like Bookdepository has it for a reasonable price. I picked up some other Scottish books over there including a couple of sweet picture books for my two grandchildren which are from the same publisher as The Boy with the Bronze Axe. Thanks for mentioning it!

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  11. Wonderful photographs. I love church architecture and your photos really show the buildings to the best advantage. I took a small venture into Scotland years ago, but I really need to go back. It's such a beautiful country.And I love the map. I love looking at historical maps.

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  14. Pingback: A Tweaked Version of Ambleside Online Year 9 | journey & destination

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