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I had a really good (and large) breakfast at our B&B in Kirkwall (mentioned earlier). Then we went down to Scapa distillery, just to the south of town (the second most northerly distillery in Scotland).
And then we went in. Sort of...
We knew it wasn't open to the public, but we wanted to see it anyway, since we were there. We drove in just past the gate and turned around, taking a couple of shots of their drab warehouses.
Back to Kirkwall to fill the tank, and then on to the west side of the island. First stop was getting tickets for Maeshowe. While we waited, we went over to the nearby Ring of Brodgar.
The Ring of Brodgar Stone Circle and Henge. The circle originally comprised 60 stones. Four thousand years later, less than half still stand. Outside the circle is a henge, or ditch, which was cut through sandstone bedrock. It's about three meters deep and nine meters wide.
The weather was nasty - cold, windy and raining. My dad opted to stay in the car, as he wasn't up for the long walk into the wet wind. There were two people at the ring. They were photographers, and tried to stay out of my way when I was shooting. In this shot, she didn't know I was coming, yet. :-)
He was taking shelter behind the stone. The rain stopped around the time I met this guy. This was fortunate, since this was the part of the circle where I was tuning into it.
The Standing Stones 'o Stenness can be seen in the distance, just to the right of this stone.
Please stay on the perimeter path.
Heather.
The ditch.
Then it was back to Maeshowe. The walk out to the cairn wasn't quite as long as the walk up to the Ring, and the rain had quit.
Maeshowe (or Maes Howe) is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. It was probably built in around 2800 BC. It gives its name to the Maeshowe type of chambered cairn, which is limited to Orkney. Maeshowe is a significant example of Neolithic craftsmanship.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maeshowe
http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/maeshowe/
It doesn't look like much from the outside. The inside is made of well-fitted stone slabs making up several rooms. There is one main room, and three smaller cells off to each side. A long passage leads from a heavy, pivoting stone door.
This was our chipper guide. There is no photography allowed inside. Probably just because it's annoying, and the flash blinds people. And also to sell books. But I'm okay with that. Anyway...
The Vikings plundered this cairn in the 1100's. They left graffiti scratched into the stones, including pictures of animals and a dragon, and messages. This graffiti comprises the largest collection of runic inscription that survive outside Scandinavia – a potent reminder that Orkney was under Norwegian rule until 1468.
The mound is surrounded by a henge, which is a ditch and raised bank.
You can see the Standing Stones of Stenness from there.
And also the Ring of Brodgar.
The entrance passage of Maeshowe is aligned with the setting sun of the Winter Solstice, so that the sun lights up the back wall of the main room. It is also aligned with the Barnhouse Stone, almost a kilometer away, seen here.
Then we drove up to the Broch of Gurness.
The visitor's centre. The Broch of Gurness is on the north side of mainland Orkney. Across the Eynhallow Sound, to the northeast, is the island of Rousay.
The Broch o' Gurness was an Iron Age village, likely inhabited between 500 bce and 100 ce. It has a central fortified building surrounded by dwellings, then by defense ditches.
As you can see, rain was coming. I got into a conversation with an English tourist (and kept my back to the wind), while my dad went back to the car. It wasn't until after the rain, that he returned to ask me for the keys to the car. :-(
From Gurness, we went back down past the previous sites, and then out to Skara Brae on the west coast.
And then we went in. Sort of...
We knew it wasn't open to the public, but we wanted to see it anyway, since we were there. We drove in just past the gate and turned around, taking a couple of shots of their drab warehouses.
Back to Kirkwall to fill the tank, and then on to the west side of the island. First stop was getting tickets for Maeshowe. While we waited, we went over to the nearby Ring of Brodgar.
The Ring of Brodgar Stone Circle and Henge. The circle originally comprised 60 stones. Four thousand years later, less than half still stand. Outside the circle is a henge, or ditch, which was cut through sandstone bedrock. It's about three meters deep and nine meters wide.
The weather was nasty - cold, windy and raining. My dad opted to stay in the car, as he wasn't up for the long walk into the wet wind. There were two people at the ring. They were photographers, and tried to stay out of my way when I was shooting. In this shot, she didn't know I was coming, yet. :-)
He was taking shelter behind the stone. The rain stopped around the time I met this guy. This was fortunate, since this was the part of the circle where I was tuning into it.
The Standing Stones 'o Stenness can be seen in the distance, just to the right of this stone.
Please stay on the perimeter path.
Heather.
The ditch.
Then it was back to Maeshowe. The walk out to the cairn wasn't quite as long as the walk up to the Ring, and the rain had quit.
Maeshowe (or Maes Howe) is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. It was probably built in around 2800 BC. It gives its name to the Maeshowe type of chambered cairn, which is limited to Orkney. Maeshowe is a significant example of Neolithic craftsmanship.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maeshowe
http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/maeshowe/
It doesn't look like much from the outside. The inside is made of well-fitted stone slabs making up several rooms. There is one main room, and three smaller cells off to each side. A long passage leads from a heavy, pivoting stone door.
This was our chipper guide. There is no photography allowed inside. Probably just because it's annoying, and the flash blinds people. And also to sell books. But I'm okay with that. Anyway...
The Vikings plundered this cairn in the 1100's. They left graffiti scratched into the stones, including pictures of animals and a dragon, and messages. This graffiti comprises the largest collection of runic inscription that survive outside Scandinavia – a potent reminder that Orkney was under Norwegian rule until 1468.
The mound is surrounded by a henge, which is a ditch and raised bank.
You can see the Standing Stones of Stenness from there.
And also the Ring of Brodgar.
The entrance passage of Maeshowe is aligned with the setting sun of the Winter Solstice, so that the sun lights up the back wall of the main room. It is also aligned with the Barnhouse Stone, almost a kilometer away, seen here.
Then we drove up to the Broch of Gurness.
The visitor's centre. The Broch of Gurness is on the north side of mainland Orkney. Across the Eynhallow Sound, to the northeast, is the island of Rousay.
The Broch o' Gurness was an Iron Age village, likely inhabited between 500 bce and 100 ce. It has a central fortified building surrounded by dwellings, then by defense ditches.
As you can see, rain was coming. I got into a conversation with an English tourist (and kept my back to the wind), while my dad went back to the car. It wasn't until after the rain, that he returned to ask me for the keys to the car. :-(
From Gurness, we went back down past the previous sites, and then out to Skara Brae on the west coast.
