Day 26 - Kirkwall and Orkney - 3 October 2024

 Day 26 - Kirkwall and Orkney - 3 October 2024

Today we thought that it is important to see the major attractions including Skara Brae, however, firstly, we walked around town and had a look at St Magnus Cathedral. The township of Kirkwall is lovely.  There are lots of special shops that seem to be unique, and the people are so friendly.  That seems to be typical of all the Scottish people we have met.  Australians also seem to be will received.

St Magnus Cathedral is weathering on the outside but the interior is wonderful.  It is the oldest cathedral in Scotland and construction commenced in 1137 and continued for more than 300 years.  It is owned by the burgh of Kirkwall and not the church. It is actually quite a strange arrangement because it is a presbyterian church but still consecrated grounds for the Roman Catholic church who still holds services there as well. 

The story of St Magnus seems to be a little vague but he was the son of the earl of Orkney.  He ruled for some time as a pious and gentle man but disputes arose with Norwegians and he was killed.  He was buried in the rocky ground where he died and that area miraculously became green and fertile. Othe miracles happened and he was made a saint.

St Magnus Cathedral

The aisle

Look at the carving

A carving on the altar

The choir area

A carving on a choir pew

Then it was time for the Stones of Stenness.  This is a circle of stones in the middle of a field.  These are considered to be the oldest henge in the UK.  They were on farmland and the farmer tried to knock them over because they were in the way of him ploughing.  The villagers were so incensed that they attempted on two occasions to burn his house down.  Anyway, they were fascinating to see.

The plaque

Some stones

More stones

More stones!

Then we headed to the main attraction of Skara Brae.  This is a fascinating old town that was discovered in 1850 when a violent storm uncovered some stones on a farmer's land.  Since then, archeological investigations have determined that the village was inhabited more than 5,000 years ago.

There are nine, neolithic houses all of which have "built-in" furniture.  There are beds, cupboards, tables and fireplaces all built from stone.  The people would have lived a comfortable life in those buildings which would have been very warm.  It was fascinating to see the village and try to understand the life of people over 5,000 years ago.  There were so many tourists there that we are glad we did not come in summer!  

As we walked along the path, we past mile posts that count backwards over 5,000 years.  That was cleverly done.  Then you come upon the village that must have been buried by sand blown up from the beach.

General view

Mile posts

Look at that room

Close up of a room

A bigger house

We had a look at the house of the people who found Skara Brae and that is quite extra-ordinary as well. Then we headed off to see the Italian chapel.

The Italian Chapel

The interior is spectacular

Memorial

In October 1939, German submarines quietly steamed into Scapa Flow where the allied ships were harboured and 832 lives were lost.  Therefore, Churchill instructed that the straits between the islands were to be blocked by scuttling ships and building causeways.  The concrete causeways have given a huge benefit to islanders by providing easy access between islands.

The plaque

Scapa Flow and the Churchill Barriers

 

One barrier

There was a lot of driving between those attractions and we called it a day.