Clarkes in England and Scotland 2024: Day 27 - Kirkwall and Orkney

Day 27 - Kirkwall and Orkney - 4 October 2024

We were able to have a home breakfast in our self-catering house. It feels a lot more like home so that is good. Orkney is well known for its coastal beauty and today we are going to Yesnaby to see the cliffs. It is quite a long drive as it is on the west coast.

Well the advertising is correct. It took some persistence to eventually find the correct spot but when we did, we understood just how rugged the coastline is. It was incredibly cold and the wind was exceptionally strong. We have not been as cold on this trip. There is a path to the top of the cliff but that would probably take a couple of hours and we decided not to take it.

That is a steep cliff

Details of the cliffs

A nice looking rock.

The beach

Then we went to the Point of Buckquoy which is an island with a little board walk to it from the mainland. The boardwalk is only accessible at low tide and so we arranged to have a look. It was even colder and the wind was stronger that at Yesnaby! The boardwalk has algae and seaweed on it and was very slippery.

We very gingerly walked halfway across the boardwalk and nearly slipped several times. There is a small lighthouse on the island and we decided that it was unsafe to walk further. We were also very cold as we did not anticipate the strong wind. Anyway, it was an adventure and fun to see.

There is not much on that island

On the way back from the headland, we dropped into a little village and found the ruins of Earl's Palace of Birsay. It is always interesting to see a ruin such as this in such a tiny village.

The Earl's Palace

The plaque

Memorial data

Another view

We then went back to Kirkwall which was quite a long way. Don and I went into the centre of town to find a crystal, fossils and mineral shop however, it is closed until December. Maybe the owner is looking for more fossils. We wandered the streets and found another Earl's Palace. Amazing, isn't it?