Orcadian Jottings #3

Our break continued today with a trip to the south of the main island, passing through Kirkwall and thence to South Ronaldsay. At the tip of which we visited the Tomb of the Eagles, an interesting privately owned bronze age 'hut'. Actually it's a lot more than that but its function is really unknown. When it was discovered (by a farmer in around 1956) it contained a large number of disconnected human bones so did it have some sort of ritual function?. It was out on the cliffs and we managed a nice walk along the cliffs as well.  Lots of birds nesting and a very blue sea. And from there we could see the mainland in the distance.

Getting to South Ronaldsay meant traversing two or three smaller islands which had been daisy chained to the mainland by a series of barrages put in place between 1940 and 1943 at the instigation of Churchill. Why? Because these channels were the western entrances into Scapa Flow, the major northern harbour for the British fleet during WW1 and WW2. It's a place I had looked forward to seeing at first hand as I've read so much about it in relation to the Battle of Jutland and also the scuttling of the German fleet in 1919. It was a lot bigger than I had imagined and was clearly an ideal haven and refuge for vessels. On such a tranquil day the hustle and bustle of wartime. A place well worth visiting. I hope we can find time to visit the Scapa Flow museum which is on Hoy.

And back to the B & B for a break before going out to the Merkiston Hotel for dinner.