We travelled across from Gills Bay on a car ferry, landing on South Ronaldsay. We were able to drive up to Kirkwall across the Churchill Barriers constructed during World War 2 to close off the eastern side of Scapa Flow.
We had an interesting stop at the Tomb of the Eagles, a neolithic burial site and also at the Italian Chapel built by prisoners of war during World War 2.
If you want to learn about how stone age people lived, then this is the place to visit.
We have been to Skara Brae, a 5000 year old village. The houses still have the stone dressers, stone seats and stone beds intact. They have not been recreated.
We have been inside the 5000 year old tomb of Maeshowe, also aligned to the setting sun of the winter solstice. We saw the grafitti left there by the Vikings. When it was translated for us, some of it sounded a bit like modern toilet grafitti.
We have walked around the Ring of Brogar with its standing stones and the Standing Stones of Stennis.
This is an amazing place with beautiful scenery and fascinating history.
3 comments:
Ohhh Scapa Flow, a Chalet School reference (that's where the Gretchen the Nazi school girl spy got hit by a u-boat)!
Mind you the old villages you've been to sound like they are worth seeing too.
It must have been before they built the Churchill Barriers. Or maybe that was why they built them.
Scapa Flow is a marvellous harbour and you can still see the wrecked ships that were sunk to start the barrier.
The Nazi school girl spy? I always said she read too many weird books.
A stone bed does not sound very comfortable.
Funny to think that they were doing graffiti back in the Viking days. Did any of them say "For a good time call Hagar"? heh.
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