Muckle Flugga Lighthouse Burra Bears History of Stromness Hidden
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Issue 7 Northern Light s INSIDE PLUS Cover Story: Burra Bears Muckle Flugga History of Lighthouse Stromness Hidden Gems of Caithness Operated by Issue 7 #MagnusOnTour WelcomeI write this introduction whilst most of Scotland is in the grip of mid-January snowstorms, Motorists and commercial vehicle drivers have had to spend the Contents night in their vehicles as blizzard conditions closed in around them. Likewise my operational teams on shore and off shore have already been challenged Essential Reading 04 We’re delighted to announce that this year with early January service disruption. We use a range of weather indicators and sea condition predictors to analyse likely weather conditions NorthLink App 06 Robert and Kim Foden are our over our operating area and I know the team are very conscious of the impact most recent #MagnusOnTour which cancellation, weather re-routing and service delay can have on travel Orkney Bere 07 plans. As ever of course, ‘caution’ is the byword in terms of operational Bannocks winners! decision making. The couple, from Kirkwall in Orkney, took their We are prepared for the introduction of RET in the first half of 2018. Our Meet our 08 photo just north of the Arctic Circle at latitude 69° Database and Booking system team of Lesley and Shona, based in Hotel Supervisor north, 52° west in front of magnificent icebergs in Stromness are ready and waiting for a final ‘go-live’ date and once advised, Disko Bay, Greenland. we are confident that we will have the RET rates input and ready for booking Games & Puzzles 09 within a matter of days for RET priced travel. In the meantime it is business Taken in June, the shot is now perfectly seasonal as usual with our timetables for 2018 published with cabins and car deck Muckle Flugga 12 for this edition of the magazine! available for booking since October last year. Lighthouse Robert and Kim are now in receipt of two return On this front we are also pleased that the development of our NorthLink tickets to Aberdeen, Caithness or Shetland for The Burra Bear 14 booking app, which essentially replicates our booking system, will be live for use on any of our passenger vessels. all users from Spring 2018. It’s out there already, but we’ve been busy giving the system some fairly rigorous testing, supported by a number of regular History of Stromness 16 customers. My thanks to you all for your support in developing this exciting Our winners Kim & Robert Foden new feature which is a real enhancement to our mobile connectivity. The Gordon 20 Highlanders’ Museum As we press on into 2018 and the Year of Young People a range of NorthLink initiatives will take shape. My colleagues from Orkney, James Linklater and Your chance to win Kris Bevan, are managing this programme of events which will go a long way Hidden Gems 21 in supporting #yoyp2018. Included in these initiatives will be two bursaries to of Caithness support #yoyp2018 travel, enabling real experiential opportunities for both an a trip for two #MagnusOnTour Orkney and Shetland recipient. Please keep an eye on our social media feeds Scotland’s Year 22 For your chance to win, simply post a picture for more detail. of Young People of yourself in an eye-catching location with a NorthLink Ferries product featuring the iconic In and around Aberdeen the progress on the AWPR continues and indeed David and Jack McShane Maggie B Magnus logo on any of our social media road junctions and previously used routes may have been altered to channels. Use the hashtag #MagnusOnTour accommodate on-going works. These works are compounded by the A96 NorthLink Ferries to be in with a chance to win. Alternatively send contra-flow for the new AECC development at Bucksburn. Please check travel Stromness Ferry Terminal, your photo of Magnus on Tour to webmaster@ updates and take care where new or temporary junctions have been installed. Ferry Road, Stromness, Orkney, Scotland, KW16 3BH northlinkferries.co.uk So once again, particularly if you are not a regular traveller, leave yourself enough time to arrive safely at your embarkation Email: [email protected] Port for check-in and have a safe onward journey Web: www.northlinkferries.co.uk See the winning picture in Issue 8 of at your destination. Northern Lights. As ever, enjoy your time on board. My colleagues Dave Halligan Maggie and Mia Stuart Garrett are on hand to assist you at every stage of your Managing Director journey, both ship and shore. Serco NorthLink Ferries Terms and conditions: Package includes return travel on any route for two including car and standard cabin, valid for 12 months from the date of the Contact Stuart draw. Cabins are available on overnight sailings only. The prize I would welcome your feedback at any time. If you have any questions, is subject to availability, non-transferable or refundable and no cash alternative will be offered. Upgrades available on request. then please contact me at [email protected] Front cover image; Ian Cowe 3 Ian Bell Sarah Allison NorthLink Ferries on board magazine Issue 7 Essential reading for your Island Adventure We’ve hand-picked five books which offer an insight into the unique culture We’ve compiled a list of five books which we think make great holiday reading and history of Orkney. during your visit to the isles. The Orkney Book of Birds Greenvoe The Shetland Bus The Shetland Guide Book by Tim Dean and Tracy Hall by George Mackay Brown by David J. Howarth and Kjell Colding by Charles Tait The Orkney islands are a The famous Scottish poet George During World War II, brave Charles Tait’s brilliant guide to birdwatcher’s paradise. This book Mackay Brown lived in Stromness Shetlanders and Norwegians crewed Shetland is an essential read for a lists nearly 200 birds which you may and penned Greenvoe, his first novel, a fishing vessel between Shetland Shetland visitor. Featuring every site, spot during your time on the islands, in 1972. It tells the story of a close- and Norway to evacuate and supply every area and every island, the guide as well as invaluable advice on how knit island community disrupted by those trapped in the occupied is informative and entertaining. It’s to find them. It’s available in a coffee modern industry. The novel captures country. Dubbed the ‘Shetland Bus’, also full of photographs and contains table version as well as a handy life on a small island perfectly. this book is written by David Howarth Ordnance Survey maps to ensure pocket guide. who was second in command of you make the most of your trip to the Shetland base. It offers a unique Shetland. insight into the operation, along with amazing photos from the time. The Orkney Guide Book The Boy with the Bronze Axe Shetland Folk Tales Otters in Shetland: The Tale of the ‘Draatsi’ by Charles Tait by Kathleen Fidler by Lawrence Tulloch by Richard Shucksmith and Brydon Thomason An essential purchase, this book Suitable for children and adults alike, Island communities have been Brydon Thomason has dedicated covers each site, parish and island the tale offers a historical insight into shaped for centuries by the tales his life to Shetland’s wildlife and has that Orkney has to offer. Packed daily life at the Neolithic village of they tell by the fireside. You’ll enjoy spent much time in the wilderness with Charles Tait’s photos, the Skara Brae. The arrival of a stranger hearing tales about selkies, invading observing the behaviour of wild otters. guidebook is well-illustrated and with a metal axe throws the Stone giants and Vikings, collected here by His stunning photographs accompany contains Ordnance Survey maps, old Age society into confusion whilst a Shetland storyteller Lawrence Tulloch. fascinating information about the photographs and prints to add to its deadly storm threatens their very way ecology and history of otters living in exhaustive research. of life. Shetland. Orkney Folk Tales Knit Real Shetland by Tom Muir by Sarah Laurenson The books listed here are These titles are available on available on board selected In days past, Neolithic burial cairns One of Shetland’s most board selected NorthLink NorthLink Ferries vessels, such as Maeshowe were thought to famous exports is beautifully- Ferries services, at the at Stromness Books and be houses for trows and were feared patterned knitwear. This great Shetland Times Bookshop, Prints, The Orcadian by islanders. Perhaps it is folklore that book covers the history of and the Shetland Museum Bookshop and other good preserved many of Orkney’s great Shetland knitting, crofting and and Archives, as well as bookshops. archaeological sites? The brilliant wool and contains no less than 15 knitting projects other good bookshops. storyteller Tom Muir collects the folk for you to try out. tales of Orkney in this entertaining book which has been beautifully illustrated by Sheila Faichney. 4 5 NorthLink Ferries on board magazine Issue 7 Reestit Orkney Mutt on Soup Bere Bannocks Recipe Recipe Reestit Mutton is a variation of the Renowned for its food and drink Ingredients: • Milk or water Place the reestit mutton in a large pot and cover Scandinavian skerpikjøt, an air dried 1. offering, Orkney produces some of the • Two cups of Birsay beremeal (can be purchased with cold water. Bring to the boil and continue to from most Orkney food shops) mutton, or vivda, Norse for ‘leg boil for almost two hours, or until tender. Remove finest beef, lamb, cheese, ice cream, • One cup of plain flour the meat from the pan.