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the guide book

by Charles Tait

THIRD EDITION ogb 3 collated.qxp 27/10/2005 13:36 Page 2

tthhee OOrrkknneeyy gguuiiddee bbooookk by Charles Tait

THIRD EDITION

The Orkney Guide Book Third Edition Published by Charles Tait Photographic Ltd Kelton, , Orkney KW15 1TR Tel 01856 873738 Fax 01856 875313 [email protected] www.charles-tait.co.uk Text, design and layout copyright Charles Tait Photographic Ltd Photographs copyright Charles Tait Photographic Ltd Old photographs from Charles Tait collection Printing by Nevisprint Ltd, Fort William OS maps reproduced from Ordnance Survey mapping with permission of the Controller of HMSO, Crown Copyright Reserved MC 100035677

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced in any form, This book is dedicated to the memory of my mother, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, Allison Leonard Tait (1925-1954) photocopying, recording or otherwise (except for the purpose of bona fide review) without the as well as to my family, Sandra, Magnus, Thorfinn and Kika, prior written permission of the publisher. The author has asserted his right under the without whose support this book would not have been done Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998 to be identified as the author of this work.

Front Cover: ISBN 09517859 2 3 ogb 3 collated.qxp 27/10/2005 13:36 Page 4

WELCOME TO ORKNEY CONTENTS

MAPS OF ORKNEY WELCOME TO ORKNEY GAZETTEER - MAINLAND A good range of maps cover- Welcome to Orkney 7 East Mainland ing Orkney is available. The The Main Monuments 10 St Andrews 324 most generally useful maps A Tour of the Islands 12 328 for the visitor are the follow- 334 ing: Holm 338 ATURAL ISTORY Orkney and N H Islands - (1:128,000) avail- Geology, Climate & Habitats 14 able from the Tourist Board. Birds 26 GAZETTEER - SOUTH ISLES This map shows the main sites Flora 40 of interest, and has much Seashore 50 Barriers & Italian Chapel 342 information of interest to the Fauna 54 346 visitor. It is not really detailed 350 enough for walkers, or for & Pentland Firth 362 those wishing more detailed ARCHAEOLOGY, Sule Skerry & Sule Stack 372 information, but it is fine for getting an idea of the lie of the HISTORY & CULTURE 374 land and where to go. Orcadian Chronology 68 394 Neolithic Age - from 5500BC 70 Ordnance Survey Land- Small South Isles 398 ranger Series (1:50,000) - Bronze Age - from 2000BC 82 400 sheets 5 Orkney North Isles, 6 Iron Age - from 700BC 86 Orkney Mainland and 7 Picts - until 8th century 92 Orkney South Isles cover the - 8th to 14th centuries 98 area, and are essential to the Placenames 116 serious visitor. 124 GAZETTEER - NORTH ISLES HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE Ordnance Survey Explorer Folklore 128 402 This book is designed to help the visitor find his or her way around Series (1:25,000) - sheets Scottish Connection - 14th to 16th c. 132 414 Orkney. The detailed introduction covers many aspects of natural his- 461-465 cover the islands in h th Wyre 416 tory, archaeology, history and culture of the area and is followed a Modern Times - 17t to 20 c. 138 more detail and apart from 146 418 gazetteer which travels round describing each island and parish in turn. being very interesting, are Highland Park Distillery 180 422 very useful to the walker or Papay 440 those wishing to investigate Fishermen with Ploughs 172 Activities 184 450 ORKNEY COUNTRYSIDE CODE one particular parish or island in depth. Events & Festivals 190 Sanday 458 474 We are justly proud of our historic 9. Drive and park with due care Ordnance Survey map refer- sites, wildlife and environment. and attention - do not obstruct or ences are given for many loca- & Green Holms 482 Please help ensure that future visi- endanger others. GAZETTEER - MAINLAND 484 tors may enjoy them as much as 10. Always take care near cliffs - tions mentioned in the text. you by observing these guidelines: particularly with children and pets. These are in brackets and are & St Ola 192 498 11. Walkers should take adequate six figures, preceded by HY or Gairsay and Small Holms 508 1. Always use stiles and gates, and St Magnus Cathedral 210 clothes, wear suitable footwear and close gates after you. ND, of the form (HY123456). Kirkwall Ba’ Game 220 tell someone of their plans. 2. Always ask permission before 12. Above all please respect the Admiralty Charts covering West Mainland entering agricultural land. life of the countryside - leave only the area include the following: 232 3. Keep to paths and take care to REFERENCE SECTION footprints, take only photographs 2249 Mainland and North avoid fields of grass and crops. 238 and pleasant memories. Isles (West); 2250 Mainland Getting to Orkney 514 4. Do not disturb livestock. (Cows 262 with calves are dangerous!). and North Isles (East); 2162 Getting Around in Orkney 520 Notice: While most of the sites of Sandwick 274 5. Take your litter away with you Pentland Firth. Other more Where to Stay & Eat 524 interest are open to the public and and do not light fires. detailed charts are also avail- 290 have marked access, many are on Services 528 6. Do not pollute water courses or Evie 304 private land. No right of access is able, see the Home Waters supplies. Bibliography 530 implied in the description, and if Catalogue ref NP109 avail- 310 7. Never disturb nesting birds. Index 538 in doubt it is always polite to ask. able from the Hydrographic 312 8. Do not pick wild flowers or dig Also, while many roads and tracks Map of Orkney inside back cover up plants. Office, Taunton. Firth 320 are rights of way, not all are.

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WELCOME TO ORKNEY

The Standing - midsummer sunset This guide is designed to help nature. There is an overall feel- As the Orcadian writer Edwin visitors to our islands, as well as ing of the immensity of time, Muir said in his Scottish Journey residents, find their way around perhaps due to the proximity of (1935), "Orkney....has managed, and enjoy the many places of so much history. Indeed, the as far as that is humanly possible, interest which are to be seen and Orkney Islands were described to have its cake and eat it. It has experienced. Apart from the by our local author, George been saved by being just outside main sites, many of the less-fre- Mackay Brown, as being "like the circumference of the industri- quented places and islands are sleeping whales.....beside an al world, near enough to know described. It is hoped that folk ocean of time". about it, but too far off to be will find the same pleasure as the drawn into it. Now it seems to me author in discovering Orkney, as Although people first came here that this is the only way in which we have some of the best well over 6,000 years ago, leav- any community can achieve a archaeological sites and bird- ing a wealth of archaeological partial salvation today and live a watching opportunities in sites and remains which allow desirable life, surrounded by an Europe and so much else to see much insight into the past, industrial world." and do that you will certainly Orkney is far from being a want to come back for another museum. Within our islands This is even more true today. visit! there is a huge range of things to Orkney benefits from many of see and do in all seasons. With the good things of the early 21st After the rugged Highland its diverse economy it is a busy century, whilst at the same time scenery of the North of place, and yet at the same time missing out on most of the less , first impressions of unspoilt, quiet and relaxing. The desirable aspects. However it is Orkney are of greenness and fer- old and the new, the natural envi- much more affected by the out- tility, combined with a feeling of ronment and the geographical side world than ever before, and space, where undulating, soft location all merge to give the Orcadians are going to have to countryside merges with sky islands their uniquely attractive work hard to maintain all that is and sea into a soft confluence of atmosphere. special about Orkney.

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INTRODUCTION TO ORKNEY INTRODUCTION TO ORKNEY

larly in a time when the latest researching family roots and themselves. They are a friend- technology was sea transport original documents. ly, hospitable people, mindful in Viking longships. and respectful of their past, The purpose of this Guide is to while at the same time very In more recent times the help visitors to our islands go-ahead and industrious. Do islands have been visited by a appreciate Orkney and enjoy not hesitate to ask the way, or large number of eminent peo- their time here to the full. The about things - you are sure to ple who have written in vari- idea is that the reader can get a courteous reply, and if ous terms about them. We assimilate information with- you are lucky you might get a also have a number of distin- out effort and yet rapidly find few good stories as well! guished local authors, and for out what he or she would most those wishing further reading, like to see and do, depending there is always a good selec- on interest, season or weather. summed things up very well tion of publications available There are so many things to when he said Orkney is "...a in the local book shops. see and do in Orkney that a microcosm of the world. lifetime is not long enough! Orkney has been continuously For reference the Orkney inhabited for about 6,000 Library also has an excellent Although we have a beautiful years and the layers of cul- "Orkney Room", which has a landscape, history every- tures and races are Midsummer sunrise over Sanday from Wideford Hill very wide range of local liter- where, and wildlife to rival inescapable and unavoidable Orkney is a group of over 70 tons, 600 passengers) runs another part of Shetland to the ature. Many books which are anywhere on Earth, there is wherever you go. There are islands and skerries, of which daily between Stromness and North. Claudius' fleet is said unfortunately "out of print" another aspect of Orkney stories in the air here. If I about 19 are presently inhabit- Scrabster (several times per to have formed a treaty with are available for consultation which is perhaps the most lived to be 500, there would ed. At approximately 59ºN day), while MV Hjaltland and the Orcadians in AD43, and here. The Orkney Archives important and rewarding to still be more to write". and 3ºW, the islands lie just MV Hrossey (12,000 tons, Tacitus mentions that a Roman are also available for those get to know - the Orcadians north of Scotland, the shortest 600 passengers) run between fleet “subdued” Orkney after distance being about 10km (6 Orkney, Aberdeen and the battle of Mons Graupius in Kirkwall from the Ayre Road in 1821 by William Daniell miles) from Caithness, and Shetland. There is a summer AD83. These references are cover an area of 974 km2 (376 passenger ferry between John interesting, but probably not miles2), of which the Mainland o'Groats and Burwick, and a very reliable. comprises about half. year-round vehicle service between Gills Bay and St Orkney is referred to in the Inhabited by 19,245 people Margaret's Hope, as well as Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the (2001 census), the islands are several freight services. Irish Annals and by various about 85km (53 miles) from Frequent daily air links with writers such as Adomnan, but north to south and 37km (23 Wick, Aberdeen, Inverness, it is not until the Norse sagas, miles) from east to west. The , Glasgow and written in the 12th century, that main island is known as the Shetland are operated by we find more recent history. "Mainland", and has three- British Airways and Loganair. These sagas were written quarters of the population, as some time after the events so well as the two main towns, The earliest written reference colourfully described, and Kirkwall (population 6,206), to Orkney is by the Greek thus may be of dubious histor- and Stromness (population explorer Pytheas, from ical accuracy in parts, but 1,850). Marseille, who may have cir- nevertheless they give a vivid cumnavigated Orkney about and graphic account of the Although apparently isolated, the year 325BC, and claimed Norse age. Being so fertile Orkney is very well served by to have sighted the edge of the and so near to Norway, transport links with Scotland. world, or Ultima Thule. He Orkney was an obvious base The MV Hamnavoe (8,600 was probably seeing Foula, or for Viking expansion, particu-

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ATOUR OF THE MAIN MONUMENTS FROM THE NEOLITHIC AGE TO THE 20TH CENTURY

Orkney has a wealth of The is a tidal Neolithic sites to visit, of which island off the north-west of the , the Standing Stones Mainland, and is the site of both of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar Pictish and Viking settlements, and are the most with secular and monastic spectacular. The great cham- remains. In the nearby village - bered cairn of Maeshowe is the The Palace - the ruins of the 16th largest and grandest of its type century Earl’s Palace provide a and dates from about 2750BC, gaunt reminder of the more while the Standing Stones and recent past, while St Magnus the Ring of Brodgar were erect- Kirk is built on the site of a ed at about the same time. Winter sunrise at the Ring of Brodgar much older church. The Brough of Birsay has Norse and Pictish ruins

All three monuments are situat- The continuity of settlement in ed in the heart of the West Orkney is well demonstrated by Mainland, surrounded by farm- the Broch of Gurness, which is land and near the lochs of one of the best examples of Stenness and Harray, in turn about 50 such structures in ringed by heather-covered low Orkney, and dates from the late hills. There is a timeless and Iron Age - the last century spacious feel to this landscape as BC/first century AD. The site a result of the dramatic coming was occupied for hundreds of together of sky, water and land. years, at least until early Norse times. Winter sunset over Maeshowe The Iron Age Broch of Gurness is surrounded by an extensive settlement The Neolithic village of Skara Brae lies on the shore of the Bay The imposing 12th century St of Skaill, and its well-preserved Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall 5,000 year-old houses give a was built by the Norse Earl very good impression of life at Rognvald Kolson in honour of that time. All four sites together his murdered uncle Earl Magnus form a World Heritage Site. Erlendson. It dominates the town, and its warm-coloured There is a Visitor Centre at Skara Old Red Sandstone, unmarked Brae with a museum, replica by air pollution, makes the house and a shop, while at building especially striking. The Tormiston Mill, next to interior is particularly attractive Maeshowe, there is a shop and The Standing Stones of Stenness date from about 3000BC and well-proportioned. The 12th century St Magnus Cathedral dominates Kirkwall interpretative display. Skara Brae is a Neolithic village dating from about 3200BC The Italian Chapel dates from the Second World War During World War II several There are many other fascinat- hundred Italian prisoners-of-war ing monuments and sites of worked on the construction of interest ranging from the the Churchill Barriers, which Neolithic to the 20th century were built to defend the eastern which can be visited all over approaches of Scapa Flow. Orkney. Every parish and island They built the Italian Chapel in has something different and spe- their camp on . This cial left by the people who unusual and charming artefact of inhabited the countryside during war survives now as a symbol of the last six millennia. hope and peace.

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ATOUR OF THE ISLANDS EVERY ISLAND HAS ITS OWN CHARACTER

It has been said that “no visit seabirds in summer, and has can be considered complete much to offer the visitor. without a visit to at least one of the other islands.” is much less Fortunately this is easy due developed and can be to extensive and frequent reached by boat from transport links to most of the Westray or plane from inhabited islands. Kirkwall, as can North Ronaldsay, the most remote Each island has its own of all the islands in Orkney. character and attraction, all are subtly different and yet Wyre, Gairsay and the ferry”Eynhallow” seen from Rousay Eday is famous for its cham- Dennis Head old lighthouse, North Ronaldsay, was built in 1789 they have much in common. bered cairns, but it also The Inner North Isles are offers fine walks and unri- perhaps the most accessible, valled panoramic views over especially Shapinsay, with the rest of Orkney, while its Victorian Castle, RSPB Sanday is best known for its Reserve and fine farms, exceptional sandy beaches which is reached from which attract many species Kirkwall. of wading birds. Stronsay, the most fertile island in Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre Orkney, is also well-placed are also very easy to get to for migrating birds. from Tingwall, and are full Balfour Castle, Shapinsay, was built in the 1800s The Stone of Setter in Eday of good places to visit. The South Isles are dominat- Apart from the many archae- ed by Hoy, which is more ological and historic sites, like two islands, the north- there are also two RSPB ern part with its dramatic Reserves and dramatic cliff cliffs, hills and valleys, and and moorland scenery close the low-lying southern part. by. It can be reached from or Stromness. Hoy The larger Outer North Isles offers something for every of Westray, Eday, Sanday visitor, with its diverse habi- and Stronsay are all quite tats and many sites of inter- distinctly different in char- est. acter. They are reached by St Magnus Church, Egilsay and Hoy Hills from Outertown, Stromness ferry or plane from Kirkwall Noup Head, Westray, is one of the biggest seabird breeding sites in UK The smaller islands of Scapa Flow is sheltered by Hoy in the west and South Ronaldsay in the east and while a day visit will Graemsay and Flotta should whet the appetite, all really not be ignored. Both offer need a stay to fully appreci- gentle scenery and dramatic ate what they have to offer. views of the other islands and Scapa Flow. Graemsay Westray is perhaps the most is close to Stromness, but a diverse of all the islands, world apart, while Flotta, with its varied coastal though home to an Oil scenery, hills and farmland. Terminal, still echoes with It is the best place to see remains of 20th century wars. Puffins, and breeding

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