Orkney Island Day 1 - Kirkwall, United Kingdom
Kirkwall, United Kingdom
Today was my first day on Orkney Island. Orkney Island is north of Scotland, above the northeast tip of Scotland. I was absolutely freezing on Orkney. It was VERY windy with an already cold starting temperature, so with the wind, it was incredibly cold. I had 9 layers on the top, and 3 layers on the bottom. I barely made it through with that.
My reason for coming to Orkney Island are the huge standing stones and very large stone circle. I started this day waking up early and seeing the big stone circle in the morning, before anyone else got there. You are not supposed to go in the center because they don't want the Heather plants damaged probably. But there are paths to the center (its a big circle) so I took them. I laid in the center a short while and then walked around to look at and connect with each of the stones. It was cool. I also visited some huge standing stones called the Stones of Stenness. All of these stones are absolutely massive and very tall. I included a pic of me in front of one to give you an idea.
Then I went to a beach somewhat nearby during low tide. On my way, I took an unmarked side road I found on google maps. While on this road, I saw a guy on a quad motorbike coming toward me in the distance. It was a single track road so there is only room for one car but there are passing places every so often. Then I see behind him are a flock of sheep. So I stopped at a passing place and he went by on the other side of my car along with the flock of sheep.
After I got to the beach, it was here I realized I should focus on the positive, as I wrote in my previous entry. As usual, I was the only one on this beach, and it was very peaceful, with a large expanse of sand because of low tide. I laid down on the beach a while and felt better. I enjoyed the peace. The tide was coming in, and I remember laying there a while and then found that the very quiet lapping waves had caught up to my boots.
After I finished at the beach, I visited another round chambered tomb called Maeshowe, but this one you had to go in with a guide and pay. I didn't feel it was worth it afterward though. I felt the one I went in for free the day before was better with less hype.This one had a guide that carried on about things we weren't necessarily interested about, and you could only go in one room of the tomb. There were other areas it looked like you could explore, but we were not allowed. I didn't like that at all. It didn't really match my experience with other areas I visited where you could explore and touch the places. This tomb is so hyped up, and I really didn't see the big deal in it. I would rather go somewhere I can explore freely!!
I also visited a site called Skara Brae, which is an ancient settlement, occupied I think around 3000BC. You can see parts of their dwellings including stone dressers. It was absolutely pouring rain when I visited, so I didn't take too many pictures. You were not allowed to go into the dwellings. You could only look down on them from a raised pathway. There was a guard there watching people to make sure people don't go in the dwellings. He had to stand out there in the howling wind and pouring rain doing that. I saw him check his watch and I could tell he wasn't happy doing that. Its not the same not being able to go in and explore. But I can see why they would want to protect it. I would prefer to visit places I can explore though.
Then I tried to go on a hike in this crazy weather along the coastal cliffs. I hiked for a bit and then had to give up because the rain and wind were too much. In Scotland, I thoroughly experienced the condition of horizontal rain. On this hike, I couldn't look up because of the horizontal rain. After a certain amount of time, I had to give up, turn around and walk back. That was nice because then the rain was hitting my back instead of my face. I tried my best to do my itinerary despite the weather. But it was just getting pretty gnarly now.
I got back in my car soaking wet, started it up with the heater blasting, then drove back to Kirkwall. Luckily, I dried fast since I was wearing waterproof pants and jacket.
I ended the day having fish and chips at a "chip shop" in Kirkwall. The fish was good but the chips (fries) were kind of stale. It was just ok.
Thats it for this day!
Additional note: I wanted to add that there are sheep and baby lambs everywhere! They are soooo cute! The lambs stay by their Moms side and run close to them. I have tried to take pics but I usually see them while driving so I can't stop. But I will try to include a pic.
This website won't let me download my videos to my blog page. I have taken videos. Maybe I will try to attach one to my blog entry announcement email.
Love,
Elizabeth