Day 22: Kirkwell, Orkney - Thursday, 19 September

Weather: 11º - 15º - Sunny and clear 

Accommodation: Home on Orkney, Kirkwell 

We woke to a brilliant day. Before setting out for the Information Centre we made the most of a sunny day and did a load of washing and hung it in the back garden. When we arrived at the Information Centre it was packed. It was then we learned the cruise ship, the Regal Princess, had berthed in the harbour for the day. It had 3,500 passengers on board. 

We eventually made our way to the front counter and found a very helpful young guy who advised us to visit the unique sites where the cruise ship people weren’t going for the day. He also booked some other sites over the next few days, one of which was usually booked out but we did manage to get tickets. This was Maeshowe Neolithic chambered tomb which we were keen to see. 

We walked to the harbour and the water was so still it was like glass. The reflections were beautiful.

The town was packed with tourists with lanyards. We managed to get a table in a cafe at a window seat for our morning coffee and watched the crowds go by.

As it was so sunny I had to buy a cap which proved difficult. Most stores had winter Harris Tweed hats. Eventually, after going to quite a number of stores we found two caps, one a red tartan and another blue with Scotland emblazoned on it with a thistle. I opted for the latter. If I didn’t look like a tourist before I do now! We decided we needed to get out of Kirkwell for the day as suggested by the Information Centre as the streets were so busy.

We drove across farm land with cattle, sheep and grain to Broch of Gurness on the NE coast of the island. The Broch was an Iron Age settlement with a small village arranged around a multi-storied tower of eight metres known as a Broch. It was constructed and adapted between 500BC and 2000BC and abandoned in 1000AD. 

The Broch wasn’t discovered until 1929 when a local scholar was sketching on top of the mound and his stool leg sank into it and he started digging and found a staircase leading down into the earth. The buildings were sophisticated with thick walls, stone built cupboards, toilets, sleeping spaces and a central hearth. 

We loved the coast below the settlement. 

We then drove across the top end of the island to the tidal island of the Brough of Birsay where we could walk across to the island at low tide. We were early and followed signs to the Birsay Tea Room. It was tucked away on a high cliff and looked quite ordinary on the outside but on the inside it was modern with wide windows overlooking the coastline. It was packed and we had to wait for fifteen minutes until a table was available. When we left it was time to walk across to the island.

The long path to the island was a combination of stones and a clear concrete path and a concrete path covered in kelp and seaweed.

On the island was the remains of a Viking stronghold in the 1000’s and an earlier Pictish settlement. 

We took the steepish grassed walk from the settlement up to the lighthouse. It was an amazing sunny afternoon for walking. The views from the top over the settlement and the causeway and the cliffs were fantastic.

When we descended the tide had receded further. The tidal pools were clear and a local teenager showed me the small shells with little crabs inside.

We drove back across the island and down the coastline. The huge cruise ship was still in the harbour. We arrived back at our accommodation at four o’clock. We had a relaxing dinner in-house tonight courtesy of Tesco.

We were so lucky to have such brilliant weather today. We have seen Orkney at its best.