Thread: Ramblings from the UK.

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Dunrobin is the seat of the Earl of Sutherland. The Lord (in this case, the Lady) of the castle is 95 year-old Elizabeth Millicent Sutherland, 24th Countess of Sutherland, a title which dates to ca. 1230. I'd love to see it, but I doubt that I'll ever make the trip.

It was the seat of the Dukes of Sutherland, but when it passed to a woman, she could not inherit as Duchess, so the Dukes split off, and have a different seat - Mertoun House in the Scottish Borders.

You mentioned Sterling. That's where William Wallace and cohorts kicked English arse in 1297. Did you happen to see the current Sterling Bridge or the Wallace statue? I'd love to go there also, but likely won't be able to.

Sorry for rambling again, but my family roots are mostly Scottish and Irish, and I've never seen the homeland. I'm travelling vicariously with you.

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

Dunrobin is the seat of the Earl of Sutherland. The Lord (in this case, the Lady) of the castle is 95 year-old Elizabeth Millicent Sutherland, 24th Countess of Sutherland, a title which dates to ca. 1230. I'd love to see it, but I doubt that I'll ever make the trip.

It was the seat of the Dukes of Sutherland, but when it passed to a woman, she could not inherit as Duchess, so the Dukes split off, and have a different seat - Mertoun House in the Scottish Borders.

I didn't know that.

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

You mentioned Sterling. That's where William Wallace and cohorts kicked English arse in 1297. Did you happen to see the current Sterling Bridge or the Wallace statue? I'd love to go there also, but likely won't be able to.

Sorry for rambling again, but my family roots are mostly Scottish and Irish, and I've never seen the homeland. I'm travelling vicariously with you.

Yep.
Knew about William Wallace.
We 'did' that area of Scotland the last time we were over here, about three years ago.
She's father came from Scotland as a 16yr old; so She's still got lots of close bones we can sorn off...so we do.
They're nice people.

Thursday May 19th

Grumbl posted on the Mavericks CC site last night that the cabbage tree's botanical name is: cordyline Austraulis. I didn't know that.

Seeing that lone cabbage tree made me realise what was 'wrong' with the landscape, there was something unsettling I couldn't quite put my finger on, and that was it; a total absence of trees. It blows as hard as a Donald Trump here; you'd think they'd have trees planted everywhere, not only for shelter; but firewood too.

Also from the Maverick site; Goose wrote:

FYI, if you see Balfour hospital, that where I was spat out, and also my grandad.
Mum has played the organ in st Magnus cathedral, and my grannies family crest (clousten) is in the stained glass.
We used to live in about 23 king street I think.
Dad used to work on the pilot boats in Kirkwall harbour
Make sure you eat the sheep from north Ronaldsy, farmed on the beach eating seaweed. Apparently they taste delicious.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Ronaldsay_sheep

Wandered down to the shoreline this morning to check out a wee boat on a trailer parked down there, with the drawbar pointing skyward.

Okay, it makes sense to remove the bung and prop the drawbar up to let things drain; but this thing was built tail heavy. My 90kg was just enough to pull it ground-wards.

She'd be a pig of a thing to tow...all over the place like a mad woman's shit.

Not my problem; but sometimes ya wonder...

Away from the hotel about 9:30, I'd damned near frozen yesterday, so first stop today was Birsay Farmers, a co-op shop run by and for the local farmers, but open to the public as well, where I bought an extremely warm fleecy-lined 2XL jacket for around NZ $53.
Well pleased.

Off then to Kirkwall airport to book flights for Westray, and then on to Papa Westray next Sunday. Unfortunately there are only three seats available, so...short straws/long straws Rosie, Jane and James get to go; Christine, Charlie, and I stay back.

Next stop was the Churchill Barrier at Skerry Sound. There are three (I think) of these barriers, (causeways,) built between various islands during the early days of WWII to prevent U-boats and other undesirables sneaking in to Scapa Flow.

Heritage & Fossil Tearooms at Burray for lunch...a very nice crème of bacon and chicken soup.

On to the family run Tapestry Gallery at Hoxta...not my idea of a fun afternoon...alright; there's some nice looking stuff here...but at NZ $15,000...nah...

Okay: Tomb of the Eagles. This is a Neolithic dwelling, getting on for 6000 years old, that has been excavated and is open to the public; but is a one mile walk from the car park. The air temp is 8 degrees, with a wind blowing as hard as a pre-election politician. I looked up to the east; and there's heavy rain over the sea about two miles away and coming our way. The walk out wouldn't be a problem; I'd have my back to it...but the walk back...nah...I'll opt out of this one this time.
Disappointed? Yes...but the chill factor with that wind would've been horrendous.
Charlie decided to go, donned all his wet-weather gear, leggings and all. He did get there and back; but was too cold and wet to actually linger and look at the excavations.
In the meantime we'd gone on to the nice warm coffee shop at Tomb of the Otter, at the southern end of Orkney,

Last call was the Italian Chapel back at Skerry Sound, built by Italian pow's who had been taken prisoner in Northern Africa in the early days of WWII. Quite a clever piece of building/engineering/architecture. Built around two Quonset buildings for them to practice their Catholicism in a mainly C of E country.
These fellas were also the major labour in building this particular Churchill Barrier.

And so back to the hotel.

Friday 20th May.

After discussions last night plans were radically changed. Jane, James, Christine and Charlie were intending to go visit The Old Man of Hoy (which I have since found out to be 449ft high, my estimate was way out; I can only blame looking across a featureless sea and underestimating the distance,) from the landward side; a three hour walk.

Neither Rosie nor I wanted to do it in this weather. Also...Charlie's dog Guinness has taken crook, running loose at both ends with poos and spews, so Charlie wants to get him to a vet, and it was decided to change the air bookings to straight through, rather than the three of them spend four hours waiting on an island with more sheep than people for company

Stink weather this morning, (as it has been every day since we got here,) perishing cold wind-driven rain. So Charlie's off to the vet; the rest of us to go girl shopping in Kirkwall.
First stop Kirkwall airport to change the bookings.
Then lunch in Kirkwall
Away from there to a jewellery manufacturer, Sheilah Fleet at Tankerness.

In the meantime the weather got better and better; with rain clouds turning to blue skies...so another change of plan.
Let's go to Scara Brae, and Charlie can meet us there
So that's what we did.

Scara Brae was inhabited from around 3000 BC to 2600 - 2500 BC, and is the best preserved Neolithic village in Europe.

The quarter mile track to it is marked by historic landmarks...the first man on the moon. (just outside the gate,) the discovery of television, the first Crusade, the fall of the Roman Empire, the building of the Pantheon, the birth of Jesus, the building of the pyramids of Egypt, et cetera and et cetera, to... Scara Brae.
That really brought home the antiquity of this place.
The roundhouses are built entirely of stone; laid in the exact same fashion as a new stane dyke James and I looked at this very
morning at Sheilah Fleet's; that same skill is still being used unchanged 5000 years later.

Apparently the population varied between 50 - 100 people, and it is thought that there were other villages in relatively close proximity, enough to supply labour to build the henges etc.
The entrances were kept deliberately low (even though the Neolithic man was only a few inches shorter than modern man according to skeletons found,) in order to conserve heat. (Think Eskimo/igloo. Same theory.)

A fascinating afternoon, with lots of food for thought...not least of just how small and inconsequential we are as individuals...

Looking back over 5000 years there's one major conclusion to be drawn: Don't let the small things fash you; in the big scheme of things they don't matter a damn.

Originally Posted by johnboy

Friday 20th May.
Stink weather this morning, (as it has been every day since we got here,) perishing cold wind-driven rain. So Charlie's off to the vet; the rest of us to go girl shopping in Kirkwall. First stop Kirkwall airport to change the bookings. Then lunch in Kirkwall...

jb, you were in Kirkwall and you didn't find Findlay's Photo Shop at 11 Albert St?? I've gotta say, after all of the prompting I'm cut to the quick, and you know how much it hurts to have your quick cut!! OUCH!!!

Crikey mate, I didn't even find Albert St!
James parked the car, we got out and started walking.
These streets are about 20 ft wide, straight line for a 100 ft, 1/4 turn right, 1/2 turn right, 1/4 turn left, another 1/4 turn left...within 5 minutes I didn't know which direction was north, south, east, or the other one.
Wherever Jane and James led I followed along behind like a little puppy on a string.
Talk about the country boy coming to the Big Smoke...totally baffled and bewildered.

Copy/paste from Mavericks CC site, posted by Goose regarding 'The Big Tree of Orkney', so Roger; I've got another reason to visit Albert St!

There used to be three of them apparently: found this on the net, someone called Beth savage wrote:

"She also told me the story of the Big Tree which has stood in Kirkwall for as long as anyone can remember. During the Napoleonic wars trade with the Scotland was cut off from the continent and the lords of Orkney cashed in on the Kelp industry. The people who lived on the land collected and burned seaweed for Kelp ash which could be used in the production of soap and glass; this was sold by the lords making them a great profit. They decided to build grand houses in Kirkwall and lived together throwing opulent parties. One of these houses had a walled garden in which were planted three sycamore trees. When the war ended the bottom fell out of the Kelp business as trade with the continent returned and the lords could no longer afford to keep their town houses. The houses were sold to traders and the house with the garden was sold to a chemist. The chemist decided that the garden would have to go and had taken down the wall and felled two of the trees before anyone could object. However there was outcry from the locals and he was stopped from removing the last tree. The council bought the tree from the chemist for the sum of £5 and the promise that they would maintain and be responsible for it. And so it has stood since then, though there have been subsequent questions as to whether it should be taken out and even an official decision to remove it 25 years ago. This story demonstrates just how important the tree has been to the people of Kirkwall, they have had real relationship with it for over 200 years. The tree is in pretty poor health so it remains to be seen how much longer this relationship will last but I would seem that even if the tree was removed it would be commemorated in some way."

Saturday 21st May.

Away about 9:30 in persistent rain, a disappointment after yesterday had eventually turned out so fine; although terribly cool. First stop was a 'Farmers Market' just out of Ayre, sort of like ours, with home-grown fruit and veges; but this also had trade and jumble stalls.
It was at one of these jumble stalls that I spied a couple of wee brass cannon about twelve inches long. The tip of the barrel unscrews, place a cap gun charge inside it, pull back the butt end of the barrel, let it go...and BANG!
A satisfyingly loud noise.
Ten quid the pair; I had to have them.

Kirkwall again, Albert St, and Goose's Big Tree. It seems it's quite a legend in Orkney, most everyone we spoke to about it knew of it.
But it's certainly a sorry specimen of a sycamore, considering it's about 240 years old. It does have some green leaves (but not many,) on its limbs, (which are pretty scrawny,) and all that's holding it up is a 6x6 box section up its (partially rotten,) centre.
(Sorry Roger; walked as far as the tree, turned around; and walked back to the car.)

Passed through Houton, and there on the side of the road was a stand of NZ native cabbage trees of quite considerable size...quite extraordinary.

On to Stromness and Julias Café and Bistro for lunch, jacket spud stuffed with tuna plus a side salad...bloody gorgeous.

Right, on to Stromness Museum, (which was the reason for this trip,) walking about a mile in the rain because of a lack of parking in the museum vicinity.

A very small museum, constraining itself to local interests; but absolutely chocka with information. I learned just about as much of Scara Brae here as I'd learned at the place itself. It appears the inhabitants of Scara Brae did have access to large logs because wind and currents drove logs from North America and Scandinavian areas right onto their beaches.
And with access to those logs as heavy rafters, they did utilise slates as roofing material, not on every dwelling; but it was not uncommon.

The WWII history of Scapa Flow was covered quite comprehensively too; from the sinking of the Ark Royal, to a biography of Kitchener and his death at Scapa, to the German Navy scuttling their fleet.
I laughed to see a witticism on the side of a beer mug: 'Goes down faster than the German fleet at Scapa'.
I've got to remember that one...
Spent quite some time here and enjoyed it thoroughly; highly recommended.

jb and She Who Must Be Obeyed.

Disclaimer: Be aware that the views and opinions expressed by the author of this missive are bloody good ones.

Originally Posted by johnboy

Saturday 21st May.
(Sorry Roger; walked as far as the tree, turned around; and walked back to the car.)
jb and She Who Must Be Obeyed.

.....which explains why we don't have a PICTURE of the bloody tree!!

It's quite alright, jb. It's difficult to teach an old dog new tricks, anyway.

The Big Tree
Big Tree.jpg

Gotta admit it's not what would be expected for 240 years....

Sunday 22nd May.

Away about 10:00, first stop was Barn House Mill to purchase tickets for another attraction (which due to a brain-fart I can't think of at the moment,) across the road, only to find that they're solidly booked for today and to-morrow.
So we toured neither.

On to the Standing Stones of Sturnness at Barn House Village; the stones dating back 5000 years.
(These 'Standing Stones' (a generic term,) are all stones set in circles of varying widths.)
These particular standing stones were (as are most, if not all,) obviously for ceremonial purposes; the rituals and rites involved have long been forgotten.
(Think the Dark Ages in Britain around the tenth and eleventh centuries; when the Christian Church forcibly set out to eradicate any of the old rituals, customs, and knowledge of things 'Pagan'.
And then think 'Islamic State'.
What's the difference between them and the Dark Age Christians?
When will we ever learn?)

I digress...

Not too sure, but I think these may be dated later than those at Scara Brae; as the sleeping areas are recessed into the walls. Something that (I'm told.) didn't evolve until centuries after Scara Brae.

Bursay Bay, and drove past the ruins of The Earl's Castle to get a feed at Bursay Café...another jacket roasted spud with tuna...and sweet corn in this one.
Bloody gorgeous too.

From there we headed for Kitchener's Memorial on top of a hill overlooking Scapa Flow.
A bit over half a mile from the carpark; but a climb of around 200ft or more. Got to the top only to find that due to renovations the entire thing was fenced off.
Bit of a bugger, but.

From here Jane James, and Rosie departed heading back to the airport for their flight to Westray and Papa Westray Islands; the shortest scheduled airplane flight in the world, only 2 minutes in the air. And a certificate to prove it!
They'll meet us back at the hotel at the end of the day.

Next stop was the Brough of Birsay, a causeway between a wee island and Mainland Orkney, only accessible at low tide.
The tide was low enough when we got there, we were well before the turn, so yep; we did the touristy thing and walked the causeway...just to be able to say we had.
I noticed here that all the surrounding exposed rock is sedimentary black sandstone rock, while all the beach sand is a pale cream, almost white.
How come the predominant rock isn't in the sand?
Is the sand primarily composed of shell?

On to Swannay Brewery...only to find it's not open to the public.
sigh.

Then headed toward Rounsey Island and Eynhallow Sound, where two different tides meet.
We got there as the tides were turning/rising; and what a spectacular sight!
Placid waters to both sides; but where the tides met was a maelstrom, a cauldron, like an agitator washing machine bowl on steroids, with thunderous waves 6ft high, whirlpools appearing and vanishing...it has to be seen to be believed.
Extremely violent...and all in a relatively small area.

Last stop for the day was the Broch of Gurness; another of the better preserved brochs.

At its prime the broch itself had been fifteen to eighteen ft high, it's now about ten. In the immediate vicinity are fourteen or fifteen dwellings; gaining protection from marauders from the fort-like broch.
It seems it wasn't only overseas marauders (Danes, Gaulls, Welsh, and the like,) that posed problems; your own next door neighbours were always ready for a punch-up too.

Back to the hotel...with Jane, James, and Rosie not far behind us.

All good.

You got me curious, so I looked up 'Standing Stones o' Stenness.'

Standing Stones.jpg

For those of you interested in seeing what johnboy saw at the Barnhouse Settlement,

Google maps has mapped it very thoroughly. You can wander around it if you click RIGHT HERE.

Johnboy, if I'm participating too much in your tour, just let me know.

You'll most probably find this interesting too then Jack.
This is regarding the village a couple of hundred yards to the north of the stones.
We went and looked at this at the same time.

Orkneyjar - The Barnhouse Neolithic Settlement

It doesn't seem to be as old as Sara Brae; but it's still bloody ancient!

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

For those of you interested in seeing what johnboy saw at the Barnhouse Settlement,

Google maps has mapped it very thoroughly. You can wander around it if you click RIGHT HERE.

Johnboy, if I'm participating too much in your tour, just let me know.

Seems we were typing at the same time there Jack.
As for 'participating too much'; hell no!

I actually enjoy it when someone elaborates upon something I've rabbited on about, or picks up on mistakes I've made...I'm not infallible.
Keeps me on my toes, and keeps the grey matter turning over!
All good mate.

Monday 23rd May.

Didn't do much of anything today; don't have much to write about. so will have a rant instead. Mr Spears will affirm that this is a favourite hissy for me to throw, but it's my hissy fit, mine alone; and I'm gonna throw it.

We got abandoned at the hotel today, our choice, The plan is to take the ferry to the island of Hoy; then walk the inland route to the Old Man of Hoy; about a three hour walk.
Thanks, but no thanks on that one.
I've done my apprenticeship with walking.

The Merkister Hotel, where we're staying, is on the shore of Loch Harray, pretty handily situated to both the major towns on Orkney. It boasts in the blurb of a major re-fit in 2016, but that's ten years back and it's fairly obvious that nothing has happened since.

Over the last ten years the CAVE people (Citizens Against Virtually Everything,) have managed to get legislation through Parliaments banning smoking virtually everywhere, ("It's for your own good,' say these self-righteous snivelling sanctimonious do gooders,) especially where people have traditionally gathered to have fun and enjoy themselves.
And hoteliers risk ignoring this part of their clientele at their own peril.

The other night there were ten smokers standing around outside this very pub, with nowhere to sit out of the wind.
They won't be back...I know I won't be...even if this hotel was in NZ.
And chairs in rooms; a double bed implies two people...so why only one chair as we have here? I pinch that to sit at the pooter; leaving She uncomfortably seated on the bed.
Lighting is another hate. I had to give up working on the pooter last night; one dim light in the centre of the room, and two little ones above the bed is all we have. I could see to type on the screen okay; but I couldn't see to read my notes in my notebook.

Bah humbug!

I reckon it should be mandatory for every hotelier/motelier to spend at least one night in every one of their units...and remedy them to the point that they're satisfied with the conditions they expect their guests to accept.

Rant over. I've spent a lovely day sitting lazing in the sun, catching up with the backlog on my pooter, been for a lovely walk along the loch's edge, looked at the birds, the farms, the scenery...and achieved exactly nothing.

Life.. is all good.