The first glimpse of Kirkwall

The ferry from Westray to Orkney takes over an hour to make the journey to the Mainland of Orkney.

It’s easy for the visitor to get confused about places when talking to locals. ‘The Village’ means Pierowall. ‘The Island’ means Westray. ‘The Mainland’ doesn’t mean mainland Britain at all but the mainland of Orkney. Everywhere else is referred to as ‘South’. I’ve never heard the words Scotland or England mentioned once here. It’s always ‘South’ as in “He’s South working” or “She’s gone to university South”.