Stone balls from the stone age
Orkney Museum has an assortment of stone balls in its cabinets. They’re from the Neolithic and our ancestors kept them and prized …
10 ways you know you’re in Orkney
10 ways you know you’re in Orkney Orkney is a very special place. What makes it so special? Here are ten ways …
A memorial to Lord Kitchener, the Jimmy Savile of his age
On Mainland Orkney stands the Kitchener Memorial. Have you noticed the three sheep making use of its shadow? Horatio Herbert Kitchener died …
Lakes and deserts
There are two beautifully contrasting colours of Devonian sandstone in St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall in Orkney. Both are 380 million years …
Pictish Sea Eagle
It’s from the 6th or 7th Century. It’s carved in sandstone and was excavated by amateurs in 1936 from the ruins of …
2020 highlights of a wilder Orkney life
In 2020 I managed two trips to Orkney. I did it by self-isolating for two weeks before travelling and then taking all …
Noust
A noust is a boat-shaped hollow. It’s an ancient word from Scandinavia. There are nousts made from stone laid by Vikings on …
Stenness sheep
We’re at the Standing Stones of Stenness when a sheep stares at me. There are only four of the twelve ancient stones …
A wild Neolithic hat-trick
It’s time for me to catch the ferry away from Orkney for a short while. I have an evening to spare and …
2019 highlights of a wilder Orkney life
The turning of the year is always a great time for reflection. Celebrating the darkest day with the thought that longer days, …
You see a Pigeon
The weather in Orkney may be grey but it’s never dull. I’m waiting at Kirkwall harbour for the Westray ferry when I …
Einar
My house is called Einar, just like the Viking Earl of Orkney mentioned in the Orkneyinga Saga. That’s because of a spelling …
Black Guillemot
I’m on a day trip to the Mainland. That’s the mainland of Orkney. In the harbour at Scapa there’s a bird paddling …
Redshank ballet and Ruddy Turnstones
There’s a Redshank on the rocks. I don’t think it wants to fly away. That would mean getting its leg out and …
Ringed Plover
Ringed Plover are meant to breed on the coast. Human destruction of the environment means they now breed in gravel pits and …
Turnstone at the Peedie Sea
Turnstones have a lovely mottled plumage. They always look as if they are in transition to me. Have they decided how their …
Signs
Changing a road system is always a problem. There’s the planning, the time it takes to do the work and then there’s …
Redshanks at the Peedie Sea
It’s only a few minutes after dawn and there’s a Redshank on the Peedie Sea. I can’t quite believe it’s being quiet. …
Dawn over Kirkwall Bay
Arriving off the Aberdeen ferry at nearly midnight gives me a quandary. Is it worth paying a small fortune for a few …
Pipping Pipits
Meadow Pipits are very common birds of farmland. It’s the most common songbird in upland Britain. They thrive in Orkney. They fly …
To bee or not to bee
There’s a bumble bee on this thistle. At least I think it’s a bee. Then I see its eyes. Its eyes are …
Once a decade, the Thistle Butterfly
The UK is full of butterflies at the moment. It’s a once in a decade phenomenon. Have you seen one? They are …
Technology
Arriving in Orkney by ferry is a great experience. We’ve got a day on the Mainland before heading to Westray on yet …
The most persecuted bird in Britain
I’m hoping to see a Hen Harrier today. I’m going to visit the Eddie Balfour hide on the mainland of Orkney. The …
There are stars in the daytime sky
There are Starlings in the sky. Their plumage sparkles like stars that twinkle in the daytime. Their green and purple iridescence is …
“…beside the lake are stones high and broad, in height equal to a spear, and in an equal circle of half a mile.”
At Stenness stands a stone circle over 4,000 years old. The stones are surrounded by a ditch cut into the bedrock. The …
Knots landing at the Peedie Sea
I’m wandering the shore at Kirkwall Harbour for an hour before the ferry takes me to Westray. I’m loving the complex singing …
Kirkwall at dawn
I’ve just woken up in a Viking city. A city which is only part of the UK, and not Norway, because King …
What is it about Orkney that I love?
When I first arrived in Orkney 11 years ago I hated it. I had high expectations of an interesting and historic place …
A Dunlin feast
There’s a huge tide of seaweed washed up in the bay at North Haven on Westray. We check for seals on the …