The bit in-between
Winter days on Westray are very much like the short flight between Westray and Papa Westray. The flight is the shortest scheduled …
Stormy sunset on Westray
Walking down to Grobust beach from the tiny car park I’m suddenly aware of how dramatic the sky has become. There’s such …
The worms of Woo
Lugworm casts litter the beach at the Sands of Woo on Westray.
The Late Swallow – a poem by Edwin Muir
Orcadian poet Edwin Muir is a favourite of mine. As I watched the Swallows at Einar I remembered his wonderful poem The …
Shag – alone on the rocky shore
This Common Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) is a species of cormorant. It stands alone on the rocky shore.
The Bay of Noup
The Bay of Noup looks to have beautiful sand on this rocky and rugged coastline.
The Grip of Cleaton
The history of Westray is told in two small volumes. One is its telephone directory, with its handful of names, many of …
The top 10 reasons you shouldn’t visit Westray
Friends and relatives often ask me whether Westray is a good place to visit and my answer is always very clear. “No,” I say. “I wouldn’t recommend it.” Here then are my top ten reasons why you should never visit Westray.
Westray phone box
Westray still has several relics of a bygone era; red telephone boxes. There are weeds growing inside some of them as they …
Footsteps
Someone has been here before me.
Feeling alive
Seeing birds close up, in the wind, with rain on the horizon and a glorious sunset in progress, sat at the top …
Biting Stonecrop
The Biting Stonecrop on the walls at Einar is obviously confused. There’s one solitary flower left when it’s meant to flower in …
We need to talk about Dog Whelks
‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ is the actual name of the book and the movie. Kevin, however, has been talked about enough. What we really need to talk about is Dog Whelks, because despite the fact that there isn’t a bestselling psychological thriller written about them, their story is just as interesting.
Pincushions
This moss is so beautiful in a tight pincushion on Westray’s rocky shores. Mosses have been around since before plants evolved flowers …
Love and Groatie Buckies
There are many Groatie Buckies on Westray’s beaches. It takes real dedication to find them, though.
Baby Butler
The Hall of my house used to be a school and the entrance to it has the places for lots of small …
This heart belongs to Tullochs
There’s a stone heart outside Tullochs.
Fast Fulmar
This Fulmar was so fast without even flapping that it was nearly out of the frame before I captured it.
In Orkney, you pave your roof
I love the beautiful pattern and texture of this perfect flagstone roof on Westray. The chimney pot, however, may need a little …
Fulmar at sunset
The sun is already half-way down past the horizon when this Fulmar flies past, lit up with glorious low golden light.
Mud cracks, mud cracks everywhere!
Orkney is full of stone which shows fossilised wave patterns and mud cracks. Orkney’s geological history has been a complex one involving …
More guano than Peru
Fortunes were built on the stuff. Entire estates and magnificent country houses like Tyntesfield near Bristol were funded by it. People are …
Good Gannets above!
Have you ever wondered how Gannets manage to dive into the water at such incredible speeds and yet seem to survive without …
All hail
It’s a beautiful blue sky; so blue we are tempted up to Noup Head along the rutted track and past the farm …