Kits
Young Rabbits are such perfectly packaged bundles of protein that it’s no wonder Rabbits need to breed like… well, Rabbits. Some parts …
Ewedini
While waiting for a Hen Harrier, which never arrives, I see a distant sheep, which I assume is in a bit of …
Working Westray #3
It’s Wednesday, so it’s time for my series on Working Westray. Cass, the vet, has come out to the island to scan …
Working Westray
It’s Wednesday, so it’s time for the first in my series on Working Westray. Here’s my good neighbour Alistair sharpening one of …
Fields like corduroy
I love the hay and silage fields on Westray. From above they look just like corduroy, with their parallel cords of cut …
Playing British Bulldog with the sheep of the Holm of Aikerness
The Holm of Aikerness is a series of small islets just off Aikerness, which is the northernmost tip of Westray, where the …
A flying visit
Our friend is coming out to Westray for a visit today. He’s flying his light aircraft over from the Orkney Mainland. I …
When you’ve been working hard on the family farm all day
Westray farmers work hard. Their familiar blue overalls billow in the wind as the breeze blows the washing on a fine day …
Grass Snakes, King Curlews and their Lapwing attendants
Any patch of good weather means there’s a chance of cutting hay for silage. The people of Westray have perfected the art …
Chin scratching
It’s a real talent to be able to scratch your chin with your foot. It’s fascinating to see this youngster’s dewclaw on …
Ebony and ivory
There are 33,000,000 sheep in the UK. Not all of them are in Wales; 15,000,000 are in England. That means 300,000 tonnes …
Seals and Salmon
It’s siesta time for the Common Seals at Broughton on Westray. It’s a time to let their food go down, let their …
The Orkney Ram
The three rams at Backarass are in a huddle. They are all fine, big boys but not quite yet of Derby Ram …
2018 highlights of walking the Westray Coast 50
In 2017 I had a wild idea; I was going to walk the entire coast of the Orkney island of Westray in …
Westray Coast 50 – Day Five
My adventures on the fifth of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Four and a Half
My adventures on the four-and-a-half-th of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Four
My adventures on the fourth of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Three
My adventures on the third of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Two
My adventures on the second of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day One
My adventures on the first of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Curious cattle
It’s ten years since I took this photograph of cattle on Westray in the field next to Einar: Curiosity Cow The cattle …
Tentative
Arriving at Einar, the cattle are always keen to see what’s happening. They approach me with tentative noses:
Curious wet nose
Westray is a farming and fishing island, with wildlife largely confined to the edges and margins. It is a very productive island with green fields and very healthy-looking cattle.
Here’s a curious wet nose:
Cud
The sheep on Westray are hardy beasts. Here’s one with a white face doing what a sheep does best; chew:
Going over the top; walking the coast of Westray
Westray is full of Neolithic, Iron Age and Bronze Age middens; rubbish dumps full of wonderful finds. If you live on a …
Greylag Geese
Greylag Geese are all over Westray at the moment because the farmers have created the perfect habitat for them: acres and acres of fresh green grass. It must be like waking up and seeing delicious breakfast as far as your eyes can see.
Curious Beef Steers
They always say you can judge a man by the quality of his shoes. You can also identify the type of an …
Guess the Yoghurt Flavour
Over the past decade on Westray one thing has struck me very forcefully: the ability of the shops to stock a single flavour of yoghurt in curious and slightly obsessive depth…
Never a dull day
The weather on Westray may be dull, but there’s never a dull day on Westray.
A white blanket of cloud shrouds the island but life continues as normal for the incredible menagerie which inhabits the shores of Westray.
