Middle of the road
Middle of the road; that’s something you could never accuse Westray of being.
Noltland Panorama
Noltland Castle is a wonderful castle with panoramic views of Pierowall and its bay. Here’s a 360 panorama taken with a Spinner …
Sunrise through broken windows
In art classes when I was a teenager I used to love using blue with red, orange and yellow. It is a stunning combination. No more so than in nature, and there’s nothing that my dirty, broken windows can do to dull the spectacle. In Orkney, just a sunrise is so spectacular it’s as exciting as an eclipse.
10 minutes after dawn
I’m up early because it’s dawn at 6:07 and I want to see the sun appear on the horizon. It’s ten minutes …
20 minutes before dawn
It’s light in my window and it’s not yet 6 am . The sky is bright and the walls reflect the early …
A chap with an attitude problem
A chap with an attitude problem… and a bull. A quick cycle to the Bay of Swartmill in the sunshine with my …
Lay me down in a field of daisies
A trek to Noup Head Lighthouse and time to rest and use my Spinner 360 camera to capture the scene. “Lay me …
With the grain
Orkney has precious few trees. And I mean precious. Perhaps I should say Orkney has a few precious trees. Windswept, almost barren …
To sit and marvel at the sky
There’s just time for some rough cycling down to the nearest beach at Taftend before sunset. It’s a chance to get off …
Sun
I’ve seen the sun rise, orange and luminous over the ocean from my bedroom window and now it’s time for me to see it set behind Fitty Hill. A glorious day.
Watching the world turn
There’s just time to wander down to Taftend on my bike to watch the sun set behind Fitty Hill.
The view from my window…
… is of nothing but fields and clouds and ocean.
Links to our past
Coastal erosion at the Links of Noltland leaves scattered stones over a neolithic settlement quicky disappearing with the wind.
Wind Swept Away
The dunes at the Links of Noltland show their erosion by the wind – the grass tufts left are six feet above …
Ripples in the sands
Wind blows the sands into ripples and threatens to engulf the vegetation.
Cattle at Inga Ness
This afternoon there was time to cycle to East Kirbest and walk to Inga Ness, skirting Skea Hill and to look out …
The deserted village
Cycling to the Westside of Westray I can see the Netherhouse in silhouette. A series of dwellings built up the hill, the …
Sunset over Grobust
Grobust is one of my favourite beaches on Westray. Here it is at sunset.
Sunset over Grobust #2
Grobust is a place I could (and do) go back to again and again. Being up before dawn and going to bed …
Bike. Beach. Breathtaking.
Let me never be immune to the spell this Island casts.
Orange Glow
The side of Fitty Hill is bathed in the orange glow of sunset as I reach the summit at 169m.
Climbing Fitty Hill
A miserable grey day of rain and more rain. The Met. Office say it will clear later. What do they know? I’d …
The Bay of Tafts
The Bay of Tafts
The Knowe o’ Skea
Looking out from the Knowe o’ Skea Iron age burial ground across the skerries towards Rousay in the distance.
Making Hay
Yesterday was a wonderful sunny day so farmers were busy cutting the grass to make hay whilst flocks of gulls followed. The …
Noup Head Panorama
Noup Head is my destination by bicycle today, as it was yesterday. The crushed stone path is so rough that my bicycle …
Making Hay
I’m so used to massive industrial barrel-shaped hay bales in Devon that it’s a pleasure to see some hay bales in old-fashioned …
The Sails of Sangar
Evidence of Westray’s long-established drive to harness the energy of the wind is seen in this ancient sail-less windmill at Sangar (Old …
The Bay of Tafts
Sunshine on the clouds over Rousay at the Bay of Tafts.