Rare Crossbills on the Links
I get the word that there’s a rare bird on the Island. In fact there are three of them; they are Two-Barred …
A load of Bronze Age bollards
The Links of Notland is such an amazing place for archaeology. It has a huge neolithic settlement, site of the discovery 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.
Limpets in the midden
What we throw away tells a lot about us. A quick look at my bin would tell you I like an occasional …
Wheatears in the new stone age
I’m sitting in a stone-age house; the new stone age, when the climate was warmer and people began to settle rather than …
Manuport
It’s a new word for me. A manuport; Something brought by a human from one place to another. Something which shows conscious …
The Chain-Links of Noltland
Today we visited the Links of Noltland. The chain-link fence has seen better days.
Cattle on Noltland
The bones of wind and wave washed cattle litter the sand dunes of the Links of Noltland. Here are a couple I …
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 …
A 5000 year old necklace
I’m standing next to a 5000 year old house looking at a bead from a 5000 year old necklace. It was made …
Second place is nowhere
The most important archaeological find of last year was found on the remote Orkney island of Westray; or at least it was …