![Noup Head Rainbow - photograph (c) 2016 David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/810_6847-1-332x497.jpg)
![Gannets at Noup Head - photograph (c) 2016 David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/810_6936-1-332x222.jpg)
Gannets fly past while the sun sets at Noup Head
The evening is idyllic. Sunshine, hail, rain and a double rainbow in just five minutes. The gusty wind means the Gannets are …
![Rainbows at Noup Head - photograph (c) 2016 David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NIC_6533-1-332x220.jpg)
Rain Bows
I shout into the wind that I can see rain heading over the sea towards us. I’m wrong; it’s hailstones.
![Raiders of the lost Aak - photograph (c) 2016 David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/810_4802-1-332x222.jpg)
Raiders of the lost Aak
Guillemots are known as Aaks in Orkney. This Aak egg has been raided from the cliffs at Noup Head and eaten.
![Fulmar at Noup - photograph (c) 2016 David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/810_4760-1-332x222.jpg)
A sense of taste
Hardly any bird species have a sense of smell – and that probably means they have very little sense of taste either. …
![Danger - Vertical Cliffs - photograph copyright David Bailey (not the) 2016](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/810_4749-1-332x497.jpg)
Danger
You have to watch out for those vertical cliffs on Westray. They’re far more dangerous than horizontal cliffs.
![Fulmar](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/810_4806-1-332x222.jpg)
Casting a shadow upon yourself
Evolution is a wonderful thing. Being grey above and white below is a classic countershading strategy used by many seabirds and often …
![Noup Head Lighthouse in the Mist](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/20130822-100614-332x332.jpg)
Misty Noup
It’s a grey afternoon as I set out to cycle to Noup Head. I can’t tell you how many miles it is …
![Let me lie in a field of daisies](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/1-001_s-332x77.jpg)
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 …
![Noup Head Panorama](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/IMG_0941-001-332x42.jpg)
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 …
![Noup](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/DSC_2583-332x332.jpg)
Noup Head Lighthouse
Noup Head Lighthouse stands magnificent and alone on the cliffs; a brilliant shining warning of the skerries below.
![Seabird City](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/DSC_2565-332x220.jpg)
Seabird City
Noup Head, the RSPB reserve, is seabird city. Here is a Fulmar, crouching ungainly on the cliffs, waiting to wheel into the air.
![Mushroom Magic](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/DSC_2564-332x499.jpg)
Mushroom Magic
A long walk along the cliffs to Noup Head. Giant mushroom fairy rings lie like targets on the fertile hillsides.