Hey Blog! Sorry I haven’t uploaded anything recently, but that’s because I’ve been on holiday to ORKNEY!
The Orkney Islands are a group of islands off the north coast of Scottish mainland. The largest is simply known as the “Mainland” *, and there are apparently around 70 – but only 20 are inhabited! They have a UNESCO world heritage site, internationally important seabird colonies, some of the best wreck diving grounds in the UK, and lots more! As with our France trip, we didn’t want to fly there, so getting there we had several Experiences during the trip – but the Sleeper was definitely the best bit; it’s really cool to get on in London, go to sleep around Milton Keynes, wake up in Edinburgh because the train is being disconnected and reconnected, and then wake up again to get off in Inverness! The final train of the outward voyage was from Inverness to Thurso, just a few miles west of John-o-Groats and next to the ferry port. The ferry (this one named Hamnavoe, the old name for Stromness) was brilliant, we saw lots of seabirds (they look quite small when you see them from the deck of a massive ferry, as we subsequently found) and were hoping to see some seals, but didn’t at that point (we saw some later though!). The highlight of the ferry was sailing past the Old Man of Hoy, a famous and tall sea stack off the coast off the island of Hoy**. The captain brought us close in and we could see it really clearly
On Orkney, we found it was exactly what I had expected, just a little larger! Compared with the UK mainland, it is quite small, but when you’re on the island, the distances are much bigger than would be thought from the things saying “quaint, small islands, steeped in history with loads of sealife”! If you don’t go in the tourist season, it’s a sleepy little place out of the towns – Kirkwall, we found, was full of tourists of the cruise ships that dock there – but once you go outside, it all goes quiet. We thought Stromness was very nice, it’s not overcrowded but is a very interesting town. The campsite was good and the museum is lovely and big for the size of the town! We also stayed at the Birsay hostel (though it is now group bookings only) and the pods at Kirkwall campsite. The “pods” are much better than the ones we stayed in in Cornwall last year, they are a lot roomier!
We came to Orkney to see really two things, the archaeology, and the wildlife. The archaeology I will detail in a later post(s), as there is more of it than the wildlife. However, some of the wildlife is of immense quality – more on that later, so I will start with a species special to Scotland, the Great Yellow Bumblebee. It is not endemic to Scotland, but within Britain, the species only lives on the north coast of the mainland and in the Scottish islands. While crossing back over the Churchill barriers, we stopped to have a walk along an old quay, and in the dunes behind saw this fuzzy flying yellow ball. I’m pretty good with bumblebee ID, and identified it as the great yellow, one of the list we had wanted to see!
One of the other things on that list was the puffins – everyone’s favourite seabird, right? Well, we saw them, one time when we went up to Yesnaby; and also at the brough of Birsay, an islet only accessible by a low-tide walkway. There weren’t very many of them, but they were there! Another tick. We saw even more seabirds on Marwick Head, on the cliffs of which there are gannets, Razorbills, Guillemots, Manx Shearwaters, bonxies (Skuas), gulls, and many more! No one can truly appreciate seabirds, I think, if they haven’t stood on top of the cliffs, watching thousands of them coming and going. It reminds you what we have to lose if these species disappear. I was so glad that there, at least, the birds seem to be very happy!
Another reason for going to Yesnaby is it’s a main site where the endemic Primula scotica, the Scottish primrose, is known to flower. Unfortunately we didn’t find that one, but still.
On the train from Inverness to Thurso we had seen, out of the corner of the window, a grey-backed, black-wing-tipped bird rise from a rock and fly, and there was nothing it could be but a hen harrier! Also known as sky dancers, these beautiful birds of prey are sadly widely persecuted. We saw one in Orkney too when one flew almost over the car while coming back from between lochs Harray and Stenness, it was not a sight to be missed! We followed it in the car to see where it went, and it literally flew over the primary school and through someone’s back garden! Words can’t really describe it, so my best recommendation is to go to Orkney and try to spot one yourself! Not much can top a Hen Harrier, so what else could Orkney show? A Short-eared owl hunting? Yes, it could! We saw this while driving back to Kirkwall, and immediately stopped to watch. Short-eared owls are light brown, and speckled, live in moorland and marshland habitats, and are the most likely of UK owls to hunt during the day. Its face was shown to good effect, and the wings subtly wavering as it looked for prey – most likely the Orkney vole ☹, a species only found on Orkney and is SO CUTE! We didn’t see this, but in terms of the owl, I’m glad, as I would have been rather upset to see them both in the same frame! The owl was stunning, and something I would love to see again!
In my next post(s) the archaeology of Orkney will be told of, so stay with me!
* Historically known by the Norse as Hrossey, or Horse Island – Hrossey is also the name of the ferry we took coming back!
** From Norse for ‘high’ – Hoy is very hilly so was known as the High Island.