13 to 15 August - The Orkney Adventure: Stronsay

We arrived Kirkwall quite late, and set up camp in the dark in a grass strip along the waterfront. 

Here's a photo of Kirkwall at night. St. Magnus Cathedral may be visible in the center of the picture. 

The next day we had perfect weather. We spent some time at the library, and had lunch in the sun. Actual sun shine! 

This was the best weather we've had since leaving Montana! Late in the day we headed to the harbor for the ferry to Stronsay. Let's check out another island! One of the seamen on the ferry, Mike Joyce, noticed our instruments and asked if we would "Fancy a tune at the pub later".....

 Of course we thought that sounded like fun!  

 

He telephoned some friends on Stronsay, and they came down to the Stronsay Hotel for a session.

Mike had a brilliant little Jig Doll that he pulled out of his fiddle case. What fun! 

Also met a very sweet German translator and travel writer, Marion, on a extended holiday living out of her car.  She happened to have her guitar with her, which she brought out to play along. We stayed out until about 1:00 am, then had to make our way to our beach camp in the dark, about 1-1/2 miles in the dark and wind. What an adventure! 

On our first full day on Stronsay we headed to the south end of the island, to Lamb's Head, since we'd heard of a nice walk around the shoreline to see some natural and archaeological sights. While Shetland is mostly a fishing community, Orkney is largely agriculture, cattle, and sheep. We've seen many different types of sheep on our way, and some of them catch our eye.... 

Here's a pair of neat looking sheep on Stronsay (along with an average white one). These unique sheep had a white stripe on their faces, and white socks on their feet.  

Along the shoreline we saw a cove with about 20 seals - they're very curious, and watched us for a long time while we stood and watched them. And when we continued our walk a few of them followed us along for a while. 

The entire Lamb's Head walk covered about four or five miles, and boB had a brilliant idea that we might be able to ride the bikes through part of it to save time. Well... that didn't work out so well for us! We ended up pushing the bikes for miles - up brae and down, through sopping-wet ankle-high grass - through rain and wind. It was a LONG day. And the historical sights prominently advertised on the tourist maps? Sadly, we never found them! 

That's not to say it was all for naught, because the scenery was certainly amazing as we hiked along the tops of cliffs that were hundreds of feet high, with sea birds curiously swirling about us. The fulmars are the most curious, and they sweep in quite close.

Here's a baby, nesting comfortably in the cliffside.

Drizzly rain, gusty winds, wet grass, slippery stones, hundred-foot-high cliffs ... what's not to love?

It was along the top of an outcropping like this one that we think we found one of the archaeological sites. We might have found stacked stones forming the foundation of a hermitage, but it's hard to tell because it was all very overgrown with grass. Even so, it would make an ideal place for a hermitage because of the remoteness and controlled access.

At the very end of the hike-a-bike adventure was The Vat of Kirbister. The Vat was once a sea cave that was eroded from inside out and then collapsed, forming what is called a "gloup." All that remains now is the arched entry way. Some day this will collapse, so we're glad we got a good look at it while we were in the area. ;-)

On the next day, we biked around the island (in the rain) and stopped at Rothiesholm beach (pronounced 'roths-hum'). The beaches collect a bewildering array of sea trash, most of it is fishing gear. We've taken it on ourselves to pick up trash whenever we wild-camp, as a way of giving back to the community that hosts us. We filled this bag full, and feel good about making a difference, however small it may be. 

The Rothiesholm walk heads off toward a different beach, but we abandoned this trail because the weeds got a bit, um, deep. 

We tend to eat a lot, and we like to try the local fare when we can. Here's A full-on Orkney snack break: Beremeal biscuits, and Orkney smoked cheddar. Bere is an ancient grain that's once again being grown on Orkney, and is used to make beer and baked goods. (Bere is pronounced the same as beer, which means you can order a bere beer at a bar and they don't look at you like you're already drunk.)

A mural on the side of the Stronsay school, mentioning the Silver Darlings, and a hint of a song. We're working on this tune ourselves, but with only 2 D, a C, and E quarter notes...it leaves room for interpretation.

Not sure if you can see it on the sign, but there is mentioned the Silver Darlings (look in the musical staff). The Silver Darlings originally referred to the herring that Orkney fishermen caught, and then delivered to processing stations on the different Orkney islands. Stronsay was a bustling fishing port, with thousands of people delivering the fish, then gutting, salting, packing, and hauling them to markets as far south as mainland Europe. Here below is a picture of the pier in its heyday (taken from the original hanging at the hostel/fish market).

There is also a band on Stronsay called 'The Silver Darlings', and they happened to be recording a new CD while we were there. We played with a couple of the Stronsay band members at the session on our first night on the island. It's a wonderful community, with about 280 people on the island at present, and they are all very kind and generous. By the time we left the island, quite a few had heard about the two crazy Americans cycling around in the rain and camping on the beach at St. Catherine's Bay.

We ate lunch a couple times in the Fish Mart Cafe in Whitehall village, which was the thriving market where the silver darlings were bought and sold.

The picture above shows what the market once looked like. 

Now it's a  fabulous cafe and hostel. Jennifer, the current manager (and angel) pictured above, allowed us to use the laundry and shower facilities, which was sorely needed! 

Here we are, chilling at the Stronsay Hostel and Fish Mart, sporting our cozy Shetland wool caps while we waited for the ferry back to Kirkwall.

By the way, in case you've wondered how they dock the car-ferries for loading and unloading, check out this: 

We'll tell you about our adventures on mainland Orkney as soon as we get a chance.

And just remember, when all else fails .... 

13 August, Around Kirkwall with a Ferry to Stronsay, approximately 10 miles

14 August, Around Stronsay- approximately 25 miles (some of which were in PUSH mode)

15 August, Around Stronsay, a lazy day of approximately15 miles