Orkney Island
As the Scottish would say, today was a magnificent summer day here in the Orkney Islands. The sun was shinning bright with temps in the high 60's. We arrived in Kirkwall at 8am. Todays private tour was with David Murdock. He was easy to spot in his Scottish Kilt - picture later.
Beautiful country once again with a number of 'step back in time' stops with numerous archaeological points of interest.
Here the Standing Stones of Stenness, the oldest henge in the British Isles similar to Stone Henge and the Ring of Brodgar.
Skara Brae shown below is where ancient homes were uncovered by archaeologists. These stone age settlements are about 5000 years old. These 8 structures housed 50-100 inhabitants.
We also witnessed a new dig found in 2008 when a woman began to cultivate the soil near her house to plant a garden. Now, a major find, archaeologists are busy at work uncovering a large village. We were blessed because today was the first day this dig was opened to the public.
We visited the western cliffs which were very dramatic and it was so clear that we could see the Scottish mainland in the distance.
Our lunch stop was in Stromness, the other large village on Orkney. Julia's Cafe and Bistro was on the edge of town with good food. David and his wife eat here often.
Before retuning to ship, a must stop is the Italian Chapel built during WW II by Italian prisoners of war. The chapel was constructed from limited materials by the prisoners. They joined two Nissen huts end-to-end. They covered the corrugated interior with plasterboard. The walls were painted to look like real stone and they created a facade.
This island has a colorful and strategic history during WW I and WW II. At the end of WW I a german fleet was coralled in one of the bays and were not allowed to have any radio contact. When the German admiral read in a newspaper that another war was starting he sunk all 70 of his ships so they could not be used by the British. That newspaper article was "fake news" and you can see some of the ships sticking out of the water in the bay.
Also, at the beginning of WW II a German submarine snuck into the Scapa Flow where a british battleship was and sunk her, killing hundreds. Churchill was really mad and decided that barriers should be installed at the entrance to the flow. These 'Churchill Barriers' were build by the Italian POWs.
Beautiful country once again with a number of 'step back in time' stops with numerous archaeological points of interest.
Here the Standing Stones of Stenness, the oldest henge in the British Isles similar to Stone Henge and the Ring of Brodgar.
Skara Brae shown below is where ancient homes were uncovered by archaeologists. These stone age settlements are about 5000 years old. These 8 structures housed 50-100 inhabitants.
We also witnessed a new dig found in 2008 when a woman began to cultivate the soil near her house to plant a garden. Now, a major find, archaeologists are busy at work uncovering a large village. We were blessed because today was the first day this dig was opened to the public.
We visited the western cliffs which were very dramatic and it was so clear that we could see the Scottish mainland in the distance.
Our lunch stop was in Stromness, the other large village on Orkney. Julia's Cafe and Bistro was on the edge of town with good food. David and his wife eat here often.
Before retuning to ship, a must stop is the Italian Chapel built during WW II by Italian prisoners of war. The chapel was constructed from limited materials by the prisoners. They joined two Nissen huts end-to-end. They covered the corrugated interior with plasterboard. The walls were painted to look like real stone and they created a facade.
This island has a colorful and strategic history during WW I and WW II. At the end of WW I a german fleet was coralled in one of the bays and were not allowed to have any radio contact. When the German admiral read in a newspaper that another war was starting he sunk all 70 of his ships so they could not be used by the British. That newspaper article was "fake news" and you can see some of the ships sticking out of the water in the bay.
Also, at the beginning of WW II a German submarine snuck into the Scapa Flow where a british battleship was and sunk her, killing hundreds. Churchill was really mad and decided that barriers should be installed at the entrance to the flow. These 'Churchill Barriers' were build by the Italian POWs.
Here we are with our personal guide, David.
Castle and lighthouse as we depart Orkney.
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