After what seems almost
another planet away now, let alone another continent, of enjoying the spices,
beaches and sunsets of Zanzibar, at long last I can post a travel adventure
blog. My first real adventure of any kind since the pandemic too me to an
archipelago of islands closer to home and further north, the Orkney Islands off
the coast of Scotland.
Obviously, with Covid-19
restrictions, travel opportunities have been both very limited and
unpredictable as regards ever changing situations as regards. With the gradual
easing of restrictions within the UK though despite the concern of the Delta
variant, opportunities for adventures and experiences closer to home are being
recognised, including many we may have overlooked in previous times with our
focus often being on the 'more exotic' looking wider world. I had made a point
of visiting Orkney at some stage after meeting a good friend on one of my more
far flung and exotic experiences travelling through southern Africa whose family
owned a guest house in the Orkney capital Kirkwall and encouraged me to come
and stay.
Arriving in Orkney, though still
technically in the UK, with the street names and place names on road signs
first visible when driving through Kirkwall one could be easily mistaken for
being in Scandinavia, by whom the islands were ruled until 1468. The
archipelago's geology, contrasting levels of sunlight and weather, varied local
wildlife and its very geological location have played an important part at the
crossroads between Scandinavia and the British Isles throughout history. Both
human and natural history influenced strongly by the meeting of the tides and
currents flowing in between the seventy islands that make up Orkney.
 |
| Kirkwall Harbour |
My introduction to Orkney began
on the achipelago's mainland (it's largest island) at Kirkwall's harbour, an
entry point for many first time visitors to the islands as well as a focal
point for becoming familiar with the tastes and stories that define the local
Orcadian culture and a starting point for their further exploration of the
other islands. The rich variety of local produce from the local waters, farms
and distillery is apparent in Kirkwall's shop windows. It was at Helgi's
restaurant, opposite the harbour, where I felt I experienced my first real
taste of Orkney, starting with the sampling its locally sourced seafood and
being introduced to the Orkneyinga Saga through the excerpts
and images displayed on its walls and the characters that I would later find
myself spending time in the company of metaphorically during my adventure,
including Helgi himself.
Written in Iceland in around the
13th century about this history of the Earls of Orkney, the Orkneyinga
Saga is the only known medieval work to feature Orkney as its central
setting. Written many years after the events described in the sagas took place,
one of their most intriguing aspects is that as a mixture of history and myth,
it can never likely be known where fact ends and fiction begin, which feeds the
imagination of the contemporary visitor when exploring Orkney's historic sites
along the Orkneyinga Saga trail, where at marked points key
characters and events described throughout the work make themselves known.
 |
| St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall |
The laid-back and gentle-paced
atmosphere of Kirkwall's main street, reflects the mannerisms of another of the
saga's, and indeed one of Orcadian history's central characters is introduced
in the form of Britain's northernmost cathedral, St Magnus, whose spire
dominates the town's skyline. Known for his gentleness, wisdom and goodwill,
Magnus was martyred in around 1115 after being murdered for refusing to fight
during a Viking raid on Angelsey. St Magnus Cathedral, on which work was
started in 1137, today reminds visitors of not only the Vikings gradual
conversion to Christianity, perhaps encouraged by the the concept of an
'eternal soul', but also how they would later help spread Christianity.
 |
| Mae Sands Beach, Westray |
Once in Orkney, you get used to
the mainland being Orkney's mainland isle rather than the UK mainland. Despite
being geographically close, each island has its subtle natural differences and
with it, a difference in texture. When visiting the other islands in the
archipelago, it is easy to see how Orkney's varied weather patterns have
influenced human perception and experience of its natural features, including
those on its western-most island Westray. Back in the 12th century, Earl
Rognvald decided it would be best to wait for an easterly breeze at spring tide
which would enable him and his men to sail to the island from the Shetland Islands
further north where they would meet Helgi who had a farm at the island's
main town of Pierowall. Rognvald's beacon on Westray couldn't be lit due to
flooding, but the island's northern latitude and exposure to the Gulf Stream
can surprise the contemporary visitor with an experience almost akin to a
tropical climate, and that is exactly what happened to me! Walking through
farmland towards the coast, from out of nowhere, appears a sandy landscape
resembling something that looks like a badlands in the middle of a fertile
landscape. Going further, out of nowhere appeared Mae Sands Beach a long,
spectacular and thrillingly remote white sand beach with the shining sunlight
dancing on the gentle tide. Walking barefoot along the beach enables one to
notice both the texture and temperature of the sand, as well as the warm water
heated by the sun contained in the rock pools.
 |
| Puffins, Castle O' Burrian, Westray |
Orkney's wildlife often
likes to make itself known to visitors and certainly did so on Westray. Indeed
the present day name Orkney's origination from the Norse 'Orkneinga' meanimg 'seal islands'. Orkney's often curious seals first made themselves known to me
at Mae Sands. Westray has two famous local castles, a conventional one of
historic interest and the other a metaphorical one. The historic one is
Noltland Castle near Pierowall which was built for the Sheriff of Orkney in the
15th century and further south is a hub for a local avian empire, Castle
O' Burrian, where hundreds of puffins come to nest during the summer months.
With their contrasting black and white feathers and brightly coloured beaks,
the puffins turn Castle O' Burrian from simply a scenic spot into a visual
delight!
 |
| Seals seen from kayak |
Before returning to land to next
during the summer, puffins spend most of their time at sea. Since the tides and
currents in the seas within and that surround Orkney have been such an
influence throughout its history, I felt it necessary to experience Orkney's
waters up close and personal. One of my favourite ways to do this is to go out
on a paddling expedition. Kayaking on choppy waters to the small uninhabited
island of Eyanhallow (meaning 'holy island'), one feels in touch with the very
presence of the tide’s movements caused by the meeting of tidal forces from
where a sea and ocean meet as well as with all five senses to read the tide and
notice its rhythms, so that you can make the movements of the water work for
you. As usual, I started a little unsettled, but once I got used to the tide, I
felt that through the physical sensations involved in rowing, I was able to
gauge just how much strength I needed to apply for each paddle, which made the
journey such a pleasant experience. It was made more delightful by the
appearance of several seals curious about a 'peculiar life form' crossing their
domain!Being with the present by being
with each stroke and with the movement of the tides when kayaking I felt once
again gave me an insight into the past as to how the early Norse settlers would
have viewed the islands from water level, looking at which islands would be
good to develop a settlement or farm on. Present day Eynhallow was abandoned
after a fever in the mid-19th century. Only accessible by kayak the
ruins of its former monastery and farming settlements give it an eerie feeling of
being a world lost in time and to the ever-renewing process of the elements.
 |
| Skara Brae |
Orkney’s exposure to the elements,
including storms and winds, has also unveiled secrets about its more distant
past as well as opening up new mysteries that have kept historians guessing for
many years, as well as attracting many curious visitors who come to visit Skara
Brae, one of the UK’s most ancient housing estates. Unveiled by a severe storm
that hit the islands in 1850, a visit to Skara Brae gives an insight into life
in Neolithic times, a time before metal tools over 5,000 years ago. Built using
tools made from stone and bones, Skara Brae’s layout suggests that its
inhabitants, who lived on the site largely uninterrupted for around 600 years,
lived a communal lifestyle, living off fishing, farming and hunting, living
closely together. How it was civilisation and the very lifeblood of Skara Brae
disappeared remains unknown, but it appears that aspects of their communal
lifestyle including use of locally sourced crops, fuel (form which seaweed may
have been used) and use of broken shells as insulation to keep warm during
winter have a meaning for present day Orkney with its strong environmentally-friendly
focus, with the presence of numerous wind turbines and electric cars.
 |
| Standing Stones of Stenness |
Being geographically small means
that none of the major places of interest for are very far away to get to, and
not very far from Skara Brae are other Neolithic sites including Stones of
Stenness and the nearby tomb at Maeshowe where Norsemen carved some of the Orkney’s
history in the form of Runes. But the site that truly stood out for me though
was the dramatic Ring of Brodgar stone circle, at which I was to witness the Midsummer
Solstice. Over 5,000 years old, what makes it so visually dramatic at any time
is that it is encircled by a ditch on a mound, which places it above the
visitor, almost as if it is a giant step to a different dimension, the different
dimension being the start of a new season perhaps being made to feel like a
different place with gradual change in levels of sunlight and in climate. Though
still unknown as to its purpose and maybe likely to remain so, it is thought
that one of its purposes was to mark the Midsummer Solstice, so that it was
known when the days would gradually get shorter with regards to farming needs.
 |
| Midsummer Solstice Sunset, Ring of Brodgar |
Being diagnosed with Asperger’s
Syndrome, I like predictability as I can still occasionally experience
high-anxiety when facing uncertainty. But through mindfulness practice, I have
gradually over time understood how to open up to impermanence, which has made solstice
viewings a special experience for me, noticing something that, to the eye
appears still, but on a deeper and more sensory level its impermanence becomes
much more apparent. While the sunlight reveals the shapes and texture of the
stones, opening awareness to a cosmological scale, both the Sun and Earth
constantly moving never return to the exact time and place in the Universe
where each solstice takes place. What makes being with such moments so special
is that you can feel the interaction between Earth and the Sun as whole, as
well as past present and future as being whole within a continual now.
 |
| Dwarfie Stane rock cut tomb |
Being able to accept and notice the
effects of change has also opened me up to new and different experiences,
especially when travelling. After the dramatic experience of the solstice at
Brodgar, I took the ferry to spend a night on the nearby Isle of Hoy, where I
was greeted by clouds of mist, quite a contrast from the brighter weather I had
been lucky enough to have had on Westray. Much less populated than the
mainland, the mist gave Hoy’s hills and valleys an eerie feeling complemented
by the dramatic and haunting appearance the of the mysterious 'Dwarfie Stane' rock cut tomb.
 |
| The Old Man of Hoy |
But the best of Hoy was to come
the following morning after the sun came out. Setting out from the peaceful
setting Rackwick Bay, after a three kilometer hike, I reached the spectacular
Old Man of Hoy, of Britain’s tallest sea stacks. Comprised of red sandstone,
the Old Man shone brightly in the sunlight standing out like a huge column of
ruby with the sun making the blue sea shine like a sapphire. Such a mixture of
the effects of the elements often leave indelible memories written on one’s
mind. A closer look at the old man, standing still like a monument, one can see
the effects of the impermanence brought about the elements in its layers.
The author Laurie Lee described
village elders he grew up around as being like ancient stone circles, as a
constant through one’s life, with the effects of time shown in their appearance,
like stone circles are a constant through ages. In Orkney, I met an old man who
had something in common with ancient stone circles, a constant through thousands of
years with the effects of time shown in its appearance. Orkney was an adventure
which took me through a crossroads of cultures with the mix of Scandinavian and
Scottish traditions, of faith with the move from the ancient Norse religion to
Christianity, and of the elements and forces, especially the tides. The Ring of
Brodgar is Orkney’s crown, while the Old Man of Hoy is its jewel.
Special thanks to Theresa Guthrie at Ardconnel Guesthouse for her wonderful hospitality and to Nikki Kelday.
Huge thanks also to Kristian Cooper of Sea Kayak 59 Degree North for his assistance during the kayaking adventure to Eynhallow.
Comments
Post a Comment