August Holiday in Orkney Part 3

On the Tuesday we packed up the tent and headed for Eviedale Campsite on Mainland Orkney. On the way we parked up the car and set out on a walk to Waulkmill Bay, this route looks out onto Scapa Flow which had been the scene of the scuttling of the German Fleet in 1919.

Waulkmill Bay

Lonely rowing boat

Tanker waiting offshore

After our walk we stopped off at the Orkneyinga Saga centre to see the Earls Bu and Round Church in Orphir, which is thought to have been built by Jarl Haakon Paulsson as a penance for murdering his Cousin and co ruler Magnus Erlendsson.

We then stopped off in a rainy Stromness for tea and pieces and to book a table for later at the Ferry Inn.

An evening visit to Maeshowe, a Neolithic chambered cairn which is believed to have been built around 2800 BC.

The entrance passage is aligned with the setting of the midwinter sun so that its light shines into the tomb. On the day of the winter solstice, the sun sets between the Cuilags and Ward Hill on Hoy, over the Barnhouse Stone, a solitary monolith standing in a field near Maeshowe, then its last rays illuminate the inner chamber. I have planned this on the PhotoPills app and on 21/12/18 at 15.16pm it will all line up, amazing stuff when you see it in person.