Both the Comet and Watch stone are located between the Ring of Brodgar and Stones of Stenness. It looks as though all the stones are part of the same extended monument, but apparently they were erected over a period of over 1,000 years.

The Comet (shown first) is relatively small – not even my height. The Watch stone is massive!

I like the fact that, although quite a lot is known about these stones and credible theories have been proposed, nobody knows for certain precisely why they were built, or how they were used.

The weather was a bit blurgh when we arrived, stayed that way as we drank a pot of tea and ate Empire biscuits and fruit slices respectively, and stayed that way after we’d had a good look and another tea break, so we plan to go back again later. It would be great to get sunset or sunrise photos, wouldn’t it?

We arrived at Yesnaby in the evening. The light was good, so we set out on a walk without even stopping for a cup of tea! (We’re getting plenty of sunshine and good photographic light, but the weather is very changeable, so we grab every opportunity we get.)

Yesnaby has a sea stack which, with an imagination as active as mine, does look something like a castle with a drawbridge. I’m not sure if that one has a name, but there’s another very close by which is called the castle – and looks nothing like one!

Gary did his taking a photograph whilst perilously close to a cliff edge thing, and I attempted to find the rare wildflower Primula Scotica. I think I did, but as it wasn’t yet in flower it’s difficult to be certain, so I’ll keep looking.

After that we went back to the van for a restorative pot of tea as we planned what to do next.

An Orcadian is a native or inhabitant of the Orkney Islands. This beautiful place is where Gary and I will be living (in the mobile writing retreat aka photographic base aka campervan) which I hope qualifies us as temporary Orcadians. While we’re here, we plan to see many of the sights, eat the local food, and learn something of the history and culture. So far we’ve met some lovely people, visited several fascinating places and discovered Orkney sunshine frequently comes in liquid form!

We’re not complaining about the weather btw. We had an idea what it would be like and came prepared, the wind and rain are part of what makes the place so spectacular and beautiful, plus the breaks in the sunshine encourage us to get on with some work.

While on South Ronaldsay I picked up a piece of sea glass, which I thought looked very like a standing stone. Obviously that was a clear sign that the Ring of Brodgar needed to be one of our next stops after photographing some ships of course. (If you’d like to see the ship photos, follow Maritime Photographic on Facebook.)

I was right, wasn’t I? It does look like a stone.
And here’s how some of the other stones in the circle look.

OK, it’s not a bridge and it does go somewhere, but don’t you think it looks as though crossing over might take us into a different world, time or dimension? There must be a story there!

It’s actually one of the ‘Churchill Barriers’ built during WW2 by Italian prisoners, both to link some of the smaller islands onto Mainland Orkney and to protect Scapa Flow – doing a better job than the ‘block ships’ which can still be seen. (Google is sure to be able to provide a more detailed history lesson, should you want it.)

We got across safely, and returned later to swim in the beautifully clear, and breathtakingly cold, sea. We’ll do that again when we get the chance, and hopefully visit the nearby Italian chapel – something else built by the prisoners of war.