Thanks to Jim for this one. The winds in Orkney are sometimes described as swappy, meaning they seem to keep changing, or swapping direction as they're diverted around cliffs, hills and particularly buildings. Maybe that's why so many street names include 'wynd' (pronounced wind) ? Other common words for road or street, common in Scotland, … Continue reading Wednesday word of the week – swappy

I previously blogged about the Northern Marsh Orchid, Heath Spotted Orchid and other purple wild flowers of Orkney. Another wild orchid which grows on Orkney and flowers in early summer is the twayblade. It's less dramatic than the purple forms, rarer too, but worth searching out. Other (non purple) wild flowers include yellow flag, meadow … Continue reading More Orkney flowers

The click mill, near Dounby, Orkney is a water powered mill, which would have been used to grind beremeal. It gets its name from the sound it made during operation – and although not often activated now, this one still runs if water is diverted into it. Also, we saw more puffins! Gary took the … Continue reading Click Mill – and more puffins

By now you might be wondering, 'Is that woman ever leaving Orkney?' Well, actually after 5 1/2 weeks we have – but I haven't finished showing you everything we've seen, so there will be just a few more blog posts. We'd already been inside St Magnus Cathedral, then discovered there are tours to the upper … Continue reading St Magnus Cathedral, Orkney – upper levels

The Knap of Howar is the oldest known house in Europe. It's located on the island of Papa Westray, which we reached by plane from Kirkwall (Mainland Orkney) to Westray and then on to Papa Westray on the world's shortest scheduled flight. I filmed the entire (less than two minute) journey and got a certificate.

I've not mentioned food and drink much. As I don't want anyone worrying I may be wasting away or dehydrated, I decided to put that right. Orkney has loads of good places to buy food and drink - whether to eat on the premises or take back to cook in your van. There are several … Continue reading Orkney food and drink

This is quite a long post with a fair few photos, so you might want to get yourself a drink and snack before you start - I did! The Ness of Brodgar is a huge neolithic site, near the ring of Brodgar. It's similar to nearby Skara Brae in some ways, but is believed to … Continue reading Ness of Brodgar

Orkney is a great place to see birds. Here are a few of the many, many, pictures we took of fulmar, guillemots, great skuas, cormorants, puffins, oyster catchers, eider ducks, swans, gulls, razorbills ... Do you have a favourite?

The Italian Chapel on Orkney was created from two Nissan huts and decorated by Italian prisoners of war during WW2. It appears that the inside is clad with bricks and there's elaborate moulding or carvings on the ceiling and walls, but that's not the case - it's all a beautiful optical illusion created with paint. … Continue reading Italian Chapel, Lamb Holm, Orkney