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Orkney Islands, Scotland - chat, history, photos

Going with my mum. She went a lot when my Dad was alive. She scattered some of his ashes at the Ring of Brodgar.
That's really cool Winot. I'd like some of mine to be scattered there too.

I felt a very strong connection with the place, like I'd been there before. It felt familiar. I'm not a spiritual sort but I don't mind admitting that I was moved to tears there and I'd like some of my ashes to be there after I'm gone, as well. It's an incredible spot. I've seen a fair bit of this planet now but I've never experienced that anywhere else.
 
I felt a very strong connection with the place, like I'd been there before. It felt familiar. I'm not a spiritual sort but I don't mind admitting that I was moved to tears there and I'd like some of my ashes to be there after I'm gone, as well.
I get that feeling too at certain places.

I will have to look into visiting Orkney at some point :)
 
The Orkney's is on my list of places I must visit. In the meantime Clare Balding did three episodes of Ramblings on the Orkneys...spent most of her time indoors sheltering from the wind and the rain Ramblings - To the Ring of Brodgar - BBC Sounds :D
I'll have a listen to that, thanks. I like her.

We were unbelievably lucky with the weather when we went. We had two weeks of sun - unheard of, normally. We've friends there who say we've got to go in the Winter though to get a less rose tinted spectacled view of it. :D

I want to go back so much but we've Outer Hebrides and Shetland next on the list.
 
That's really cool Winot. I'd like some of mine to be scattered there too.

I felt a very strong connection with the place, like I'd been there before. It felt familiar. I'm not a spiritual sort but I don't mind admitting that I was moved to tears there and I'd like some of my ashes to be there after I'm gone, as well. It's an incredible spot. I've seen a fair bit of this planet now but I've never experienced that anywhere else.
Yes my mum feels the same. It’ll be my Dad’s birthday while we’re there so could be quite emotional.

I don’t think they let you near the stones anymore. And ash scattering was forbidden anyway when she did it - she said she did it surreptitiously like in the Great Escape.
 
Yes my mum feels the same. It’ll be my Dad’s birthday while we’re there so could be quite emotional.

I don’t think they let you near the stones anymore. And ash scattering was forbidden anyway when she did it - she said she did it surreptitiously like in the Great Escape.
Ashes in the turnups of your trousers then dumped when nobody's looking? :D

Ah that'll be lovely, I bet. Bitter-sweet but a good thing to do, definitely. :)

Inside the Ring is off limits now due to erosion but the atmosphere doesn't suffer for it. If you go late in the day when theres nobody around, you will see the odd person quickly popping in.
 
I am there in June as well, for the Magnus music festival. Going with my mum. She went a lot when my Dad was alive. She scattered some of his ashes at the Ring of Brodgar.
We’ll be there at the same time. May try one of the festival events. Didn’t know about it before we booked
 
I didn't realise all my recommendations had lived up to your hopes, well that cheers me indeed.

Robertsons in St Margaret's Hope which everyone loves has good GF options- my GF friend sent this message in full
"Well if it’s a lunch you can get Toastie and nice cake in Trenabies or Robertsons have good gluten free options. Or if he/she likes Indian they can offer most things gluten free except naan bread. In Stromness the pier café sometimes has gluten free soup and the Toastie is fine or garden centre but I find them expensive. I don’t eat out much. Also Smithfield Hotel is supposed to be really good as they are coeliac so a lot of options there
😀
if they like fish and chips the harbour fary have a GF menu and it’s lovely and they do chicken and other stuff. It is one of my favourites."

I think Robertson's is the best of that list. If you're there, I would recommend walking to the sands of wright esp if it's sunny. Last time I was there this seal came bounding up towards me, which was nice.
Trenabies is in Kirkwall, Smithfield is in Dounby and had a great menu last summer. It might be an idea to go there if you were doing the west mainland- Birsay, the obligatory twatt sign, skaill/skara brae, marwick head... as you could then go via the Smithfield and then the standing stones on the way back to Kirkwall. But Skara Brae has a cafe at the visitor centre too and there's Birsay Bay Tearooms (not sure what they are like for gluten free stuff but there's usually a menu on facebook.)

Puffins just absolutely must be seen in Westray, where you see them up close. On the mainland it's just shit seeing them on the cliffs miles away. They are tiny, you might as well be looking at sparrows. I honestly had a spiritual experience when I saw them in Westray. It's by far my favourite Island after Hoy.
Stromness pub and food scene is a bit shit these days contrary to earlier post on here, there's a place opening up for food here called Adam's place which looks promising, aside from that most of my older suggestions upthread still stand.

These guys are great, they are usually behind Ortak which is in Kirkwall

This is 1st sat of June if you're here then

You miss folk festival by a few days which is a shame as it brings out the crowds we used to have in the pubs back in the day, but I think Kirkwall is probably still a good night out.

Great little book for walks (also available for other parts of rural Scotland, I have the one for around Torridon too)
 
I didn't realise all my recommendations had lived up to your hopes, well that cheers me indeed.

Robertsons in St Margaret's Hope which everyone loves has good GF options- my GF friend sent this message in full
"Well if it’s a lunch you can get Toastie and nice cake in Trenabies or Robertsons have good gluten free options. Or if he/she likes Indian they can offer most things gluten free except naan bread. In Stromness the pier café sometimes has gluten free soup and the Toastie is fine or garden centre but I find them expensive. I don’t eat out much. Also Smithfield Hotel is supposed to be really good as they are coeliac so a lot of options there
😀
if they like fish and chips the harbour fary have a GF menu and it’s lovely and they do chicken and other stuff. It is one of my favourites."

I think Robertson's is the best of that list. If you're there, I would recommend walking to the sands of wright esp if it's sunny. Last time I was there this seal came bounding up towards me, which was nice.
Trenabies is in Kirkwall, Smithfield is in Dounby and had a great menu last summer. It might be an idea to go there if you were doing the west mainland- Birsay, the obligatory twatt sign, skaill/skara brae, marwick head... as you could then go via the Smithfield and then the standing stones on the way back to Kirkwall. But Skara Brae has a cafe at the visitor centre too and there's Birsay Bay Tearooms (not sure what they are like for gluten free stuff but there's usually a menu on facebook.)

Puffins just absolutely must be seen in Westray, where you see them up close. On the mainland it's just shit seeing them on the cliffs miles away. They are tiny, you might as well be looking at sparrows. I honestly had a spiritual experience when I saw them in Westray. It's by far my favourite Island after Hoy.
Stromness pub and food scene is a bit shit these days contrary to earlier post on here, there's a place opening up for food here called Adam's place which looks promising, aside from that most of my older suggestions upthread still stand.

These guys are great, they are usually behind Ortak which is in Kirkwall

This is 1st sat of June if you're here then

You miss folk festival by a few days which is a shame as it brings out the crowds we used to have in the pubs back in the day, but I think Kirkwall is probably still a good night out.

Great little book for walks (also available for other parts of rural Scotland, I have the one for around Torridon too)
Blimey. Thanks for that. Really helpful.
 
Sands of Wright Seal, Westray puffins View attachment 368436


View attachment 368437
Sands of Wright are lovely, agreed. We had a wander with our friend Sue there. She lives on South Ronaldsay.

She then took us out on to the nearby headland with all those mad sea defences over Scapa Flow. We've a few pillboxes round our way but nothing three storeys high like these. There were guys out at the tip of the headland there whale-watching. Oh I loved it. Ace place.
 
HoratioCuthbert (or anyone else but you seemed most likely to know) do you know what the situation is with buses there now - can I still pay with actual cash money or is it all contactless / app nonsense?
 
HoratioCuthbert (or anyone else but you seemed most likely to know) do you know what the situation is with buses there now - can I still pay with actual cash money or is it all contactless / app nonsense?
You can pay with cash money yo. Or contactless. However sometimes obtaining cash can be tricky if not in Kirkwall.
 
You can pay with cash money yo. Or contactless. However sometimes obtaining cash can be tricky if not in Kirkwall.
Thanks! I get paid in cash so spending it is more of a problem than getting hold of it now loads of places won't take real money...
 
Sticking this here under the guise of being helpful for anyone else planning to visit this summer but also so I don't lose the webpage myself - the Knowe of Swandro archaeological excavation in Rousay will be running from Monday 19th June until Friday 11th August this year and open to visitors from Wednesday 21st June until Monday 7th August.
More info here:
 
Sticking this here under the guise of being helpful for anyone else planning to visit this summer but also so I don't lose the webpage myself - the Knowe of Swandro archaeological excavation in Rousay will be running from Monday 19th June until Friday 11th August this year and open to visitors from Wednesday 21st June until Monday 7th August.
More info here:
Thanks. The first open day is the day we leave Orkney, which is a real shame. We'd have gone to that.
 
In somewhat better news, I have today discovered that the Orkney Football League runs from May to August, and one of the grounds is opposite where we are staying. I have groundhopper friends who would kill for a tick like that.

Haven't told mrs mx yet.
I'm not going with anyone else so I'm free to do whatever I want but one of the first things I checked was if there's a jiu jitsu club anywhere (there is!) :oops:

Already planning another trip - they're oversubscribed but I'm applying to volunteer for the heavy unskilled shitwork on that dig - but I'm booked on the ferry into Stromness this Thursday night (having somehow volunteered myself to plant some trees this trip) with no return date set yet...
 
I'd really recommend stopping to read the flyers in shop windows while you're here if you want to do something other than the standard tourist stuff. Yesterday I went to a community gardening event in the library, watched a film in a village hall (then got kicked out within seconds of the film ending because they needed the hall for people who'd been rescued from a ferry accident - no one hurt thankfully - but that's another story) and found out about a couple of other things I'll go to if I'm still here.
 
Christ that's twice in a year one of (not banks,,whatever cowboy has it now) ferries has run aground, what on earth is going on. Thank god no one was hurt, would have been terrifying for the passengers.
 
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Christ that's twice in a year one of (not banks,,whatever cowboy has it now) ferries has run aground, what on earth is going on. Thank god no one was hurt, would have been terrifying for the passengers.
Pentland ferries isn't it? Apparently there was an engine fire and then it "very gently" ran aground and they had to evacuate everyone by lifeboat, without all the stuff they'd left in their cars. We were in Cromarty Hall when it happened and at the end of the film they rushed us out the fire escape so they could bring all the ferry passengers in through the front. They all seemed in good spirits tbf, everyone was making cups of tea and one woman was saying she'd tell all her friends what a good welcome she got :D

Someone was saying they're fucked now coz the other, newer ferry that was doing the route has been contracted to another route, and now the old one that got brought back into service is out of action for now...
 
Gonna Northlink
Pentland ferries isn't it? Apparently there was an engine fire and then it "very gently" ran aground and they had to evacuate everyone by lifeboat, without all the stuff they'd left in their cars. We were in Cromarty Hall when it happened and at the end of the film they rushed us out the fire escape so they could bring all the ferry passengers in through the front. They all seemed in good spirits tbf, everyone was making cups of tea and one woman was saying she'd tell all her friends what a good welcome she got :D

Someone was saying they're fucked now coz the other, newer ferry that was doing the route has been contracted to another route, and now the old one that got brought back into service is out of action for now...
Yeah it's always been called Pentland ferries, but Banks doesn't run them any more? Edit, or he does and someone on Facebook is high ha! He's anti unionist twat anyway but orkney thinks he's amazing.

He's majority shareholder and his daughter runs it, ah that's what the change was.
 
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Pentland ferries isn't it? Apparently there was an engine fire and then it "very gently" ran aground and they had to evacuate everyone by lifeboat, without all the stuff they'd left in their cars. We were in Cromarty Hall when it happened and at the end of the film they rushed us out the fire escape so they could bring all the ferry passengers in through the front. They all seemed in good spirits tbf, everyone was making cups of tea and one woman was saying she'd tell all her friends what a good welcome she got :D

Someone was saying they're fucked now coz the other, newer ferry that was doing the route has been contracted to another route, and now the old one that got brought back into service is out of action for now...
The Pentalina was only out temporarily and they were trying to give it to Calmac but Calmac wouldn't touch it. Apparently RMT published scathing reports of the standards on the boats last year. Eeek!

They've been so lucky that this happened on calm days both times.
 
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