As we have said, we went to the Isle of Islay for the whisky, Skye for its rugged landscapes, picturesque fishing villages and Medieval castles. We are going to the Orkney Islands because Jim liked the name and it is getting near to the farthest north one can go in Scotland. As is our usual MO we do little to no research until we arrive in the area.
We left mainland Scotland and took a ferry from Scrabster to Stromness which is on the Isle Of Orkney. Scrabster is the most northerly large port in mainland Britain. This is the Holburn Head Lighthouse.NorthLink ferries are very efficient, friendly and well run. Just be sure to book your passage well in advance.
Hop in and we will take you to the Orkney Islands.The cliffs of Hoy as seen from the ferry.We will be on top of those cliffs in the next blog.This is a very famous Sea Stack called The Old Man Of Hoy. We intend to hike to the cliff edge viewing point which is pictured to the right.Professional rock climbers climb this Sea Stack.The picturesque port of Stromness where the ferry docks on the mainland Orkney Island. There are 70 islands in the archipelago of Orkney of which only 20 are inhabited.The port town of Stromness.We are staying in the town of Kirkwall. Jim took this photo through our hotel window our first night.Our town for the next 5 days.We are staying at the Albert Hotel.We had a mini suite in the hotel.Comfy bedroom nook.Kitchenette with refrigerator, stove top and microwave but no coffee maker. We had to do our own pour over coffee.We booked our first night’s dinner at the Foveran Restaurant.It had stunning views across historic Scapa Flow. We were given the best seat in the restaurant and we were happy they served Negronis which is rare in most of the bars.We shared a seared scallop appetizer.Jim got the Filet of beef which equaled any steakhouse filet.Sandy ordered the Mutton special which was amazing despite how it looks in this photo.One of our first stops when we woke up was to visit the Cathedral of St Magnus and book a tour.Majestic towering pillars.St Magnus cathedral burial ground with gravestones for prominent Orcadians and paupers, including WW I soldier graves as well as mass graves where nave burials were relocated from inside the cathedral. The Cathedral offered Upper Level Tours and Graveyard tours. They limit the Upper Level tours to 6 people only and they were fully booked for the next three days so we were very lucky to get a tour on the last full day we were there. Of course we opted for the climbing tour.We have mentioned before how we like to wander through graveyards. It’s often said “death levels us all,” and there is much to be learned by reading between the lines of someone’s gravestone and how their contribution to society was recorded at the time in this most final of ways. Old gravestones reveal something personal about who is buried there that help you relate to them unlike today where the gravestones merely list birth and death dates. What would you like your gravestone to say? We decided ours should simply say; “Here lies Sandy & Jim Steen whose love for one another and travel made them citizens of the world”.This is the remains of The Bishop’s Palace which was built first in the 12th century when Orkney was still part of the kingdom of Norway when King Hakron IV ruled. He died in this castle while visiting during the winter of 1263.This is the remains of the Earl’s Palace which was built between 1601 and 1608 by the notorious Earl of Orkney Patrick Stewart. It is said to be one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in Scotland. In Orkney Earl Patrick Stewart was despised and considered to be irresponsible, arrogant and ambitious. He was known locally as “Black Patie” and was said to have a reputation of cruelty and used forced labor to build his palaces and castles. He was eventually beheaded for treason.Our next destination was to drive to the Italian Chapel. Here are some scenes of livestock that we enjoy seeing in the fields as we drive to different locations. The cows are massive here.We just love the Scottish landscape. Jim’s choice of roads to drive gave us amazing expansive views.The Italian Chapel is a highly ornate Catholic chapel on Lamb Holm in Orkney. It was built during the Second World War by Italian prisoners of war who were housed on the previously uninhabited island while they constructed the Churchill Barriers to the east of Scapa Flow. This is one of four Churchill Barriers built by the prisoners which gives access to the island that the chapel is on. The barriers were constructed during World War Two as a defensive measure to prevent enemy ships and submarines from entering Scapa Flow, which housed the bulk of Britain’s fleet at the time.The Italian prisoners thousands of miles from their homeland deeply felt the need for a place of worship. Two Nissan huts were made available to them.The Italian prisoner Domenico Chiocchetti, an artist, had initially constructed this statue of St George Slaying the Dragon which represents the triumphant victory of good over evil, faith over paganism, and courage over despair. As the St George statue was built to express the physical and psychological pain, so was the chapel conceived to meet a spiritual need.Chiocchhetti had the imagination needed to transform the drab Nissan huts into a magnificent place of worship and inspired his fellow Italian prisoners whose civilian occupations covered a wide range of skills from artist and sculptors to electricians and iron workers to help make it possible. All the work they did was supervised by him.He designed the altar.All of the work was from the simplest materials and mostly scrap. The tabernacle was made from wood obtained from a wrecked ship. The Altar was made from concrete. The light holders were made out of corn beef tins and the baptismal font was a car exhaust covered with concrete.Even standing up close , it’s hard to believe that the walls and ceiling are painted plaster and not ceramic tiles.The heart in the Italian Chapel is a wrought iron symbol left by the blacksmith Giuseppe Palumbi representing his love for a local woman he met while a prisoner. He was already married with a family in Italy so his love for her was doomed to remain unfulfilled. He created this heart on the chapel floor as a permanent, tangible reminder of his affection, unable to stay with her but wanting to leave a part of himself behind for her.This photo shows artist Domenico Chiochetti on the left and Signor Giuseppe Palumbi the blacksmith on the right who was responsible for the magnificent wrought iron work in the chapel.Moena is a town in Italy where Domenico was from.In August 2014 three of these were stolen and never recovered. In October 2014 the stolen plaques were replaced by the artist Domenico’s daughter.The chapel was in use for only a very short time. In May 1945, before it was completely finished, the prisoners were moved to Yorkshire for repatriation. A promise that Orcadians would cherish their chapel was given to the prisoners. Today it is a popular tourist attraction and memorial. It is a testament to human resilience, beauty and hope in a time of war.
This blog only covers part of our first full day in Orkney where there was so much to do and so much history that we will need to publish a few more blogs to encompass all that we did here over a period of five days. A two month road trip traveling through a country offers so much more than when we park ourselves in one city for 2-3 months. Orkney will be our longest stay in Scotland aside from our last week when we return and end in Edinburgh.
Kudos to two of the most intrepid travelers that I know. Love what you’re doing on the Scottish discovery tour. Yea for curiosity!!
Next time you’re on the ferry, think about all the early settlers: Picts, Celts, then the Norse beginning in the 700s. They all arrived in open sea going boats. Yikes!
Think I’ll have another cup of tea.
Thanks for showing me parts of Scotland I wasn’t able to get to when we were there!!!!! Your pictures, and the stories that accompany them, are SO detailed- I almost feel like I am there! Safe travels, my friends! xoxoxoxoxoxo Chan
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