And further North
The Orkneys
August 30th to September 1st
With a few days to spare, a trip to the Orkneys beckoned, so we caught the ferry from Gills Bay, much cheaper than from Jo'G. It's a very basic and functional service with bacon butties and tea on board as the wind, rain and choppy sea threw the boat up, down, sideways...
Docked at St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay to a gale and lashing rain.
Three days were spent on the Orkneys being buffeted by the gale-force winds and crossing open barren treeless areas dotted with isolated homesteads. Took two hours to cycle 7 miles at one point, against the wind! Hard to stay upright.
Highlights were the wind, riding round Scapa Flow, tea in a church at Finstown, more wind, an Orkney Chinese restaurant, gales, a marching pipe band in Kirkwall, the wind, and sampling at the Highland Park Distillery. Oh, and did I mention the wind? Or the rain?
The Orkneys made a great wind-down to the End to End and are worth a return visit, but all too soon it had to be back to the mainland for a ride down the Scottish coast to Wick and the Scotrail Sleeper home.
We'll be back one day. | |
