Orkney Islands

We both enjoyed our excursions around the Orkney main island. I visited Skara Brae which is the remains of a Neolithic village (about 3000 BC). It was discovered in 1850 when a fierce storm exposed parts of the stone buildings. My tour also went to the Ring of Brodgar which consists of standing stones set in a circle 104 metres in diameter - coincidentally it was the summer solstice. One of the remaining stones was split by lightning so one theory is that this is how some of the other stones were destroyed.

Anita visited the town of Stromness and was very impressed by the tour guide who provided interesting stories about the history of the Orkneys. During both wars the bulk of the British naval fleet was moored in Scapa Flow, a protected body of water surrounded by six of the islands. At the end of WW1 there were 70 captured German ships in Scapa Flow. Before the armistice was signed a German admiral gave the order to scuttle all ships and many were sunk. Those ships remained in Scapa Flow until WW2 when the British refloated them to use the steel.

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