Stromness and Mainland Orkney

The  Orkney Islands (never called Orkneys by natives) are a collection of islands about 30 miles off the northern coast of Scotland. It may seem nearby but Orkney is separated from Scotland culturally as well as by a really hairy body of water. Currents in The Pentland Firth can run up to 16 knots - among the strongest in the world. Ships have to check in before passing through and yachts like us have to pick the timing to cross carefully. Huge tide rips can overwhelm a boat and the chart is littered with wreck symbols. The land is fertile so the islands are a lovely green color, dotted with strong, glossy cattle, an abrupt change from the rugged heather moorland of northern Scotland. Orkney uses different names for landscape features than Scotland and even has its own flag. The key difference is that Orkney has long been famous for its sailors. The English navy would come up here and press men into service. Whalers recruited them. 70 percent of the Hudson Bay Company was made up of men from Orkney. There is Orkney blood in North American Cree DNA. The town of Stromness reflects this seafaring heritage. All the prosperous stone houses that line the harbor have boathouses and ramps leading down to the water. There are artifacts from around the world in the town museum. Although fishing ( herring was a big money maker) is no longer as important, Stromness is the port for the ferry, the lifeboat and many scuba operations that explore the wrecks from WWI and WWII. More on that later.

Imaginative gardens were everywhere 

Narrow alleyways, widened in places so people could pass.

Beautiful stonework in the houses, gardens and streets

The Royal Lifeboat Service

The collection of islands that make up Orkney

There were plaques on several houses telling tales of adventure 

Some artifacts from the Hudson Bay Company

There was a big connection with Newfoundland and Labrador.

The town. There was a well where many ships got their last water before heading out. The Terror and The Erebus, ships from the ill -fated Franklin expedition stopped here.i

If you look back at the Google Map, notice the large body of water in the middle. This is called Scappa Flow. The British Armed Forces have long used this for military purposes because of its strategic location near Russia and Germany. During WWI Germany surrendered and 74 warships were interred, awaiting the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The German Admiral, afraid they would be taken, gave the secret order to scuttle the ships before the English could get their hands on them. Over 50 sank. Despite later efforts to raise them, many lie beneath the waters. 

Then, during WWII Scappa Flow was used as the northern base of the British Navy. One night, a German Uboat snuck in over the barriers at high tide (legend is that the captain, Gunther Prien, waved at a man riding his bike along the waterfront) and sunk The Royal Oak. Out of  over 1,200 men, only 400 survived. It remains a war grave to this day so nobody can dive on it.

Nico and I took a ferry to the island of Hoy. The Scappa Flow Museum was housed in the old pump room of the base. There used to be a whole military town here  but now it is abandoned buildings and sheep.

One ship, the Vanguard, just blew up one day while on its mooring.

The cemetery had graves from both wars.

This is the Catholic side of the cemetery. One lone German was buried by himself. It looked so lonely.

Other religions got placed away from the rest in an isolated corner.

Some had interesting stories to tell.

Stromness is on the largest island of the Orkney group. Despite being an island they call it The Mainland. Ferries travel back and forth all the time and there is even the world’s shortest plane flight between Westray and its neighbor, Papa Westray. Travel by small boat isn’t as easy because there are fierce currents between the islands.

We got to this entrance a bit too soon, before the tide went in our favor. We visited several islands, Westray, Sanday and Stronsay.

We visited a derelict castle on Westray. We could wander all over on our own. This was the former kitchen.

The enclosed latrine next to the second floor bedroom.

It was a little creepy.

The water color made it look like we were anchored in the Bahamas.

They had another cute little Neolithic carving in their museum.

Hard to believe this is five thousand years old!

Eleven Sperm whales washed up one day many years ago.

This is an example of the little shelters they make along the beach to protect their boats in the winter.

The roofs are made up of large stones that don’t overlap like slate roofs.

I visited their community garden that had lots of strawberries along with usual cold weather varieties. Tomatoes and squash are in hoop houses.

Sanday lived up to its name with a beautiful sandy beach. 

We walked to a burial mound nearby. One could just enter and crawl around the chambers below.

It helped to have a flashlight on the phone.

We then walked a couple of kilometers to the town of Lady and toured a restored a crofter’s cottage.

Next stop: Fair Isle!