June 6 Orkney Day 2

Looks like a rainy day ahead but we stuck to the plan!  First we drove to Kirkwall, the largest town in Orkney and visited St. Magnus Cathedral, a magnificent landmark. This is the most northerly Cathedral in the British Isles and a gorgeous example of Romanesque architecture.  It was built for the Bishops of Orkney when the Islands were ruled by the Norse Earls. Construction started in 1137 and it was added to over the next 300 years.  Beautiful! 

 We toured toward the Stenness Stones, The Ring of Brodgar and Maeshowe stopping at viking ruins and an old cemetery along the way.  

The Standing Stones of Stenness are one of the oldest on Orkney, in the British Isles in fact.  They are strangely shaped and mysterious.  The megaliths are so tall they can be seen for miles.  Stenness is a henge, meaning it was surrounded by a circular earth bank and ditch at one time.  

It was a rainy day but it added to the mystery of the neolithic sites we were visiting.  

 From the Stenness Ring we went to the Ring of Brodgar not far away.  This is a huge ring more intact than the Stenness stones.  It is hard to imagine how or why these rings were built.  Stones have been dated but from what I have read not all the stones were necessarily placed at the same time or by the same people.  They were surrounded by banks and access could be controlled.  Speculation is that there was a huge hearth.  36 of the original 60 stones are still standing making it one of the most well-preserved prehistoric monuments in the British Isles. 

I am always trying to feel something magical in these stones... but so far nothing.  I guess that is a relief really! Trying to imagine what these are all about is entertaining to say the least.  Reading about it is interesting too and not all scholars agree on everything of course.  Much speculation.  

Now on to Maeshowe, the finest chambered tomb in northwest Europe.Behind the soaking wet cows in the picture below you can see the mound.  It was quite a walk in driving rain to get there but we did get to go inside (no pictures allowed) and that was a remarkable experience.  It is a stone chamber with slabs weighing tons.  To think it is intact after 5000 years!  The ditch is quite obvious here.  The chamber inside is a corbelled vault most of whose slabs span the width of the walls.  

These lovely brown sheep were keeping the grass in the ditch trimmed.  

We got soaked walking to the tomb but the cows were curious about us.  

The neolithic sites seem connected...I don't know how they couldn't be, especially when you see an aerial view.  I love imagining the people that lived at the time and how and why they created what they did.  Of course we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg.  I am sure there is much more not unearthed.  

After warming up at beautiful Ashleigh we got ready for an evening with Alton, his father,  sister and brother.  Alton treated us to dinner at Smithfield's, this time in the dining room.  It was wonderful getting to know these Orcadians though when they talked among themselves we sometimes had to strain to understand them.  Alton and his family are lovely and hospitable and left me with amazing memories of Orkney.  I would love to go there again, even if it is only in books.  I have some history to read! 

Below is a passage from Wikipedia about Orkney that may help to put it into historical perspective.  

 The name "Orkney" dates back to the 1st century BC or earlier, and the islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years. Originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts, Orkney was invaded and forcibly annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse. It was subsequently annexed to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James III's bride, Margaret of Denmark.^[8] Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.