ISLAND HOPPING - Day Two
After no islands on day one, day two proved rather different. Up early and made my way to Gills Bay about 6 miles west of John O'Groats. Caught the ferry, MV Pentalina, a very modern looking catamaran over to the Orkneys. We landed at St. Margarets Hope, on South Ronaldsway, my first island this trip. I headed north up towards Kirkwall and had soon been to several more islands. First was Burray, then Glimps Holm, Lamb Holm and then Mainland, the large centre of the Orkney Islands. These islands are now linked together by the Churchill Barriers, these are causeways built under the orders of the First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill. This was in response to the sinking of the Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak, resulting in the loss of 833 lives, while she was at anchor in the natural harbour of the Scapa Flow. A German U-boat had managed to get between Mainland and Lamb Holm at high tide, the barriers were intended to prevent a repeat of this terrible tragedy.
As you approach Kirkwall from the south the road climbs and as you reach the top you can suddenly see Kirkwall laid out before you. Today there was something else to view. Kirkwall has become a very popular destination for the cruise ships and there was one visiting today. The population of Kirkwall is about 7,000, todays cruise liner, the MSC Spendida, can carry 3,300 passengers, almost a mobile town.
I turned off on the outskirts of town and headed over to the west and Stromness. From here I caught another ferry, just a small passenger one, and went across to the island of Graemsay. I disembarked, and set off walking around the island. It was a lovely day, and the island looked very green and pleasant, the large mountains on nearby Hoy providing a very nice backdrop. There are two light houses on the island, some nice beaches and it was a very pleasant day. I arrived back just in time to catch the last ferry of the day, which took me over to Hoy. I had two hours on Hoy, before the last ferry back to Stromness, so I had a wander around and then nipped into the great cafe there and had coffee and scones with amazingly delicious Rhubarb jam.
Once back into Stromness it was time to go and unpack at my B&B in Kirkwall.
Islands Visited; Seven
Total Visited; Seven
Ferries Used; Four
Total Used; Four
Ports Used; Five
Total Different; Five
If you wish to see the rest of todays shots just click on the link below..........
http://365project.org/markp/Alternatively/23-06-2015
