Day 23 - August 3, 2022 - Orkney Isles - Kirkwall - "a day in the life"

We woke up this morning in the Orkney Islands capital of Kirkwall.  After a sweltering mid 70's day yesterday, it was mid 50's today and cloudy.  

 

After breakfast, we boarded our bus at 9:15 and traveled about 20 minutes to a local farm. 

Robbie and his wife warmly welcomed us to their farm.  It was no small operation.  Robbie said he had about 640 acres and raises primarily sheep and cattle.  They also have built two cottages which they rent out to vacationers.  In addition they host groups like ours.  Robbie was quite interesting, in his previous live he was a commentator for the BBC in the Orkneys and had a broad knowledge base.

While there his aunt, gave a demonstration of making the local baskets from straw.  

We also saw how local craft weavers produce their own wool yarn on an island spindle.  It is a small version of what I had seen before.  The reason for the size is due to the original small one room houses and the inclement weather which prevents working outside.

We had a wonderful lunch which had been prepared from local sources, after which we had a question and answer session.   We also made a half-mile walk around the farm.  

Below are a few photos taken around the area.

 

We later returned to Kirkwall and had a walk around.

We stumbled upon St. Magnus Cathedral.  St Magnus Cathedral known as the ‘Light in the North’ was founded in 1137 by the Viking, Earl Rognvald, in honor of his uncle St Magnus who was martyred here in Orkney.  The building of the Cathedral was continued over the next 300 years.

The nearby Bishop and Earl's Palace.  It has an interesting history according to Wikipedia:

The palace was built after Patrick, Earl of Orkney, decided that the accommodation provided by the Bishop's Palace was inadequate for his needs. Earl Patrick is widely acknowledged to have been one of the most tyrannical noblemen in Scotland's history. He decided to extend the complex by building a new palace on the adjoining land. This was complicated by the fact he did not actually own this property. He quickly acquired it by fabricating charges of theft against the unfortunate owner, trying him and having him executed. Upon his imprisonment at Edinburgh in 1609, his bastard son Robert began a rebellion on his behalf and seized the palace, along with nearby St Magnus's Cathedral and Kirkwall Castle. An army led by the Earl of Caithness laid siege, and the Castle was destroyed. Earl Patrick and his son were later executed for treason.

After the Earl's death, the palace continued to be the residence of the Bishops of Orkney sporadically until 1688, when it became the property of the Crown, and fell into ruin in the 18th century.

This was an interesting garden in Kirkwall, note the anchor and buoys.  Looks like they collected flotsam and jetsam. 

And we arrive back home to the M/V Corinthian.

After another excellent dinner, we had entertainment by a local family with the son (majoring in biochemistry in Glasgow) playing the fiddle, a daughter singing, the father playing the guitar and the wife telling stories and commentating.  They were quite talented. 

Tomorrow among other things, we are visiting the ancient ruins of Skara Brae.  I am looking forward to that.

Until then...