Rackwick

Packed up the bikes and headed for Hoy.

Rackwick is a huge horseshoe bay on the western coast. Surrounded by high cliffs and backed by the highest hills in Orkney (by a long way). A much more Scottish highland landscape with heather moorland and brooding mountain sides, but not quite. There's something not like anywhere else about Rackwick.

As well as the enormous cliffs and sweeping beaches there are the most enormous pebbles. These have to be seen to be believed, pebble shaped... smoothed to soft curves by the wild Atlantic waves that crash these shores... but huge.

I did take lots of pics showing these pebbles but none really gave an impression of the true size. I should have placed a child on top of one so that you got a sense of scale... but as you can see he was otherwise occupied.

An overcast morning gave way to a perfect summer afternoon and evening. Sandcastles were built, the hardy spent a few hours in the sea and dinner was cooked on the shore in the lee of a dry stane dyke windbreak.

Rackwick has to be No 12 in my Must See in Orkney series. To see the first 11 go back to here and follow the trail.

However if you do make it to Hoy, remember there is always a devil in paradise. In Rackwick's case it is the dreaded midge! I'm one of the lucky one's to whom that they are minor irritation but our friend proved to be a four star meal to the wee horrors.