Walking back 5000 years

I guess for many people, the highlight of their trip to Orkney is a visit to Skara Brae, and so it is with us. I’ve booked the first visitor slot of the day, and we are the first to walk to the site. We are blessed with the bluest of skies and a sea that is almost Caribbean as we walk along the path, cleverly marked with key dates in ancient history - the building of the Pyramids at Giza, Stonehenge…. As the sign says, we are walking back an almost incomprehensible 5000 years to a time when this area bustled with Stone Age families living in this village. 

Despite my anticipation, my excitement, I’m surprised to find myself emotional. This is such a beautiful place in terms of both location and the sheer depth of history held within its stones, that I feel overwhelmed. Apparently, this is a quite a common response, the guide tells me, as I wipe away my tears. 

We have the whole site to ourselves for several minutes, and gaze uninterrupted into stone-walled rooms complete with bespoke stone furniture. How amazing must it have been to discover this when winds and tides tore open the earth mound Skerrabra back in 1850. 

Small wonder Neolithic Orkney is a World Heritage Site, and today we try to see as much of this as possible. Next there is the Ring of Brodgar, a vast stone circle once edged with 60 stones. Then we walk along the loch to Barnhouse Village where there are more Neolithic dwellings, close to the Standing Stones of Stenness - a smaller stone circle. The names themselves speak of another world . 

The walk itself is glorious, along the shores of two adjacent lochs, with flowers, bird life and stunning scenery. And there is more; amongst these riches lies the excavation site of the Ness of Brogdar, yet another settlement. 

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/skarabrae/

https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk

Reluctantly, we leave this magical area, and head towards to the Brough of Bissau - a little island off the north west coast accessible by causeway at low tide. We pass on walking to the lighthouse - I’ve just not got the energy, and besides the tide will soon close off the access. Instead, we simply visit the Norse and Pict remains close to the shore. 

Our final visit is to the Broch of Gurness, again idyllically situated overlooking the sea. Until last year’s visit to the Western Isles I’d never heard of brochs, but now we both love these stone built fortifications. 

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/broch-of-gurness/history/

Today’s main is inevitably Skara Brae, with extras of the Ring of Brodgar, a collage of three other sites, and one with G next to a standing stone! 

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