Ness Meadow

After our late arrival in Stromness last night, we had a leisurely start to the day with a walk through the narrow paved streets, very similar to Lerwick unsurprisingly.  It was all very quiet first thing.  Eating on the island is not easy as many businesses have been hit by the lack of staff and those which are open are busy.  We were just beginning to think that Stromness had no open cafes when I found one on the harbour so we paused for a cuppa before returning to our hotel to plan the remainder of the day.

The plan was a local walk out along the Ness which afforded great views, albeit gloomy, across to Hoy and its hills and dramatic cliffs at St John's Head.  In addition to the exercise, this walk had an information board trail detailing the military emplacements built following the sinking of HMS Royal Oak by a German U Boat in 1939, in the natural harbour that is Scapa Flow.  835 lives were lost.  As this was the main base for the British Home Fleet, it soon became one of the most heavily defended parts of the country and the ruins of buildings and gun emplacements remain.

We spotted a number of different birds along the quiet shore, some feeding amongst the large piles of seaweed.  There were several cormorants including juveniles on the shelves of rock jutting out in to the bay; oystercatchers wheeling and calling overhead, chasing gulls away from their nests; a whole flock of Canada geese feasting in a field; rooks poking around in the kelp for juicy morsels and three families of female eider ducks and their young in a quiet natural bay.

One surprising discovery on the walk for local to home blippers was that Sir Titus Salt made a grant to the RNLI which enabled Stromness to build their first lifeboat and station.   Their first lifeboat was called 'Saltaire'!

Further along we paused to look around the vast cemetery which had many elaborate memorials and gravestones telling tragic tales of men lost at sea, whole families of children who died whilst young.  Cemeteries in Shetland and Orkney are often close to the sea.  I believe there was an explanation for this in one of the Perez thrillers (!) but I cannot locate it.  Answer anyone?

We turned at the disappointing beach and retraced our steps, watching the arrival of MV Hamnavoe, passing by Hoy then relaxed for a couple of hours before heading out to eat at the Ferry Inn, which I have booked ahead for four nights as eating places are scarce!  Thankfully, there was choice on the menu and the crab and paprika tart was light and delicious.

My blip was taken of a field bordering our walk.  The drifts of thrift in amongst the daisies and buttercups was really pretty.  Looks better on black.

Tomorrow we are booked to tour Skara Brae which we are very much looking forward to.  I guess it is too much to hope that Neil Oliver will be waiting on a mound with his hair blowing dramatically in the wind, ready to be our guide??

Shetland and Orkney pics here!