Excitement and drama

We were up early and off to the ferry terminal, great! No not great we had a flat tyre!

Stopped at the side of the road to change it and I went to tell the check in man. He sent two great guys from the ferry terminal who soon had us up and running and on board. That was the drama.
The excitement was the ferry itself, I’m always excited when I see the ferry and have the prospect boarding. Extra.

We had breakfast on board and then went out on deck, not too cold or windy, to look out for the Old Man of Hoy. Not that easy at first as it blended in with cliffs of Hoy behind it but gradually we could see it standing clear. Extra collage

On deck again to see us coming into the lovely little town and port of Stromness docking at 10.15. Extra collage.

By 11.30 we were sitting on the harbour having a coffee having had the tyre replaced! 
I’d forgotten how nice Stromness is.
We strolled along the Main Street and went in to the Pier Arts Centre. We’ve been here before but it has an extra floor now devoted to the St Ives group of artists including Barbara Hepworth and her second husband Ben Nicholson, the art work has been donated by a friend of hers. What a treat for Stromness! Some lovely textiles on show and for sale at a price, I had just bought a tyre!

We had tickets booked to visit Maeshowe part of the World Heritage site known as The Heart of Neolithic Orkney. As you can see it’s a bit of a struggle to get in and out.
We visited Scara Brae, Ring of Brogdar and the  Stones of Stenness on our last visit some years ago but missed going into this 5000 year old cairn. Often described as a tomb no one is really sure that it was. Some bones were found but not whole bodies and the Victorians squirrelled those away and lost them. 
The tunnel you have to use to enter is aligned with another stone, the Barnhouse Stone nearby, and the sun rising over the hills of Hoy on the winter solstice lights up the tunnel and the wall at the back of the cairn. Obviously linked to all the other fascinating creations from that era here. The guide was really good and explained  that that wasn’t all the story. The cairn was inhabited during the 12th century by Norsemen (Vikings), some from Christian crusades who left behind a carved cross and lots of runic graffiti including a carved dragon.

It has been a dry day with high cloud with the sun just braking through as we sat outside the Ferry Inn on the harbour for a drink. We are staying here tonight. A lovely evening now, I’d forgotten how delightful and fascinating Orkney is. More tomorrow.