St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney

Late golden evening light on this sacred, ancient place. It was founded in 1137 by the Viking, Earl Rognvald, in honour of his uncle St Magnus. It is known as the "Light in the North", being the most northerly cathedral in the British Isles. I was also taken with the beautiful First World War Memorial in the foreground.

We left our excellent accommodation near Dunnet Head, and called in at St John's Pool. A new bird hide, and lots to see. Then the rain started to pour. We took the ferry from Scrabster to Stromness, hoping for a good shot of the Old Man of Hoy as we sailed by. We hardly saw it, due to torrential rain and thick mist. Arriving in Stromness, it was as if a power shower has been switched on from on high.

Thankfully after reaching our accommodation and settling in, the skies began to brighten up, and a welcome sight this evening of the solid blue sky.

Surrounded by such historic and scenic beauty, it was the internal wooden structural supports in the Tesco store in Kirkwall which caught CJs attention. I even noted he was checking all the smooth wood outside. We wonder if this feature is a local planning requirement - we have ways of finding this out.