A Magical Few Small Rocks in the Middle of Nowhere
Written: May 05 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Isolation, beauty, off the beaten track, unique culture, strong connections to the past
Cons: Takes some doing to get there
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| TFarmer's Full Review: Orkney Islands |
Getting to the Orkneys is no quick jump on the Metroliner. Just look at a map. From London you've got to get up to Glasgow or Edinburgh. Then to Inverness, Scotland's northernmost principal city. But keep going north: from there it's a long, winding drive through the Highlands to Scrabster or John O'Groats, on Scotland's windswept, barren northern coast. Then settle in and wait for the ferry...
... but, oh, it's worth it.
The Orkneys are halfway to Scandinavia -- again, look at the map -- and feel that way. The narrow flagstoned streets and thick-walled, small-windowed buildings of Stromness feel positively Norwegian. The soft, clear northern light infuses everything. Outside Kirkwall and Stromness rolling green meadows and farmland take your breath away. The countryside is dotted with astonishing stone remnants of earlier quasi-Norse cultures. The Ring of Brodgar, for example, while not very well known, outdoes Stonehenge for me in terms of enigmatic, mystic energy. And for a few pence you can wander through Skara Brae, the half-excavated remains of a thriving village thousands of years old, and imagine how life there must have felt.
Naval enthusiasts will be interested in the submerged wreck of the HMS Royal Oak, sunk in the harbor outside Kirkwall at the close of WWI and still bleeding oil to this day -- there's a visible, iridescent slick. Parts of the lost warship appear in the stained-glass windows of Kirkwall's cathedral. Military historians will also care to visit a stunning chapel crafted out of an ordinary Quonset hut on the outskirts of Stromness -- the handiwork of Italian POWs imprisoned on the Orkneys during WW2.
The Orkneys feel like noplace else on earth. Splendid isolation; clear unspoilt panoramas; the resonance of hundreds of generations of past, barely understood history; and above all the calm grandeur of the place. When I remember the Orkneys I remember the sun, the green, and the constant, muffled wind in my ears... it was wonderful.
There is occasional, spotty air service to Kirkwall and some of the outer islands, but the ferry is really the way to go; the auto ferry runs from Scrabster and there's a passenger-only service in the spring and summer from John O'Groats. Go in the spring and summer when the light lasts. We were there in early June, near the equinox, and it never really got dark at night... the sky just turned a deeper, darker blue for a few hours... another wonderful memory.
There are no grand hotels that I saw, but friendly serviceable pubs and people who are pleased to have you there.
It's no day trip, but it's the trip of a lifetime. Try to make the time.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
TFarmer
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Member: Tom Farmer
Location: Edmonds, WA
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 10 members
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