Orkney August 2015: Part the Second

A day on Orkney without any Neolithic or Iron Age monuments visited? How can this be? Because we took the ferry to Shapinsay and had a walk around part of the island in rather glorious weather. It's the closest island to Kirkwall and only takes 30 minutes to get there. And what's more, those of a 'certain age' get a 50% discount on the fare. At just over £2 each for the return trip, it was almost worth being of a 'certain age'.

Sunday morning colour in Kirkwall harbour.

Approaching the harbour at the only village on Shapinsay, Balfour. The tower to the left is the Dishan Tower and was originally built as a dovecot (doocot) for the nearby Balfour Castle in the late 1600s. It was converted into a sea water shower in the mid 1800s but is no longer used as such. It's known locally as the Douche.

A quartet of flying Oystercatchers.

Just one of the four shown only to prove that I can get things in focus sometimes.

The beaches on Shapinsay were relatively free of litter but every now and again we'd come across some impressive flotsam. Did this come from some ship that had ran aground on nearby rocks or, perhaps, been sunk during one of the wars?

Our walk was just over 5 miles and for most of the way around we had this sort of view on our left hand side. The Mainland island is to the left and, to the right, is Roussay, partially obscured in the foreground by the much smaller Eday.

Another flying bird, this one is a Fulmar.

Shapinsay is an extremely fertile and well cultivated island, with some very healthy looking cattle and sheep in the fields. This bull is one of the best I've seen in a long while and is worth a lot (and I mean a lot) of money.

Oooh, look: some flying birds. Greylag Geese were seen aplenty from the hide at the Mill Dam RSPB Reserve.

Oi, who are you staring at? Geroffa my land.

A bumble bee but not any old bumble bee. This is the very rare Great Yellow Bumble Bee which, in the UK, is only found in Northern Scotland and some of the isles.

Judging by the flowers in evidence, Shapinsay has quite a mild climate. Lots of this type of Sedum on various walls.

And another spectacular sunset at the end of the day. Although it's not that clear, the shaft of light to the left is illuminating the Stones of Stenness that we visited last night.