Orkney August 2015: Part the Sixth.

A day of unexpected surprises and pleasures. We'd heard of a couple of hardly known and hardly publicised Neolithic (what else?) cairns in the vicinity and we thought we'd take a look at them. And we were glad that we did. Then, on our way to find somewhere for our missed mid-morning coffee/tea, we came across an unusual Norse church and the ruins of a Norse earl's house. Follow that with a pleasant shoreline walk and a brief cliff walk and you've had a pretty good day.

The first of the sites we visited was the Cuween Hill Cairn built, unsurprisingly, into Cuween Hill just above Finstown. A spectacular position and it makes you wonder if Neolithic man (or woman) ever stopped and admired the view. Of course they did. The beauty of some of their artifacts shows that they had an appreciation of aesthetics.

The cairn comprises a main central chamber with four smaller chambers branching off from each wall.

The interior is dark and only lit by the light of the door. Historic Scotland very considerately provide a torch, albeit one with very low battery power remaining.

Access to the interior is by a low narrow entrance which, being less than a metre high, means a wet and muddy crawl.

I never used to believe in fairies but look at this note they left us to find at the Cuween Hill Cairn. They must exist because who else would have written such things?

After a walk of just under a mile from the associated car park, we came to the Wideford Hill Cairn, built on a level platform quarried into the hill by its builders. Originally it would have looked like a domed mound but when it was taken into state care, the conservationists removed some of the covering earth to reveal its structural walls.

Access would have been through the narrow entrance you can see in the photo above but nowadays it's through the roof.

And once in the central chamber, you can make out the three smaller side chambers. As always with these structures, the stone masonry is spot on. And, as I've mentioned before, all of this was done without any metal tools whatsoever.

The remains of the tenth century Norse church at Orphir - only one of two such circular churches on Orkney.

Near the church was a Visitors' Centre with, amongst other things, a very interesting 'family tree' of the Norse earls and kings. We were amazed to see that they'd been able to get
 photographs of some of them. Click to enlarge and see if you can recognise any of them.

Whenever I come across the name in a remote place, this time the churchyard next to the Norse church, of someone killed in WW1, I'm always intrigued to find out a little more about them. In a small way, I like to think that I'm remembering them. Here's what the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records have to say about William Victor. "William Victor Linklater Sclater Pte S/12854 7th Seaforth Highlanders born Kebro, Orkney enlisted Kirkwall Age 21 Killed in Action France & Flanders 12-Oct-16 Son of James Sinclair Sclater and Jessie (nee Linklater) Sclater, of Kebro, Orphir, Kirkwall, Orkney. Memorial: Kebro. Thiepval Memorial M. R. 21 Pier 15C" And the action in which he was killed? A quick search pulled up a document which contains the following information:

"7th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (in 9th Division) attacked the Butte de Warlencourt, in the northern part of the Somme battlefield, on Thursday, 12^th October 1916.  It was one of Orkney’s saddest days of the war, because at least fourteen Orcadians died as a result of 7th Seaforths’ failed attempt that day to capture the Butte, while two more died, in a South African and another Scottish battalion.  That Orcadian death toll was approached on a couple of other days, but then casualties were spread across many units.  The failed attack on the Butte de Warlencourt on 12^th October 1916 was, in Orcadian fatal casualties, the most costly battalion action of the Great War.....The names of seven Orcadians, Seaforth Highlanders Private James Learmonth, Private George Gray, Private William Sclater, Private James Simison, Private William Sinclair, Private William Sutherland and Lance-Corporal Thomas Twatt, whose bodies were not found or identified, are inscribed on Panel 15C of the Thiepval Memorial".

From the shoreline at Stromness looking out into one of the seaward entrances of Scapa Flow. This boat was having a hard time ploughing into the wind.

The pebble on the top was mine - placed extremely carefully. On the beach near Yesnaby Cliffs.

A sunset at the end of the day, of course.