leaving Orkney tomorrow

We have been in Orkney for 9 days.  Most of the time with Caroline (Tom's sister), David and James doing nothing much, and we reckon that was on the agenda.  But we did take off for a tour of Mainland, as the main island is called, over two days.

Before this, got Tom's back wheel sorted and bought two more cycle computers, to record distance, as the two we had were teetering.  Noted we had done a bit over 4000km (2500 miles) to date.  My new one worked perfectly and Katherine's did not, but they are both OK now.

We went up to Birsay at the North end of Mainland.  We stopped at a B&B for the night in a place called Costa on the way there.  In spite of the name Costa we drank tea not coffee there. The B&B room was very nice and reasonably priced and they  also did us an evening meal. Judging by their accents, they were from Yorkshire, which probably explains why we had tea to drink with the evening meal and breakfast. No offer of coffee.  We stopped on the way to see a broch and other ancient stoneworks.  In Birsay, one had to cross to an island at low tide only, to see remains of a Pictish and later Norse settlement.  We also visited two farm museums, restored old farms which were quite atmospheric, and both had enthusiastic curators to tell you all about them.  There was also a working water mill where they do bere flour, oats, etc.  Bere is a very ancient form of barley that was grown here in neolithic times and looks an interesting grain for friends who have gluten problems, though the miller said spelt is similar in this respect.  The miller was also something of a showman so we had a good performance, including starting the water wheel turning.

After Birsay, we went to Skara Brae, which is a 5000-old village that a storm revealed in about 1850 - older than stonehenge and older than the pyramids.  It had its interests and is impressive, but they do not really know much about the inhabitants and why it did not last.  The houses included the stone frame for beds, cubby holes in the walls for storage and stone shelving. They said the same shelving was in all the houses, though we could only see it in one of them. Then to two stone circles, Brodgar and Stennes.  The later is more or less the same period as Skara Brae, but again very little known about "who and why".  Could not get on a party to see Maes Howe, a neolithic tomb, have to come back to Orkney! 

Tomorrow to the bottom of the Orkneys, then a ferry to John O'Groats.  We hope to see the Italian chapel by Scapa Flow, and another neolithic tomb called Tomb of the Eagles.  Once in Scotland (yes, Orkney is part of Scotland, though they sometimes suggest it is really a separate country), it seems to be the last leg, although a pretty long one and a few mountains in the way.