From Gills Bay, we took the ferry to Orkney, where we spent a week between the Mainland and Westray. This was our second trip to Orkney and we spent more time meeting friends and doing some personal wandering. Also, I was still struggling with allergies (doctor is working with me on this) and really trying to not be a mess every time we were social.
We returned to some of the same places we’d been last time, which is a habit of ours. So, there’s a few more photos of those places along with some new places. Posts from our 2016 trip are here (scroll down) if you’d like to see them.
The top photo was taken somewhere near the Brough of Birsay on the northwestern side of the Orkney mainland.
I thought it would be good to share a photo of the inside of St Magnus Cathedral, since I’d only posted pictures of the outside the last time we’d visited. It’s such a beautiful, peaceful place.
Oh, to be sure we returned to Scapa to taste everything they could offer, even the in-between stages of the whisky making process.
And Highland Park too. Look at all of these barrels!
The pagoda roof of Highland Park.
Orkney Library’s famous balls. If you’ve never heard of them, take a scroll through their Twitter account.
And now, some photos from Westray. We enjoyed lovely walks along the coast.
Sunrise in Westray. I’m normally not a morning person, but my allergies were keeping me from sleep and I wandered outside at around 4:30am. There was a light drizzle and this amazing sky.
Although we’ve been to Noltland Castle before, we will probably always stop here and and wander. It was chilly day and we were the only visitors, so we had a little picnic.
This croft house was one we’d walked past on our way to hunt for groatie buckies on the beach (we found two).
Our flight to Papa Westray (Papay) was cancelled due to fog, but we parked there anyway and walked around. Two visits now and no trip to Papay! Next time, we’ll be sure to allow time to catch the boat over.
I believe these are primula scotica (Scottish primrose) and I’ve only noticed them on walks around Westray. My nose seems to like them and so do I.
I have a few more photos to share from Orkney that I’ll post sometime soon!
