We had a very busy, outdoorsy weekend here in Orkney. On Friday, Jenny took us girls out and we went to the Ring of Brodgar (like Stonehenge, but free and you get to touch the stones!). We had a nice walk around the area and I got to take a bunch of artsy pictures!
Neolithic Burial mound
Island of Hoy in the distance
Many stones were destroyed and no long remain in the circle.
Neolithic writing on the stones
View from where we took off
Me, lifevest on and ready to go!
Wide open sea
Hiking up to the Gairsay hill
View of the mainland from the top
Walking back down
Balfour Castle
Old Cannons
Ferry making waves made for a bumpy ride there
Going to see the puffins!!!!!!
"Puffin Bay" as I call it
Puffins!!!! They are pretty tiny--Swan Princess gave me false information
You could get so close to them! They are very used to people
Puffin!
:)
Now Noltland Castle where we stopped for lunch
This castle wasn't finished because the king feld after being accusted of murder!!
Inside the dining hall
Gotta see the lighthouse!
So pretty
The picture doesn't show it well, but these were giant cliffs and you couldn't get too close to the edge because you didn't know how much you would have underneath to support yourself
Standing on the coast of the North Sea
Gotta get a jumping picture in!
Favorite lighthouse picture!
Now onto the beach!
Beautiful crashing waves
I'm so pale that it looks like I jumped
Well, I should have jumped, the water came up a lot higher than I thought and surprised me
Such pretty sand and beach
We also traveled around the Mainland and saw the Brough of Birsay
Saturday, we had pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast and then went sailing to the neighboring islands on Steve's sailboat. I have never been sailing before and it was an interesting experience--I even got to stear and everything! We went to the island of Gairsay where only one family lives. They are good friends with Steve and Jenny and we had a delightful lunch with them complete with delicious home-made bread, jam, and scones! We then hiked up the giant hill in the middle of the island. After that, we sailed over to Shapensay where there is the beautiful Balfour Castle that was redone and you could book different events at. Then we sailed back to the Mainland and stood in the rain to watch the local Bagpipe Band play. They were wonderful and it was very cool to watch.
Our sailboat
Scottish Bagpipe Band marching through the rainy streets of Kirkwall
Sunday, all six of us girls who are staying here went on the ferry to the island of Westray to roam around the area and see Puffins! I was amazed at how small they were (Swan Princess gave me false expectations!). We were able to get very close to them as well. Our Head Teacher at the school and also host mom to one of the girls went along with us and she was nice enough to drive us around the island and show us all of the sites. We had lunch on the grounds of an old castle and got to roam around the area as well. We went to the coast line by the lighthouse and got to stand on the cliffs overlooking the North Sea (practically the Atlantic Ocean). We joked that we could see America and Canada from there! We also went down to the beach area and searched for shells and seals! It was a great day that finished with ice cream and fudge! We then went back to Kirkwall and watched a classical orchestra that Jenny was apart of.
I'm so pale that it looks like I jumped
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