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Now in for the serious stuff!! ;-))This is what I loved to see. This large stone, reproduced in a presumptuous artistic view, is a huge menhir belonging to the so called "Standing Stones of Stenness" place.This place belongs to an area that is actually amazing. Within one mile, three remarkable archaeological sites can be visited and the only drawback of all this is that a HUGE amount of people actually does it every day.
The picture is among my favourite because to reminds me some picture I saw on the internet about egypt archeological sites.Not like Skara Brae, it is quite hard to recognise, outside the main building, how should have been the organization of the other huts because really a few standing low walls remain today.Close to the broch there is the so called Shamrock House, a small hut similar to the Skara Brae ones, that has four "bedrooms" in the corners so that it all appears as a Shamrock. It is believed it was the home of a Pictish family in the first centuries after Christ, when the broch itself had been abandoned already.
I decided to publish this picture to give an idea on how well the Brock of Gurness has been positioned to dominate the Eynhallow Sound.The island in the distance (thanks for the sun that was shining so brightly that day) is the Isle of Rousay, that hosts the other more relevant brock of a series of eleven whose remnants have been found in the area.
After having reached the north end of all our journey we started the slow way down.The route brought us southbound along the eastern coastline of the Mainland, close to a sea strait called Eynhallow Sound.The reason for that diversion was that there was a remarkable ruin called the Brock of Gurness along the coastline.Dating back to the last centuries before Christ, brocks were fortified citadels guarding the strait
The Broch of Gurness was built as a planned settlement some time before 200BC. A circular area of nearly 50m in diameter was mapped out. Ditches were dug around the outer edges of the circle and ramparts were built with the spoil. The plan seems not to have been completed immediately, but within a fairly short time a broch was built, off centre within the inner ring of ditches defending the site. These type of constructions were built to defend the strait, an important commercial route
Aside othe Earl's Palace, and partly shadowed by it, lies the small St. Magnus Church. It is interesting, instead, as it dates back to the year 1064. This makes of the church one among the oldest building in all the Orkney Archpalego.The church is dedicated to an old Earl of the Orkney, whose name was Magnus actually, that was named saint after his death.
Just north of the Birsay village there is a promontory that is reachable along a narrow pathway during low tides. There are there ruins of an ancient, norwegian, viking settlement. It was too windy to go there and so we preferred to stay on the mainland to enjoy the sight of the highest cliffs in Mainland, at Marwick Head.The picture shows the cliffs, and it is a zoomed picture- I tell you so that you may appreciate the distance and the size.
Now a few remains still stand. A large green grassy courtyard surrounded by a ring of rooms having different usages at the ground level.Entrance to the Palace is free and so no guides, paper or humans are available. Signs tell the story of the existence in the past of large dining and living rooms at the upper floors, where the Earl and his followers lead the country with iron fist, until their, deserved, it seems, fall into disgrace.
A short tour of the Palace, of what remains today, shows that in its brief heyday this would have comprised a large group of buildings set around a courtyard. The ranges rose to two storeys, and the corner towers to three. A north range was added in the 1580s complete with a Great Hall at first floor level. A palace of a wanna-be king, actually.
Just a few miles north of Skara Brae, at the village of Birsay, there are the ruins of the Earl's Palace.The palace was built by Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney, the illegitimate half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots. He oppressed the Orcadians, it is written it was a real bastard, and was finally imprisoned in 1609. A few parts remain of the original building, but the appearance is that it must have been really impressive when functional.
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Reviews and photos of Orkney attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Orkney sightseeing.
Q: I'm just beginning to plan a trip to Scotland and have decided on visiting Orkney. We will be there end of May beginning of June...
A: If you have a car then it will be extremely easy to travel around the islands...Mainland is linked by the Churchill barriers to Lamb Holm, Burray and South Ronaldsey....
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