The Orkney Islands via John O'Groats

amy doyle

26 Jun 2024 — 4 min read

Wonder. Awe. Reverence.

Our trip to the Orkneys had a lot packed into a few days, much of which we're still processing. There were many moving parts and quick connections, but we were on a budget and knew there were some once-in-a-lifetime things that we wanted to see and experience. I want to shout out here "we did it!", but we were met with wonder that was more inspiring and powerful, and bigger than any sense of accomplishment we may have had. If that makes any sense. This trip, for me, was almost a calling, and any small pains were pale in comparison to what we experienced. But, that being said, here was our itinerary:

Tuesday: leave Waverly station at 6:00 am

Change trains in Perth (2 minutes)

Change trains in Inverness (12 mins)

Bus from Thurso to John O'Groats

Arrive John O'Groats 4:30 pm.

Stay 2 nights @ Seaview Inn

Hike to Lighthouse and Seastacks

Thursday: morning bus to Gills Bay ferry

Ferry across Pentland firth to St. Margaret's in Orkney

Bus from St. Margaret's to Kirkwall

Spend Thursday night at Kirkwall Hotel

Friday: Tour picks us up at Hotel at 10:15 am

Tour the coast, Unstan Chambered Cairn, Skara Brae, Ring of Brodgar, Stones of Stenness, Churchill Barriers Tour returns us to Information Center at 4:00. Hike to the Scapa Flow. Dinner at Helgi's, bus to get on to 10:45 pm overnight ferry to Aberdeen.

Saturday: Arrive in Aberdeen at 7:00 am. Train from Aberdeen to Edinburgh Haymarket. Arrive home 2:30 pm. SLEEP!

And here is some of what we saw and experienced:

*Craig standing on the northern most point of the mainland UK at Duncansby Head*

Pentland Firth between mainland Scotland and Orkney Islands

*When I saw this, it dawned on me that I was 1000m closer to the North Pole, then I was to home.*

Neolithic Orkney UNESCO World Heritage Site

We start our tour at the Unstan Chambered Cairn. Carbon dating places this site at 5,300 years old. The tomb is covered, but has a planned entry way to visit the dead.

Our next stop is Skara Brae. This Neolithic civilization of 60-100 people lived (presumably) cooperatively as farmers and fishers. There were many shards of pottery (many decorated!!) that were discovered when the site was excavated, and our guide shows us what was believed to be the firing kiln for the pottery (can't wait to tell Barb!).

This is a 5,000 year old civilization (3100-2900 BC); older than Stonehenge by more than a thousand years, older than the Pyramids. I look out to the Atlantic Ocean and try to get a sense of time and my place in it. Our guide expertly answers so many of our questions, but most of the answers to our questions are "it's unknown".

Our wonder is amped up. Not far from Skara Brae...

Standing as witness to centuries, a remaining 20 of 60 stones. They are here, but not among us. The lack of quiet (God's voice?) and awe that I failed to experience at Westminster Abbey (https://amys-blog-dont-even-get-me-started.ghost.io/ghost/#/editor/post/665604bd2e2dfe000118d634) and (https://amys-blog-dont-even-get-me-started.ghost.io/ghost/#/editor/post/66695a279c5a990001c24923) I feel that awe, wonder and reverence here with these stones. They effect me. I can't voice how, or why, I just know that I am moved.

We can touch the stones. They are solid, they aren't going anywhere. They will certainly outlive me and probably so much more.

At the Stenness Stones there has been a hearth uncovered in the center of the ring.

It seems Skara Brae was much more than a civilization just getting by, day to day, farming, fishing, surviving. Whether the stones are an astrological time piece, an agricultural calendar, a place of community celebration, or something more, is not known. We are there the day after the Solstice, but the shadows that are casts by the cloudy skies of Orkney do not give us any more of a clue than if we came at any other time. What do I take from this for my own life? For now, the gift of time is still allowing me to keep sorting that out.