Sat, May 6
The day begins raw and grey and there are white caps out on Hamnavoe harbor and although the forecast promises us temperatures in the upper 50s by noon, we have the heat on. I sketch a harborside scene while drinking a couple mugs of very good coffee (the only thing Rosemary has failed to provide us with is a frother, a recently acquired indulgence of mine!)
Mid morning we head up to Birsay. Here is the island as seen from Mainland Orkney, just across the Birsay Bay.
Having checked the tidal schedule we know low tide is at 12:40 so we plan to arrive there about 11:30. By then the water will be low enough for us to cross the causeway over to the island. In Birsay we stop for coffee and hot chocolate in the little store there and check out some of the local crafts the owner carries.. We then wander around the ruins of the Earl’s Palace built in the 1570s by Robert Stewart, a thoroughly unpleasant and imperious earl of Orkney and half-brother of Mary Queen of Scots.
https://www.orkneyjar.com/history/earlspalace.htm
It must once have been quite an impressive Renaissance palace–and given his propensity for violence–fortress.
From 2014, the causeway still under some water and the eddy that forms as the tide runs out
Jill standing on the Point o’ Buckquoy before walking over to the Brough o’ Birsay
And then a minor miracle–the sun appears, the wind calms and we all immediately feel restored. The causeway is totally open and we walk across to the Norse settlement.
https://www.orkneyjar.com/history/broughofbirsay/index.html
https://www.orkneyjar.com/history/broughofbirsay/norseperiod.htm
A walk up the hill brings us to the lighthouse and we sit for a while looking out at the sea. From here you can see all the way to Hoy, the southern-most island.
Back on the mainland we find a sheltered place to eat our lunch which unfortunately is minus the cheese we forgot to pack. Beats a blank, well, just! Crackers and pickles, Hmm…..
At least we remembered to bring the beer!
We walk along the cliff side toward a geo (a deep cleft in the face of a cliff) but stop short to sit in the sun by this beautiful inlet.
After we leave Birsay we drive by the Barony Mill where, three years ago, we had learned all about bere and the mechanics of a water-powered grist mill . It introduced us to this wonderful ancient grain and the owner was enthusiastic and proud of this 19th century mill. Now we decide to stop there although it looks closed, as it has both previous times we have driven past. Indeed there is a sign on the door saying the mill is closed.
Photos from 2014
https://www.birsay.org.uk/baronymill.htm. This link, along with a good description and history of the mill, has several bere recipes. Go for it!
We also discover, after we have stopped at the Birsay Antiques Centre, new since 2014, that the mill owner is very ill. He doesn’t go into details but it has something to do with his back or spine.
On the way home we stop in at the butcher and buy lamb and chicken and for dinner I cook a curry-ish chicken dish with rice. Later we all, except Michael, head to the Stones of Stenness
https://www.orkneyjar.com/history/standingstones/
and Barnhouse Village. Although Jill and Lynn have a vague memory of the village there, I have no memory of it at all although it is just a short walk away from the standing stones. We climb the stile and walk down the lane to this neolithic site. https://www.orkneyjar.com/history/barnhouse/
Back at #18 we have Orkney ice cream and watch a bit of TV, a program showing evidence of mammoths living once in Shropshire, and play a hand or two of Spite and Malice.