Location of Orkney Islands

Just off the Northern tip of Scotland lie the Orkney Islands. You could get there by flying to Kirkwall (when the weather permits), or taking the P & O Ferry St. Ola from Scrabster, just west of Thurso. I have been to Orkney twice, both times crossing the stormy seas of Pentland Firth with my stomach not overly sure of its correct position. The second time was with Martine, who took so much Dramamine that I had trouble shaking her awake to see the Old Man of Hoy as we sailed passed it.

My mind is turning once again to those stormy islands as I read a newspaper column penned by the late George Mackay Brown for The Orcadian between 1979 and 1991. I have loved Brown’s prose and poetry ever since I met him on my first visit to the islands, in September 1976.

The Old Man of Hoy

By the time the St. Ola docked in Stromness, the port where George Mackay Brown lived and called by its Norse name, Hamnavoe, the weather was so bad that Martine thought I had brought her to some Arctic hell. The weather moderated—somewhat. But we had a wonderful time viewing the sights, including the Viking Cathedral of St. Magnus in Kirkwall, the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar (which is the new header image for my post), the Neolithic burial chamber at Maes Howe (with runic Viking graffiti), and the stone age village of Skara Brae, once buried by the sands of the North Atlantic.

Places like Orkney, Iceland, Tierra del Fuego in South America, and the deserts of the American Southwest fascinate me. Most Americans would opt for sun, sea, and cocktails as the perfect vacation. Not me!