Going WAY Back in Time in the Orkneys of Scotland

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Days 48 and 49, 2023 North Atlantic Adventure

Wednesday and Thursday, June 28 and 29, 2023; Kirkwall and Edinburgh, Scotland.

When I think of visiting ancient places, I think of the pyramids of Egypt or the Colosseum in Rome. Scotland never came to mind.

But on Wednesday I went to Skara Brae, perhaps the oldest human creations I’ve even visited.

Skara Brae is Europe’s most complete Neolithic village and dates back to 3180 BC, much earlier than the earliest Egyptian pyramids (2670 BC) or the Colosseum (80 AD). It is about 20 miles from Kirkland, the largest town in Scotland’s Orkney archipelago. The 10 clustered flagstone houses were abandoned around 2500 BC and buried by sand and earth. It was only during a severe storm in 1850 that the site was exposed and discovered by the local laird who lived nearby.

Today I visited the site, much of which has been preserved rather than exposed. A replica allows visitors to see how the rudimentary houses might have looked.

Our tour also included the nearby Skaill House, a manor house dating from the 1600s that has been renovated and updated over the years. Even the Queen Mother visited twice. The bathroom is classic 1950s.

I had time to sketch the outside as I walked over from the Skara Brae ruins. And noticed from a photo that the sunken garden was much used by guests, providing some protection from the wind for plants and people.

Next, we traveled to the Ring of Brodgar, a stone circle believed to be at least as old as Stonehenge.

Twenty-seven of the original 60 stones are still standing, and still it is one of the most complete and perfect circles of the Neolithic age. Of course, I couldn’t resist using a double spread in my sketchbook to capture it. I don’t know when I will get a chance to add watercolor, but it’s on my list!

The Orkneys are not the better-known mountainous Scottish Highlands, but rather low-lying islands stretching north.

They each have their own perch

Back in Kirkland, I made a point to visit the Wireless Museum, which I missed when we were here about three weeks ago. To be honest, it was a disappointment. I was expecting wireless in the sense of communications, but it was more radios and a wide variety of typewriters, Walkmen and Discmen and other electronics.

Today in Edinburgh I made up for missing the famous castle last time (when I toured Mary King’s Close instead). Tickets sell out, so it was a good thing I bought one online yesterday. I took the shuttle bus into the city (£12) and walked around the art museum and UPHILL to the castle, which is the highest point in the city. It might have been a steeper and longer climb than the Dover Castle in May.

I’m heading for the castle on top of the distant hill.

I entered through the recently constructed viewing stands for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which will take place in August. Last year we had tickets, and it promised to be one of the highlights of our summer on the Volendam. We missed it due to the ship going out of cruise service to house Ukrainian refugees, but perhaps I’ll be back someday.

I “splurged” for the audio tour device, so could explore the castle grounds at my leisure.

The line to see the crown jewels was long but moved quickly. Alas, no photos allowed. The Grand Hall with its display of swords was impressive, as were the sights from the various levels of the grounds.

The Royal Mile, leading from the castle down to Holyrood Palace, seems to be mostly a string of storefronts selling whiskey, woolens and souvenirs. I ducked off quickly to discover the Writer’s Museum, a small four-room museum in a former house celebrating Robert Burns (exhibit closed for renovation), Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. It was free but I was glad to make a donation. It was a nice companion stop for my visit last fall to Stevenson’s final home in Apia, Samoa.

My final stop was a large Marks & Spencer. I’ve enjoyed shopping at the department store’s locations in Dublin, Cork and Dover, where I have found some jeans that I love and a few dresses. Today I didn’t see anything I want. I texted my sisters that it must be time for me to come home. But first, three more weeks of cruising.