There are no signs pointing to Castle Yesnaby, brown or otherwise, but I make no apologies about including it here as I think it is an Orkney’s must-see. Castle Yesnaby is a 35 metre (115 feet) tall sea stack, which means it is tiny compared to more famous Old Man of Hoy (137 metres / …
I end my trip to Orkney with a visit to a couple of attractions, neither of which is brown signed but as both are well worth seeing I thought I would include them here for the benefit of anyone considering visiting Orkney. The first of these, Saint Magnus Cathedral, certainly doesn’t need a brown sign …
The Italian Chapel is on Lamb Holm, a tiny island south of Mainland Orkney. Although it now stands alone it was once part of Camp 60, which housed 500 Italian prisoners of war between January 1942 and spring 1945. Although mass had been celebrated in the mess hall, the camp’s new commandant, Major Buckland, and …
The fourth and final spot comprising the Neolithic Heart of Orkney World Heritage Site, and the second most popular tourist attraction on Orkney after the Ring of Brodgar, is the village of Skara Brae. Hidden by sand and earth since its abandonment around 2,600 BCE, it was partially uncovered by the Great Storm of 5 …
Maeshowe is a chambered cairn, or passage grave, that forms part of the Neolithic Heart of Orkney World Heritage Site, along with the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar, and the village of Skara Brae. It is the largest of Orkney’s many chambered cairns, and The Old Stones: A Field Guide to the …
After the thirty-eight stone spectacle of the Ring of Brodgar, the mere four megalith Stones of Stenness may seem like a major step down, but this ancient henge hums with its own quiet power. For starters, the Stenness stones are older than their Brodgar brethren by about 500 years and is possibly Britain’s oldest henge, …
Neolithic Orkney 2: The Standing Stones of Stenness Read More »
My recent visit to the Castlerigg Stone Circle prompted me to take in a few more of Britain’s prehistoric monuments, and what better location than the Neolithic Heart of Orkney, which according to Historic Environment Scotland constitutes “one of the richest surviving Neolithic landscapes in Western Europe”. This site contains four major monuments: the village …
