| |
|
| |
| Scapa
Flow was the main anchorage of the Royal Navy during
both of the great wars of the 20th century. It was from
here that the Grand Fleet steamed out to meet the German
High Seas Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in 1917 and
it was here that the latter was scuttled three years
later. In 1939 the HMS Royal Oak was torpedoed by U-47
in one of the more daring operations of World War II.
There is a Visitor Centre and excellent museum at Lyness. |
| |
|
German
Gun salvaged from Scapa Flow |
| |
|
Rora
Head |
| |
| Hoy
(Old Norse Háey “high island”)
is the second largest of the Orkney Islands and is characterized
by massive cliffs, high hills and large areas of open
moorland. The walk to the Old Man of Hoy is a ‘must
do’ so we did. It takes about three hours, there
and back. |
| |
|
The
Old Man of Hoy |
| |
| The
Old Man is a sea stack of red sandstone 137 metres high
that rests on a base of basalt. It is probably only
a few hundreds of years old and geologists generally
agree that it is unlikely to last much longer. So, if
you're at all interested, you'd better act fast. |
| |
|
The
Old Man of Hoy |
| |
|
Nowt
Bield. View of the corrie with Fraser & Paul |
|
| Heading
back from Rackwick, the single-treack road threads its
way along South Burn. Along the way we stopped to visit
what must be the most distinctive tomb in Scotland,
the Dwarfie Stane. Carved out of a single block of stone,
it resembles neolithic and Bronze Age tombs of the Mediterranean.
For more information, click the link (right). |
| |
|
The
Dwarfie Stane |
| |
| South
Walls was once a small, tidal island separated from
Hoy by a narrow strait known as Longhope. A causeway
known as the Ayre was built during World War II. It
has a gentler aspect than the rugged hills of Hoy. There
is a restored Martello tower, designed to repel French
and American privateers during the Napoleonic Wars,
at Hackness. |
| |
|
Longhope.
Lifeboat Museum |
| |
|
Hackness.
Martello Tower |
| |
