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| Westray
(Old Norse Vestrey: “west island”)
is known as the ‘queen o' the isles’ for
good reason— the landscape is diverse and spectacularly
beautiful. It was wet and windy when we arrived so we
decided to watch some archaeologists suffer. |
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Knowe
of Skea. Archaeological site |
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| The
site, Knowe of Skea, is at the end of a low promntory
known as Berst Ness and has been increasingly threatened
by coastal erosion. Rescue excavations are ongoing and
to date have recovered substantial remains of buildings
ranging in date from the Neolithic to the Iron Age along
with a number of burials belonging to the latter period. |
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|
Knowe
of Skea. Excavations |
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| Following
the shore along from Berst Ness, we walked along Mae
Sand heading towards Tuquoy, passing the ruins of the
twelfth century church known as Cross Kirk and dedicated
to the Holy Cross. |
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Mae
Sand |
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Cross
Kirk |
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| The
kirk has long since been abandoned but the cemetery
is still in use. |
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|
Cross
Kirk |
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| We
stayed in Pierowall, which has been the main settlement
on the island since the first Norse settlers arrived
(and doubtless long before that). |
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Pierowall |
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| Just
outside town is Noltland Castle, built by Gilbert Balfour,
the Sherrif of Orkney, in 1560. Balfour was deeply involved
in the plot to murder Lord Darnley, the second husband
of Mary Queen of Scots. His habitual plotting forced
him to flee Westray in 1572 and led to his death in
Sweden four years later. |
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Noltland
Castle |
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Rainbow |
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Cliffs
by Noup Head |
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| Noup
Head, the peninsula jutting out from the northwest corner
of the island, is a Nature Reserve managed by the Royal
Society for the Protection of Birds and is home to tens
of thousands of guillemots, kittiwakes and puffins (among
others). |
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The
Bay of Noup |
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View from Red Nev to Noup
Head |
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| A
walk along the west coast cliffs from Noup Head to
Kirbist is an exhilerating experience and there are
excellent views of caves and arches sculpted by the
sea. |
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|
Fraser
(the blue speck with the white hat) |
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Cliffs
and sea stack |
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Looking
towards Neven o'Grinni
|
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| The
Castle o' Burrian is a large rock stack by Rack Wick
is one of the more accessible breeding areas for puffins.
Although the puffins were long gone by the time we got
there, the view and the crashing waves were reward enough. |
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Castle Burrian |
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