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Issue 28 - Northern land of wonder

History & Heritage

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Scotland Magazine Issue 28

Scotland Magazine Issue 28
September 2006

 

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Northern land of wonder

In the latest of island features by John Hannavy, we look at the Orkney Islands

Northern land of wonder (Issue 28)
A long drive to Scrabster prefaced our crossing of the Pentland Firth to Stromness, our port of entry into the Orkney Islands.

We sailed past Hoy, with its amazing rock stacks, which draw so many intrepid climbers to the islands, and in to the harbour at Stromness on the west of Orkney’s largest island – Mainland. The journey north was like sailing across a benign millpond. On the way back, however, we experienced some of what an angry Pentland Firth can produce.

To many, the Orkneys are synonymous with North Sea oil – the oil terminal at Flotta, one of the 67 islands in the group, is host to some huge tankers.

But Orkney is much more than just an oil terminal – several thousand years of Scottish history were played out in this island group, and the marks of that history abound.

Some of the marks are less apparent today than they were when first I visited the islands in the early 1970s. The remains I am referring to were the wrecked ships sunk during the Second World War to block some of the entrances to Scapa Flow, the huge natural harbour which in two World Wars played host to the British fleet.

In the early 1970s, at low tide, huge masses of rusting metal seemed to rise out of the sea for a few hours before all but disappearing again. In the 30- plus years since then, many of them have been removed, or have simply rusted away.

It is strange to think that some of my photographs now show a part of history which no longer exists – makes me feel older than I wish to feel!

While most of the visible wrecks have gone, beneath the surface of the water it is a very different story. Exploring the many ships which still lie in the depths of Scapa Flow draws divers in their thousands from all over the world.

While the visible blockships may have gone, a much more poignant reminder of the war still remains – the Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm, one of the string of islands connected by the Churchill Barriers, was built in 1944 by Italian prisoners -of-war, given a pair of Nissen huts by the military authorities.

The beautifully decorated chapel is still maintained by the families of the former inmates.

The interior was painted by one of the prisoners, Domenico Chiocchetti, who died only seven years ago in May 1999, 55 years after he created his masterpiece.

Intriguingly, the barriers were officially built not to block access to the naval base – that would have contravened international law which barred prisoners-of-war from being engaged in military construction. So, on paper, the barriers were built to carry roadways, the fact that they blocked access to Scapa was just a lucky by-product.

Elsewhere on Orkney, the monuments to men and women’s many talents are a lot older – from complex burial sites like the huge chambered cairn at Maes Howe to the extensive remains of the Neolithic village of Scara Brae, the islands offer the visitor a chance to explore some of Scotland’s most important early remains.

Perhaps the most spectacular of the Neolithic monuments is the Ring o’ Brodgar, more than 300 feet in diameter, it is Britain’s third largest stone circle, and some of its stones stand more than 15 feet high.

Less than a mile away, the standing stones at Stenness are also worth a visit.

Without a doubt, the most famous of all the early sites is the prehistoric village of Scara Brae, unknown until 150 years ago when a freak storm revealed its precarious position on the mainland’s west coast at the edge of the Bay of Skaill.

The site was probably occupied from Neolithic times up until about 500BC, and the drystone ‘huts’ were closely grouped together, with covered passageways between them, all designed to provide some protection from the weather and the sea.

Kirkwall, the capital of the island group, is dominated by the great Cathedral Church of St Magnus, which dates largely from the first half of the 12th century.

The colours of the building – red sandstone with cream sandstone decoration – make it almost glow in the Orkney sunlight.

Although the original building was completed in a relatively short space of time, extensions and alterations took place over three centuries, resulting in a harmonious mixture of Romanesque and gothic styles.

Uniquely for a cathedral, St Magnus is owned not by the Church of Scotland or the Crown, but by the city and Royal Burgh of Kirkwall.

Across the road, the ruins of the Bishop’s Palace and, adjacent to it, Earl Patrick’s Palace, both reflecting more turbulent times when fortified residences were a wise precaution.

There are so many historic sites on Orkney that blue Historic Scotland signs are everywhere – directing visitors to some unusual buildings as well as some obvious ones. Following them is great fun, as each leads to a fascinating relic of the past, from huge chambered cairns to the tiny Dounby Click Mill, one of the earliest known designs for a water mill.

And away from the larger centres like Kirkwall and Stromness, Mainland still has a very rural island feel to it. Cross to some of the other islands, and the distance from the bustle of 21st century life on the British Mainland seems – wonderfully – almost unbridgeable.