Britain

Orkney, islands of history

A few years ago, my wife and I enjoyed an engrossing romantic mystery on TV called "Oliver's Travels." Its protagonists chased all over Britain after an elusive writer of crossword puzzles who had disappeared, and the trail ended up on the islands of Orkney off the north coast of Scotland.

This program convinced us that on our next visit to Britain we had to make Orkney one of our destinations. (The correct name is "Orkney," not "the Orkneys," even though there are some 12 major and many more minor islands in the group.) And so we did, in June 1998.

How we went to Orkney

We began, our trip in London and then traveled by BritRail Senior Flexipasses. Because of our intricate itinerary, we had bought the complete "British Railways Timetables" -- a l,900-page bargain at $16.95 (now $19.95 from The Travel Shop, part of the Rail Europe Group; phone 877/274-8507 or 212/490-6688 or fax 212/490-0219).

For a relaxing rest stop on the way to Orkney we chose the small, quiet resort village of Kingussie (pronounced Kin-yoossy) in the Scottish Highlands. It contains an interesting Highland Folk Museum, and for those with cars it is an excellent base for many nearby places of interest. Our warm feelings about Kingussie also come from our friendly and helpful hosts at Homewood Lodge, Jenny and Wilf Bateman, who made our 3-day stay there truly a pleasure.

From Kingussie, a long day's journey -- involving two trains, one taxi (from the rail terminus at Thurso to the ferry terminal at Scrabster), one 2-hour ferry ride and a 10-minute walk -- took us to the small Royal Hotel (phone 011-44-1856-850342) on the narrow cobbled main street of picturesque Stromness.

Stromness is Orkney's second-largest town, with a population of about 2,000. The largest is its capital, Kirkwall, population 7,000. Both are on the major island, called Mainland.

Our room was diminutive but cozy, and the dinners there were first class at very reasonable prices. We enjoyed local lamb, beef and fish, all tender and well prepared and accompanied by tasty assortments of vegetables -- and never the notorious British pea!

Orkney topography and history

The Orkney islands -- except. for rugged Hoy, which we Passed on our ferry ride -- are not mountainous. They are mildly hilly, covered with lush green grass that provides great sustenance for cattle and sheep.

What Orkney does NOT have is trees: strong winds are so pervasive that trees simply do not grow, except where planted in some sheltered spots. Luckily, during our 4-day stay, the winds were not bothersome, and the sun, most of the time, was shining.

And -- this being June at a latitude farther north than Juneau, Alaska -- the sun shone from before we woke up until after we went to bed! Despite its northerly location, the temperatures in Orkney are moderate, ranging from average summer highs of 61[degrees]F to average winter lows of 36[degrees]F.

Orkney's economy today is based on fishing, farming (especially raising beef and lamb), North Sea oil and tourism.

A little later in June, Orkney was to hold its annual St. Magnus Festival, an international feast of music and performing arts, which now draws a multitude of visitors. St. Magnus was a Norse Earl of Orkney, martyred in 1117; Orkney's living heritage is as much Norse as Scottish. But there are remains from Stone Age peoples that date back to before 2500 B.C.; we were to visit many of them.

Yesnaby and Skara Brae

Even before leaving home; we had booked two all-day minibus tours with Go-Orkney (fax 011-44-1856-870484). Besides the sightseeing tours that we took, they also offer more adventurous excursions with hikes on some of the outer islands.

Our first day's "Grand Tour West" showed us varied scenery and small settlements as well as major historic sites. Our driver, Alan, told us helpful things about Orkney and the sights we were to see but let us enjoy the scenery in silence.

He first took us to the. lovely clifftop of Yesnaby, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, where small wildflowers grew out of every crack in the stony ground. Then it was on to the most visited site of all, the Stone Age seaside "village" of Skara Brae.

Covered by sand for thousands of years, Skara Brae was revealed by a violent storm around 1850 and since then has been carefully excavated: It consists of about 10 "houses" in close proximity. Of course, the roofs are long gone, but what remains are walls, central hearths, "beds" formed from vertical slabs, multilevel shelves or "dressers," and holding boxes for food or fish, all made of stone.

Most of this dates from about 2500 B.C., but underneath are older remains from 600 years earlier. All of it is sunk into a "midden" for more protection from the elements.

Skara Brae has a fine visitor center, with exhibits, a gift shop and a bookshop, and a cafe where we had our lunch.

Ring of Brodgar and Maes Howe

Next, the tour took us to the Stone Age Ring of Brodgar -- a henge and circle of tall upright stones, located on a neck of land between two lochs. A mile or so farther we came to another high point of the tour, the Stone Age burial chamber called Maes Howe.

Maes Howe from the outside is a large, grass-covered earthen mound. The interior was shown and explained to us by a local guide. He preceded us into the 4-foot-high stone entrance tunnel. As we stepped in to follow, one by one, crouching, we could see only the guide's flashlight at the far end.

"Do not," he called out, "try to stand up until you reach me, or you'll regret it!" Only when all 12 of our party had come through the 30 feet of tunnel did he turn on the lights, revealing that we were in a 4-sided vaulted chamber built of large stone slabs.

The guide, with an enthusiastic voice and lively manner that belied the fact that he must do this many times a day, told us that we were in a burial chamber built about 5,000 years ago by Neolithic (late Stone Age) people. He pointed out the exquisite way the huge stone slabs had been fitted together and overlapped to form the arched walls; only the central part of the ceiling is "new."

In each side, except that of the entrance tunnel, there is a small opening leading into a side chamber; in these were placed the bones of dead persons, after the rest of them had been "recycled" by nature. The entrance tunnel is aimed so that at the winter solstice the setting sun illuminates the back wall of the chamber.

For many centuries this tomb lay quiet, but in the 12th century Vikings broke into it to look for treasure. They left extensive graffiti carved on the stones in Runic characters for all of posterity to see. Deciphered, these include such gems as "Tryggr carved these runes" and "Ingigerth is the most beautiful of women."

Broch of Gurness and Brough of Birsay

From Maes Howe, another scenic drive took us to an iron-age fort called Broch of Gurness, beautifully located on the shore overlooking the sound between the islands of Mainland and Rousey. 1t consists of a central fort surrounded by the remains of stone dwellings for lesser people.

Our final stop was at the island called Brough of Birsay, accessible by foot only at low tide. This contains remains of Viking fortifications and a 10th-century stone church. .

Kirwall, Churchill Barriers, Tomb of the Eagles

On the following day we took another tour, conducted by Go-Orkney's owner, Sinclair Dunnett. He took us first through the capital city of

Kirkwall with its splendid St. Magnus Cathedral, built in the 12th century of local red stone and named after Orkney's patron saint. Near it is the ruined "Earl's palace," built by bloodthirsty Earl Patrick Stewart, ca. 1600.

Then we headed south to a series of smaller islands, accessible over causeways known as "Churchill Barriers" that were built during World War II. We will come back to those later, but first let's go on to the southern end of the island of South Ronaldsay, to the Tomb of the Eagles.

Here, our bus drew into a working farm and to a small "homebuilt" museum where a young woman told us how her grandfather, Ronald Simison, discovered on his farm in 1958 a trove of Stone Age objects and later uncovered a burial chamber filled with human skulls and bones of eagles. After years of waiting in vain for professional excavation, Mr. Simison completed the job himself also finding the remains of a Bronze Age dwelling nearby.

Our host, with infinite trust, handed us Stone Age tools and even a skull to pass around the group so we could each touch and examine them. Afterward we saw the Bronze Age house, whose features were explained to us by Mr. Simison himself, a wiry farmer of weathered aspect and indeterminate age.

The Italian Chapel

But the most poignant stop on this tour was to a place of quite recent history, the beautiful Italian Chapel. In the early' 1940s, Italian prisoners of war were brought here to help construct the aforementioned "Churchill Barriers," whose purpose was to protect the British naval anchorage in Scapa Flow from further incursion by German U-boats (one had sunk a British battleship there early in the war).

The POWs wished to have a place of worship and, with the cooperation of their camp's commandant, they converted two Quonset huts into a chapel. But it was no bare-bones conversion. One of the POWs, an artist named Domenico Chiocchetti, aided by various craftsmen among his fellows, transformed the huts into a veritable gem, with an altar and a wrought-iron sanctuary screen, wall murals and painted glass windows.

After the war, although the chapel was often visited, its condition began to deteriorate. A local committee was formed which invited Sr. Chiocchetti to return in 1960 to supervise the chapel's restoration. The first service after its restoratiop was even broadcast by Italian television.

Thus, what began in a setting of war eventually culminated in a celebration of amity between peoples and religions.

George Mackay Brown, Orkney poet

For the remainder of our stay in Orkney, we explored Stromness and nearby surroundings on foot and enjoyed its craft and art shops.

We also bought books by the noted Orkney poet and author George Mackay Brown, who died in 1996 and is buried in a cemetery at the edge of the sea outside his beloved Stromness (which he often called by its Norse name, Hamnavoe). His name is also inscribed in St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.

We shall always remember the moving experience of the Italian Chapel, and the marvels of Stone Age relics, from our visit to the isles of Orkney in Scotland. And we hope someday to return to see the many places we missed this time.

Practical information on Orkney

Accommodations and costs: In Scotland, we stayed at guest houses or small hotels, all with nonsmoking rooms, facilities en suite and full breakfast included. For 12 days, our total costs for accommodations, food and local activities averaged less than $150 per day (not including point-to-point transportation or purchases).

Rail connections: For information on BritRail Passes (good throughout Britain) and Freedom of Scotland Passes, call 888/274-8724.

Kingussie: We heartily recommend Homewood Lodge Guesthouse (phone 011-44-1540-661507), where we stayed and also had two good dinners[ldots] or the more upscale Scot House Hotel (phone 011-44-1540-661351 or fax 011-44-1540-661111).

Orkney information and brochures: Write Orkney Tourist Board, 6 Broad St., Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1NX, Scotland; phone 011-44-1856-872856 or fax 011-44-1856-875056.

Orkney access: Orkney can be reached by car-carrying ferry from Scrabster. (two hours) or Aberdeen (eight hours) to Stromness, and in summer by passenger ferry from John O'Groats (45 minutes); Scrabster is near the railway terminal at Thurso. Also, British Airways flies to Kirkwall from all major Scottish cities. Orkney has seyeral car rental agencies, and there is scheduled but infrequent bus service between Kirkwall and Stromness and some other localities. There are ferry services and some air services between the islands. (On Sundays, all services are very limited.)

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