Up fairly early today and off to Hoy on the 10am ferry. This was £6.40 return with the bike.
Hoy means 'High Island' from the Old Norse 'HAEY'. It is the second largest island in Orkney at 57 square miles. The North and western areas of the island are hilly whereas the southern areas are flatter.
I cycled over to see the Dwarfie Stane. This is the only rock cut tomb in Britain. According to Sir Walter Scott, it was the residence of the 'Trolld', a legendary Norse dwarf. At 8.5 metres long, it dates from about 3000BC.
Then on to see the Old Man of Hoy which was a 45 minute walk from Rackwick. This is a famous 450 foot sea stack first climbed in 1966 in a televised assault.
From Rackwick I cycled back to the East coast and down to Lyness which looked a complete mess. This dates back to the military presence in recent years. I looked around the Naval Museum and ate at their cafe. There is lots of information and lots of artifacts here relating to the local history.
I caught the ferry from Lyness to Houton, back on the Mainland. On the return journey to Stromness I stopped at the Round Church and Earl's Bu at Orphir and the Unstan chambered tomb.
Tonight there was some traditional music down at the Ferry Inn, so there I ended up. I met some divers staying in the area for a while, and diving on the remaining wrecks of the scupppered German fleet. The pub tables had marine maps on them and the divers told me about the special uses for the metal of the ships that had been recovered. This metal was founded before atomic energy had been experimented with and was of a more pure nature. It is notably used for surgical instruments.
The distance travelled today was about 28 miles after consulting the map.
Search
