We had hoped to get into Maeshowe, the fantastic Neolithic cairn, for quite some time, but online bookings have been sold out months in advance. We went to the visitor center several days ago on the hopes of sneaking in and the guide suggested showing up early before they open. If they have additional staff, they will add an 11:00 and 3:00 tour. First come first serve. The center opens at 9:30. Dick gets there before 9, is the first person in line and waits in the rain. Alas, they are only adding a 3:00 tour and we must have the car back in Kirkwall by 4:00.
Thanks for trying Dear.
We leave our luggage at the Ferry Inn and drive up to Ophir to see the Earl’s Bu and the Round Church. This dates to the Viking times in Scotland. It’s thought Earl Haakon Paulsson built his 12th century great hall here, known as the Earl’s Bu. The foundation stones that are visible are thought to be from his drinking hall. You can picture some wild Viking nights here more than 800 years ago!
The nearby cemetery also has a unique part of Orcadian history. It’s built around the remains of Orkney’s only surviving medieval round church. It is thought this 12th century building was based on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, where Haakon fled to atone for his part in the murder of his cousin, Magnus.
The church was in use until the 1750s before being partly demolished. You can still get a sense of its size and shape now.
We do a quick stop at the Scapa Flow Distillery. We tried a small taste of one of the whiskys. OK, but we were spoiled by earlier stuff. No tasting for our driver!
We continue our drive to Kirkwall, Dick needs to fill the car with gas and drop it off. He drops the three of us at the Kirkwall Museum to wait for him. Don and Joyce decide to do some shopping, so I wait at the museum until Dick returns and then he and I tour the museum. Then we do a walkabout before a nice dinner at the Storehouse. We catch a cab to take us back to Stromness to collect our luggage and check in on the HMV Hamnavoe Ferry where we have cabins to spend the night while the vessel is docked. The morning departure is 6:30 am so staying onboard is perfect. As part of our ‘B&B’ package we have drink vouchers for the Magnus Lounge on the boat and we have a few nightcaps before heading to bed.
We learned that evening HRM Queen Elizabeth II has died and spent an hour watching the news on BBC before calling it a night. How sad.
