Day 13 (2nd July 2022)

 YIKES! At lunch today after visiting the exceptionally lovely old cathedral in Kirkwall, I realised that there was still one place to visit on the Orkney Islands after all. Had anyone noticed, I thought? Luckily we had some time to kill, although it did mean missing out on visiting Skara Brae, one of the best preserved neolithic villages to be found in the UK.

The weather for most of the day was positively dreich with visibility no further than you could toss a caber so actually being able to photograph my almost forgotten Germinal CCXXIV place was practically impossible. At one point Guy suggested I just point my phone any old where, but I'm determined to at least try to get to all 116 places. So stop #30

RUFF REEF

I know, it's a long shot (quite literally). Somewhere out in the mist is the light structure that is Ruff Reef. It is actually situated off the coast of South Walls - if you were to stand on Cantick Head (by the lighthouse in fact) and look out across Scapa Flow to where I am standing, Ruff Reef would be directly in front of you. Trouble is, it was almost 7 miles away from me, so totally invisible in the pic.

Provenance;

Well, it's the best I could do!

In other news, that cathedral I was talking about - it was a masterpiece of Norman architecture and we were both awestruck. 

We also visited the WWII Prisoner of War Italian Chapel which was very moving.

Guy also went for another swim, this time in Loch of Harray (freshwater);

Supper in Stromness and now we have a couple of hours to kill waiting for our ferry, so I thought I'd catch up on this.

Allons-y 

Douglas Germinal CCXXIV Brain over and out 

Day 12 (1st July 2022)

 Having ticked off all the Orkney Islands Germinal CCXXIV places, we thought we'd just be more "touristy" and also see if we could advance our ferry ticket by 24 hours. Turns out the ferry we are booked on only calls at Kirkwall every other day, so that put the stop on that idea.

Guy always wants to wild water swim at every opportunity but the weather had taken a turn for the worse so we looked for indoor entertainment. We turned up at the Tomb of the Otters, but the tomb and accompanying exhibition were closed. The restaurant next door was open though, so we chowed down on locally caught seafood which was delicious.

By the time that feast had settled, the sun was just about peeking through the murk, so off we went to the beach.

The Orkneys are a historian's Christmas and Easter combined, especially if you are interested in prerecorded ancient historical sites. We found a few very impressive stones without really trying.

Back to camp to play with Alan's dog Duke, say goodnight to the cows and go to bed

Allons-y 

Douglas Germinal CCXXIV Brain over and out 

Day 11 (30th June 2022)

 During our chat with campsite neighbour Jeremy, he wisely pointed out to Guy that the walk to today's Germinal CCXXIV destination might prove too difficult for Morgan, given the fact that he is twelve and a half and showing signs of arthritis, bless him. So we made a plan to split up, with me taking the ferry to another one of the Orkney Islands, hiring a bicycle there and then doing the 3 hour round trip hike to get to where I needed to be.

Half an hour before the ferry left, I thought I'd have a look to see how much the bikes cost, only to discover there weren't any and that I'd have to hire one on the mainland (I'm still not sure if the Orkney Mainland island actually has a name other than Mainland). This involved a mad rush through the tiny streets of Stromness, a "quick, need a bike, anyone will do" meeting with Mr. Cycle Hire, then a dash to the quayside to catch the ferry.

To cut a long story short, once I arrived I cycled for 6 odd kilometres to the nearest pathway, dumped bike at a hostel there, and did one of the most treacherous walks of my life (because I missed one of the paths) and ended up on a very high cliff top so I could see stop #29

OLD MAN OF HOY 

What a majestic and awesome sight this 449 foot stack is. I was overcome with shocking vertigo at first, as it is a very long way down. But once I'd taken of my sopping wet sweaty t-shirt, dried off in the wind and changed into Germinal T, all the time crawling around on my knees which by this point had already used up about 6 months worth of cartilage getting here, I finally felt able to stand up and take the pic.

By the time I'd got back to the ferry quay, amongst the many Old Man tourists, there were two guys who had actually climbed the Old Man, surrounded quite rightly by admirers. Having seen up close what they had achieved, I too was full of admiration but they didn't need to know that from me!

No more places to find from Germinal CCXXIV on Orkney and it's another  couple of days before we sail out but of course I'll keep you updated with any further interesting places on our trip.

Allons-y

Douglas Germinal CCXXIV Brain over and out 

Day 10 (29th June 2022)

We are staying on South Ronaldsay which is fortunate because a couple of the Germinal CCXXIV places are either on or just off the coast of this island. All the places bar one on the Orkney Islands are within easy reach, so we planned to do all of those today, leaving one for tomorrow and a day off on Friday, when the weather might be terrible.

So, short drive to stop #24

TOMB OF THE EAGLES

As you can see from my expression, the Tomb of the Eagles is closed. And not just for today, this week or this month.

It seems that Covid has had significant damage to the tourist industry on the Orkneys, and this is one of the casualties. Now rumour has it there is a way of sneaking in but, well, I didn't want to risk it. It was a very short drive to the most southerly tip of South Ronaldsay for stop #25

MUCKLE SKERRY

Muckle Skerry is the largest of the Pentland Skerries, a group of islands between the Orkneys and the mainland. Muckle Skerry has the very first Lighthouse that Robert Stevenson worked on in 1794.

If you look closely, you just might be able to see it. As you can see, the weather really wasn't that great.

Trying not to feel too disappointed with both closures and rain, we headed across the Churchill causeways that were built by Italian PoWs during WWII to keep Uboats out of the harbours and destroying British warships. They link three of the islands to the Orkney mainland and it was from here that I wanted to take a picture of the body of water that is stop #26

SCAPA FLOW

Oh how we love those lines 

"From Scapa Flow 

to Rotherhithe 

I felt the lapping

of an ebbing tide"

from 'Carrion'. It is of course also on Germinal CCXXIV mug/T and in this particular corner of it, you can just about see stop #27

BARREL OF BUTTER 

I assumed that the Barrel of Butter referred to the stumpy Lighthouse built in 1980, but it is the name of the Skerry it is built on. It was formerly known as Carlin Skerry, but Barrel of Butter was the rent paid by the people of the village of Orphir (just outside of which I was standing for the pic) to the Laird so they could hunt seals off it. I thank you, Dr.Google.

Once again, this is about the best view and picture I could take but you can just about make it out!

There was one more place to seek out today and this was another body of water that separates Deerness from Linksness - stop #28

DEER SOUND

The weather seemed to be getting worse, se we decided to go explore Kirkwall, the main city of the Islands. There was a cruise liner in, so lots of people wandering around lost with maps and carrier bags full of tourist tut (not a criticism as anyone who has seen the side of our fridge will know, I do love a bit of tourist tut!). We struggled to find anywhere open for a late lunch, but had spotted a Lidl on the way in. Armed with a couple of slabs of what was hopefully local beef, we made our way back to camp.

Suddenly, the sun came out, so we stopped at the Churchill causeway on Glimps Holm and Guy went for a swim. 

Although it was still blowing a cold wind, these pics could easily have been taken on a Greek Island.

Back at camp, we feasted and then hung out chewing the fat with Jeremy, one of our neighbours. He puts me to shame as he has been on the road for over 100 days, slowly making his way around Scotland taking pictures and leading the most enviable life imaginable. 

We slept like logs.

Allons-y 

Douglas Germinal CCXXIV Brain over and out 

Day 9 (28th June 2022)

 The evening in Hopeman was delightful but we woke up to wind and rain. We had quite a few miles to cover, and only one place to visit on Germinal CCXXIV mug/T. I did stop and do the pic, but shortly after we set off, I remembered that there was a much better photo opportunity a few miles further on. So off we went again to stop #23

CROMARTY FIRTH

Quite a sight, all those decommissioned oil and gas platforms in the background, if you're not used to them.

We sped past Inverness with barely a sideways glance and other than a quick supply stop in Wick, we managed to get up as far as John o'Groats for lunch.

The Seaview Hotel doesn't look very promising as a decent place to eat from outside, but the food was excellent. We did "the sign", 

looked in the tat shop and then headed west through Thurso to the port of Scrabster as the next few places are in and around The Orkney Islands. We had an early supper in a pub opposite the terminal, where we ate some fabulously fresh seafood. Neither Guy nor I had ventured to these islands so it feels like a huge adventure. The weather had turned even more hostile but put Guy on a boat and he's always happy.

It had gone 9.30pm by the time we found our campsite. Putting up a drive-away awning in the wind is never fun and by the time we'd finished and had a glass of wine, I discovered that there was no signal or Wi-Fi so consequently no blog entry. So I will attempt to get them done earlier in the day while we're here. So, until later..

Allons-y

Douglas Germinal CCXXIV Brain over and out 

Day 8 (27th June 2022)

 I woke with an almighty hangover. My brother's in-laws made a feast last night, and naughty Mike must have topped up my wine more than I realised. We swapped albums (I have a Dylan bootleg from his 2007 tour and in return I ordered them "Carrie & Lowell" by Sufjan Stevens) and had a very merry time. I also got to sleep in a real bed!

We have decided to travel in convoy up to Scrabster as in reality, space is at a premium and Morgan can't quite squash up as well as he used to. We stopped briefly at Arbroath Abbey, but Guy said no to going in. I was a bit miffed, so we decided on a future plan - he will be in control of food & wine and I will be in charge of where we stop.

My next choice of stop was Aberdeen. Neither of us have ever been here, and didn't know any familiar landmarks or places of interest. I hadn't really researched properly, looked on my googlemap and realised there were at least 2 cathedrals. First one we found was the Catholic one - somewhat soulless inside to be honest.

The second one we found was locked.

By this stage we were kind of done with Aberdeen, so had a quick bite to eat and made our way back to the campervan & car and headed further north until we got to Fraserburgh. This rugged town reminded me of Iceland. We checked out the Lighthouse Museum which was excellent including a tour of the Kinnaird Lighthouse by Mike who was incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining.  We were the only members of the tour and felt like very special guests. 

We still had a couple of hours driving to do, so we couldn't hang around. Our final destination of the day was a campsite in the little town of Hopeman where after supper we made are way armed with a very special prop for Stop #22

SPLIFF ISLAND

Now it may not look like it, but I really was standing on an island. There are number of rocks just off the beach in front of West Beach caravan park, Hopeman, where the band once stayed during a Scottish tour. I'm not sure who, but they wandered out onto on of these rocks and partook of a joint, naming the Rock 'Spliff Island' So so did I!

The information came from a chapter in "Do It For Your Mum", by Roy Wilkinson. I was pleased as punch when I read this, as it meant that not only did I have a pretty good idea where to look, but I could also follow suit and do the same.

Guy has just been for a swim while I write this so sadly I didn't get a chance to take a pic. Despite the rather ugly trailler-park campsite, the setting is really quite idyllic and I can't think of a better place to be stoned!

Allons-y 

Douglas Germinal CCXXIV Brain high and out

Day 7 (26th June 2022)

 Today was really quite bizarre.  I was making an unscheduled visit into Edinburgh where my husband Guy was staying with a dear old friend Lindz who used to live a couple of miles away from us in London so was a regular lunch & supper guest. Now that he's 330 miles away, we hardly ever see each other. I felt really bad about not popping in and seeing him, but I had to get my phone fixed, and then had places to be et cetera et cetera...

Big up to Mr Fix on Home Street for fixing my phone. ખુબ ખુબ આભાર 

Once I was back on the road, I headed out west towards Bo'ness and the Kinneil Estate as I wanted to see (part of) the Antonine Wall. I know it's nothing like Hadrian's Wall, but I couldn't come all this way and not have a look. To be totally honest there isn't that much to see, although it was easier to visualise than Offa's Dyke was near Chirk Castle, for example.

The Kinneil Estate was also quite odd in that the house looks much more interesting from a distance. Up close, well, there is practically nothing to it!

It was starting to rain, so I left for a drive across one of three very impressive bridges 

to stop #21

BURNTISLAND

So, Burntisland. Anyone ever been here? Strange place, one of those seaside towns where the seaside isn't immediately obvious, and where the first glimpse of the town is some ugly industrial cranes and chimneys and rows of pebbledash terraced houses. I ended up parking in the Leisure Centre overflow carpark as the town carparks were full to bursting point. There was a big funfair in town, and consequently lots of unaccompanied big scarey children all over the place. This made me feel uncomfortable about getting my phone out and taking a selfie for some inexplicable reason. Burntisland really doesn't feel like the sort of town that would, for example, have a Pride weekend.

No matter, I was more than happy to make a quick getaway because next stop was my brother David and brother-in-law Marc's place near Glenrothes where I am always guaranteed a warm welcome AND I was going to rendezvous with Guy and Morgan 

I did feel a little bit guilty in asking to use their washing machine the moment I walked through the door but it's great to catch up. We had a lovely meal with Helen, Mike, Nat & Ali, and ended up getting very pleasantly drunk!

Allons-y 

Douglas Germinal CCXXIV Brain over and out