Sometimes it is good to look at life from a different perspective. And that’s what Kathie Touin and I did when we went to Hoy for the weekend.
Hoy is one of the Orkney islands, in fact the largest after Orkney Mainland where we live. We can see the hills of Hoy from our house.
One of the pleasures of living in Orkney is being able to take a short break, or even a day trip, to somewhere that involves ferry travel. A journey over water makes me feel as if I am getting away from it all.
So on Friday morning (it was 3 November, fact-fans) we set off with Roscoe, our Border collie, in Kathie’s Ford. We were only staying three nights but we had enough clothes for several days and plenty of food – we heard just before leaving that Hoy’s Stromabank Hotel was not open for evening meals on this particular weekend.
The ferry port you need in Orkney depends where you are going and which company you are travelling with. By my calculation on Orkney Mainland there are three different departure points for journeys to the Scottish Mainland, and then a further four ports for journeys within Orkney. These “internal” journeys are operated by Orkney Ferries, in effect a subsidiary of Orkney Islands Council.
For our journey to Lyness in Hoy we departed from Orkney Mainland’s Houton ferry terminal, sailing across Scapa Flow which was the main anchorage for the Royal Navy in both world wars.
There is an excellent naval museum at Lyness but we were not visiting on this trip because, like many Orkney tourist attractions, it closed at the end of October. In fact, it will remain shut for all of next year while it receives a major revamp.
So, after checking the second-hand books at Lyness ferry terminal (take your pick, donations to the RNLI, Kathie chose two) we turned right and headed towards the hills of North Hoy which we can see from our house.
Kathie had never managed to get to the Dwarfie Stane so that was our first visit. It is truly remarkable, it appears to be a Neolithic tomb, but it is hollowed out from a huge solid piece of rock. How long it would take someone – or some people – to do that with stone tools I cannot imagine.
The reverberation inside the stone particularly impressed Kathie. Roscoe posed for a photograph sitting inside the entrance.
Next stop was to the splendid Emily’s Ice-Cream Parlour and Wild Heather Crafts, a short drive around Mill Bay from the Lyness ferry terminal. You might imagine it is a little cold for ice cream in November but Emily also serves lovely lunches and all-day breakfasts. The cafe is open on Fridays and Saturdays out of season – something we welcomed, as we returned for lunch again the next day.
Then we took a leisurely drive south to our weekend accommodation. We told everyone we were going to Hoy for the weekend though we were, technically, staying in South Walls, a neighbouring island that is joined to Hoy by a road causeway.
South Walls is very different from North Hoy – much flatter, more reminiscent of the rolling countryside where we live.
Our first stop was at the shop in Longhope, J M F Groat & Sons, next to the harbour in which Longhope lifeboat is moored. This shop seems to have everything – food, drink, newspapers, a Post Office, washing machines for sale, and delightful knitted hats in animal shapes (Kathie bought two).
From the windows and gardens of our lovely self-catering accommodation, Old Hall Cottage, we could see a range of Orkney islands – Hoy, of course, Fara, Flotta, Switha and South Ronaldsay – and the Scottish Mainland.
We could also watch many ships passing by. The smartphone app MarineTraffic was really useful for identifying vessels, sometimes on long journeys across Europe.
So, here we were just a short distance as the crow flies from our home, but across the water and with a completely different perspective. Very refreshing.
We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing in our accommodation, eating and drinking, talking to friends who joined us for the first night, and walking with Roscoe.
Our dog particularly enjoyed the beaches – there was one a short stride from our house – and we also explored the remains of a World War Two radar and guns site.
Just below Old Hall Cottage, just above the beach, is a cemetery with a wonderful memorial to the eight men lost in the Longhope lifeboat disaster in March 1969 – it is a statue of an alert lifeboat crew member stepping forward as if he is about to respond to a call. Just outside the cemetery is an informative display about the events of that awful night nearly 50 years ago.
We ran out of time on our weekend for the Longhope Lifeboat Museum – that must be top of the list for next time. However, earlier in the year we saw the musem’s lifeboat at Stromness (see previous blog entry).
But that’s Orkney – always something more to do.
Graham Brown
Postscript one
You might remember from my previous blog entry that I was elected to Harray and Sandwick Community Council. I am pleased to report the first meeting was fine except afterwards I fell over a kerb in the dark as I was walking back to my car. I might raise the subject of lighting at the next meeting!
Postscript two
It’s a busy time of the year for Quoyloo Old School, where Kathie and I are on the committee. Thank you to everyone who made Saturday’s Harvest Home such a brilliant success, what a fantastic turn-out. We are lucky to still have this traditional event taking place each year in our village. Coming up on Friday 24 November is the next quiz night, all are welcome whether you have a team or not, 7 for 7.30pm.
Postscript three
The RSPB’s motto is “giving nature a home”. I think they may be taking this too literally. We recently had some RSPB bird food delivered. A couple of days later Kathie was unfolding some of the brown paper packing material on our counter top when a mouse appeared to hop out. Could this be correct? The paper had not been chewed. Do mice hibernate, or sleep for long periods? We then spent a few days setting humane traps from which the mouse was able to steal the food without getting trapped. Was it underweight after its journey to Orkney in the box? Thankfully, the fourth triggered trap did contain the mouse which we were able to release outside (but not near the house).
Speaking of the RSPB, you can find out what the charity has been doing in the past year in Orkney at King Street Halls, Kirkwall on Thursday 23 November. The meeting, “A year in Orkney”, begins at 7.30pm. All are welcome, members and non-members, admission is free.
To find out more
http://www.oldhallcottage.co.uk/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoy
http://www.orkneyferries.co.uk/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarfie_Stane
https://en-gb.facebook.com/wildheathercrafts/
http://www.longhopelifeboat.org.uk/museum/
https://en-gb.facebook.com/Old-School-Quoyloo-462982410411472/
Graham Brown Orkney 