Mon 30th July
Things
didn’t turn out as planned because we got to Skara Brae at opening time
and found three coaches coming in so decided to come back later on when it
wasn’t so crowded. Within 5 minutes seven coachloads were descending on
the site! As it was low tide we headed north to the Brough of Birsay to
walk over the causeway. This is quite a pleasant walk, it is on the far
northwest of the island, you just follow the A497 to Birsay.
Stone
O’Quoybune
Standing Stone
This
is quite an impressive stone on the way and is just inside a farmer’s
field south of Birsay. It is about 8ft (2.4m) high and has a folk lore
legend associated with it which says something about the stone going to
the nearby loch for a drink on New Year’s morning.
Stone O’Quoybune
Brough
of Birsay
Pict and Viking Settlement
It was originally a Pictish settlement, then was built over as a Viking village and several houses have been excavated. Several Pictish artefacts were found and some are on display here and a copy of a carved stone is set up in the ruins of a 12th century church graveyard as well. The scenery is superb and the walk uphill to the top of the cliffs can be rewarded with a glimpse of pilot and killer whales and puffins. We didn’t see any as the sea was too rough.
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