Fascinating Neolithic Midhowe Cairn and Iron Age broch on Rousay, and a spectacular walk to view the Old Man of Hoy.
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Orkney
Neolithic Orkney
Broch of Gurness, Yesnaby Cliffs, Marwick Head
Rousay & Hoy
Rousay is the largest inhabited island in Eynhallow Sound, though still quite small at around 20 square miles (50 sq km). The ferry from the mainland is quite an experience, as you have to reverse down a slipway and onto the ferry's ramp, with very little visibility behind!
Safely negotiated, with the expert guidance of a crew member, we arrived early on a sunny day to explore the area on the south west coast which is home to Midhowe Broch, Midhowe chambered cairn, and any number of additional chambered tombs along the road from the pier.
We headed straight for Midhowe where there is a small amount of roadside parking and a walk down to the shore where both the broch and chambered cairn are located.
On the opposite shore of Eynhallow Sound the Broch of Gurness can just be made out, looking very small from this distance.
We headed to the broch first and it is a really good one, very well-preserved, dating from the 1st century AD. It may well have been the home of a very affluent, powerful family, who would, nevertheless, have been farmers, as almost everyone was in those times. Excavations yielded elite items including dark orange Samian pottery from the Roman empire, along with local bronze ornaments and iron tools.
The broch is, as usual, double-walled, protected by a ditch and rampart across the neck of the promontory, well-placed to defend against intruders.
At a later date the interior of the broch was divided in two and a small village grew up around it.
On to Midhowe Cairn which had only just been opened to visitors with a relaxation of Covid restrictions, though still limiting entry to members of a "bubble".
The stalled cairn was built around 3500BC for the interment of the dead.
There were around two dozen stalls where the bodies were laid, in a crouched position, on stone benches within the stalls. When the bodies had decomposed the bones were rearranged in piles, some being placed on the floor.
This coastal area, heading south east, is regarded as one of the most important archaeological areas in Scotland. Called the Westness Heritage Walk, a track of just over a mile, though often very difficult to spot, begins with remains from the Stone Age and Iron Age, as we'd already seen - Midhowe Cairn and Broch. Further south a Viking hall, very little of which remains, a church and a couple of farms. Finally another burial cairn, but it was extremely difficult to make out even its outline.
So we weren't as impressed as we'd anticipated, given the enthusiastic descriptions in tourist literature, but there were one or two spots which were interesting.
The son of Peter Reid of Brough Farm is buried in St Mary's graveyard. He was a private in the Seaforth Highlanders, killed in action in 1917.
The churchyard at St Mary's was in use until 1920.
Skaill Farm was probably also once part of the estates of the Viking Chief Sigur of Westness. The ruins date from the early 18th century. The name "Skaill" derives from the old Norse word "Skali" meaning "Hall".
The Knowe of Swandro is further down the coast but all that remains are the lower parts of the concentric outer walls of the Neolithic chambered tomb. These survive under the storm beach so are not always visible. We couldn't see very much at all.
There are several burial cairns close to the road between here and the ferry - all closed at the moment because of Covid restrictions. We stopped at a couple for short walks and spectacular views over Eynhallow Sound.
The Broch of Gurness is visible on the opposite shore.
The ferry to Hoy was a lot less traumatic than the Rousay ferry. It's much bigger and is a drive on/drive off so very straightforward.
We drove to the car park at Rastwick Bay and walked to the Old Man of Hoy - the main reason for visiting the island. It's a long steepish climb to start, with spectacular views along the coast, then the track flattens out.
It was quite a blustery day but that hadn't stopped climbers scaling the stack. At 137m it is Europe's tallest seastack.
On the way back the road passes near to the "Dwarfie Stane" - a large stone, roughly 8m by 3.5m, which has been partly hollowed out, probably around 5,000 years ago. The most popular theory is that it was a chambered tomb, though with only two very small chambers.
It lies about 800m south of the small roadside parking area, along a track prone to bogginess in places. As the weather was turning we contented ourselves with viewing it from the roadside.
Andrew wanted to do a bit of research at Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery before we left. It was so windy when we got there that I could barely keep my feet so retreated to the car.