email
Midhowe Broch, Orkney

Scotland: Orkney - Rousay & Hoy
June 2021

Rousay Hoy
Hoy, Orkney

Fascinating Neolithic Midhowe Cairn and Iron Age broch on Rousay, and a spectacular walk to view the Old Man of Hoy.

Orkney pages:
Orkney
Neolithic Orkney
Broch of Gurness, Yesnaby Cliffs, Marwick Head
Rousay & Hoy

Rousay

Rousay
The ferry to Rousay coming in to dock on the mainland.
Rousay
Midhowe Broch

 

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.

Rousay
Midhowe Broch overlooking Eynhallow Sound.
Rousay
Ditch and ramparts around the broch.

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.

Rousay
Rousay
The double walls of the broch.

 

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.

Rousay
The interior was later divided in two with vertical stone slabs.
Rousay

 

At a later date the interior of the broch was divided in two and a small village grew up around it.

 

Rousay

 

Rousay
Rousay

 

Rousay
Each side of the divided broch had its own hearth.
Rousay
Rousay
A village home beneath the walls of the broch.
Rousay
Midhowe Cairn in its protective hangar.
Rousay
The outside of the cairn was faced with dry stone walling laid in a herringbone pattern.
Rousay
North end interior.
Rousay

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".

Rousay
The stalls inside the cairn from its entrance at the south end.
Rousay
The interior from the north end.

 

 

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.

Rousay
The coast southeast of Midhowe Broch with the ruins of St Mary's Church and Skaill Farm.

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.

Rousay
Brough Farm
A small part of the ancient estate owned by Sigurd of Westness, 1126-1137, though nothing of the Viking era remains here. Abandoned since 1845, it was occupied by descendants of the Craigie family from the 14th to the 19th centuries.

Rousay
Rousay
St Mary's

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.

Rousay
This lichen grew all over the walls.
Rousay
Skaill Farm and St. Mary's Church.
Rousay
CWGC headstone marks the grave of Pte Harry Reed, KIA 1917.

 

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.

Rousay
Skaill Farm
At the back of these ruins are the remains of a kiln, used for drying bere, a type of barley used for baking and brewing beer.
Rousay
Blackhammer Cairn, built around 5,300 years ago.
A stalled cairn with 7 stalls. Around 1,000 years after it was built, the entrance was deliberately sealed.
Rousay
Rousay
The ruins of St. Mary's Church.

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.

Rousay
Knowe of Yarso, built around 5,300 years ago.
A stalled cairn like Midhowe but much smaller, perhaps 8 stalls in all. The site has excellent views over Eynhallow Sound.

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.

Rousay
The Broch of Gurness on the mainland shore of Eynhallow Sound.

 

Hoy

Hoy
Waiting for the ferry to Hoy.
Hoy

 

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.

Hoy
Rastwick Bay

 

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.

Hoy
Hoy
First glimpse of the Old Man.
Hoy

 

It was quite a blustery day but that hadn't stopped climbers scaling the stack. At 137m it is Europe's tallest seastack.

Hoy
Hoy
Hoy
Hoy
Hoy
Heath Spotted Orchid
Hoy
Traditional croft with a turf roof and kiln at the top end.
Hoy

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.

Hoy
The Dwarfie Stane.

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.

Hoy
Along with the usual CWGC headstones there are some lovely Celtic memorial stones, this one "To the memory of the officers and men of H.M.S. Malaya who were killed in the Battle of Jutland May 31st 1916 and of those who afterwards died of their wounds".

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.