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Two days in West Mainland
Aug. 1st, 2025 09:56 pmThis evening we have relocated to Kirkwall; so we have been making the most of our time in Finstown to explore West Mainland. Yesterday we made a circuit around the outside; today we drove straight up the middle, through the 'Heart of Neolithic Orkney'.
Yesterday began with a failure: it's as well to get these things out of the way early. I wanted to visit the Eviedale Bakehouse, whose sourdough sounded like a good purchase for our picnic dinner, or maybe we'd lunch on the spot on the ir pizza... Well, neither of the above, because they were closed. The helpful man in the shop opposite sold us a reviving coffee and explained that they prepare the sourdough Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then open Thursday, Friday and - oh, no wait, today's Thursday, isn't it?
Things improved. Thanks to a tip off from E., we visited Betty's Reading Room: we must have passed within yards of it last time we took the ferry to Rousay, but it's a modest little building and well hidden:
Inside, though, it is full of books. A sign entreated us to take one, and I had been eyeing a Penguin edition of Chesterton's essays and poetry, so I did; and, obeying another sign, stuck a bookplate in it, too. Next stop, Swannay Brewery, to purchase some cans to try, to sample some other beers (Dark Bere, unfortunately sold out, but the bere harvest is in and there will be more) and for an agreeable chat with the bartender (because Orkney is all about the chat). Then on to the Yellowbird Gallery, where there was, alas, no chat, but the birds were labelled "Please touch" and we did: mostly I still love the wooden birds best, but there was something very pleasing about the little round bronze bird, barely shaped, sized to nestle in the hand, heavier than you'd think... Lunch at the Orkney Brewery, and more purchases - and then, since the rain was settling in, we headed for Stromness and ended the day at the Museum.
This was all fun, but we had been driving round the island ignoring all the major sites, and this didn't seem right. So today we made amends, and visited the stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae. I spent much of my time admiring landscapes as view past, through, between the stones, and I took many pictures, most of which I want to tweak before I post them to Flickr, let alone here. We drove straight past the Ness of Brodgar (twice, once each way) but we only know that because - well, because we know it. The dig is closed, and the site covered with grass. Now we await publication. It was strange to walk through the introductory exhibition at Skara Brae, and think how impressive it was when it was new and shiny: and it still is impressive, but there's this big, Ness-shaped hole in the middle of it. We had a lovely day, the weather was kind, and I am so glad we didn't decide to miss seeing these things just because we had seen them before.
Yesterday began with a failure: it's as well to get these things out of the way early. I wanted to visit the Eviedale Bakehouse, whose sourdough sounded like a good purchase for our picnic dinner, or maybe we'd lunch on the spot on the ir pizza... Well, neither of the above, because they were closed. The helpful man in the shop opposite sold us a reviving coffee and explained that they prepare the sourdough Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then open Thursday, Friday and - oh, no wait, today's Thursday, isn't it?
Things improved. Thanks to a tip off from E., we visited Betty's Reading Room: we must have passed within yards of it last time we took the ferry to Rousay, but it's a modest little building and well hidden:
Inside, though, it is full of books. A sign entreated us to take one, and I had been eyeing a Penguin edition of Chesterton's essays and poetry, so I did; and, obeying another sign, stuck a bookplate in it, too. Next stop, Swannay Brewery, to purchase some cans to try, to sample some other beers (Dark Bere, unfortunately sold out, but the bere harvest is in and there will be more) and for an agreeable chat with the bartender (because Orkney is all about the chat). Then on to the Yellowbird Gallery, where there was, alas, no chat, but the birds were labelled "Please touch" and we did: mostly I still love the wooden birds best, but there was something very pleasing about the little round bronze bird, barely shaped, sized to nestle in the hand, heavier than you'd think... Lunch at the Orkney Brewery, and more purchases - and then, since the rain was settling in, we headed for Stromness and ended the day at the Museum.
This was all fun, but we had been driving round the island ignoring all the major sites, and this didn't seem right. So today we made amends, and visited the stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae. I spent much of my time admiring landscapes as view past, through, between the stones, and I took many pictures, most of which I want to tweak before I post them to Flickr, let alone here. We drove straight past the Ness of Brodgar (twice, once each way) but we only know that because - well, because we know it. The dig is closed, and the site covered with grass. Now we await publication. It was strange to walk through the introductory exhibition at Skara Brae, and think how impressive it was when it was new and shiny: and it still is impressive, but there's this big, Ness-shaped hole in the middle of it. We had a lovely day, the weather was kind, and I am so glad we didn't decide to miss seeing these things just because we had seen them before.
