Orkney

On 11.06. around 11 PM we set foot on 'Orkadian' soil. The islanders call themselves 'Orkadian'. The sun has only recently set, and it is quite bright. We cycle to the youth hostel, located just outside the city center. Since 1982, not much has changed on the outside, the last time I visited during one of my Interrail trips. In fact, the coming days will be a trip down memory lane, but more on that later. For late arrivals, there is a special service: the room key is deposited in an envelope in a box next to the entrance and labeled with the name. It worked! The bikes go into the storage room next to the reception, where some are already parked. The twin room is plain but spacious. The washroom and toilets are separated by gender, just like back then. I wonder if the rooms with bunk beds still exist? I do not investigate...

Thursday, 12.06.2025
After a restful sleep (though I dozed off on the ferry, but I wouldn't consider that restful), we make an easy breakfast from the food provided by the hostel (muesli, bread, tea, jam...) for the price of 5.95 GBP, a non-profit price. A few people are still sitting around; we were not the oldest.
Weather briefing due to the forecast. A storm is expected today, but no rain. The plan includes a small city tour of Kirkwall followed by a ride to Stromness to visit the 'Musts'. The St. Magnus Cathedral is impressive, nothing pompous. As always during church visits, I sit on a bench and let it all soak in. There are 16 'tapestries' displayed that tell of Orkadian sailors. I didn’t quite understand it, but it added a great atmosphere to the church. A bit more through the pedestrian zone to the port, then off, following the EV12 until it branches off north. If all goes well, we’ll take the 'Northern Loop' tomorrow.
The landscape has changed compared to Shetland: it has become softer, the sea no longer dominates. There are still plenty of sheep and lambs, mostly behind a fence. There are noticeably more cows in the pasture.
A brief visit to the Scapa Distillery, a nice chat with two employees who are interested in our journey. Unfortunately, I cannot taste the whisky (as I need to cycle), and I definitely won't buy it (I would have to carry it with me). The two men understand...
The wind becomes unpleasant, except at the few spots where it comes from behind. We put on our rain gear, which keeps the wind somewhat at bay. One must concentrate tremendously when trucks overtake, it tears the handlebars away. Christa even pushes for a while when the wind comes directly from the side.
The first must - Maeshowe, a burial mound with a tomb chamber - we have to skip. It can only be visited with an entrance fee, and everything is fully booked, explains a guide who is just returning from the visitor center (about a mile away, there is a bus). Well, never mind.
Next is the Standing Stones of Stennes, arranged in an elliptical shape, up to 5.7 meters high stones that were erected around AD 3100, approximately the same time that Maeshowe was created. Today, their biggest advantage: it is windless behind them. A few hundred meters further is the Ring of Brodgar, a stone circle with a diameter of 104 meters, larger than Stonehenge. A strict path policy ensures that tourists do not trample everything down.
We struggle against the wind to our goal, Stromness, a small harbor town where I was already in 1982. No memory of details, just that I crossed over to Hoy by ferry at my driver’s suggestion (I was a hitchhiker) and took a hike to the Old Man of Hoy. The Old Man is somewhat like the Anna in Helgoland. We booked a hotel that certainly has a great past; it radiates something of the sort. I would describe it as 'in need of renovation'; the wind whistles through the masonry and the simply glazed windows. But other than that, everything is fine. We grab something to eat from the Coop and end the day with a walk.

Friday, 13.06.2025
The weather report says less wind with rain showers. But first, breakfast, the English version. Breakfast was not booked; I want to pay, but it was on the house. The tip was then generous... The bikes spent the night in the entrance hallway; as we prepare them, the sun peeks out.
First destination: Skara Brae, now with a Visitor Center. The ride there was sunny, wind-protected, nothing like the previous day. Large parking lot with bus parking spaces. Nicely done center, great exhibition, we decide to go in after some thought. I for the third time (1982, 89), Christa for the second time after 1989. The flow of tourists must be managed, no question, but it is still not overtourism except during peak times. The excavations are still impressive, it’s astounding how our ancestors lived thousands of years ago. The old entrance hut is still standing; I can hardly believe it. A brief detour to Skaill House. In this country house, the master discovered a treasure in his garden after a storm. Now it is a great testimony to how the landowner lived. A huge contrast to his tenants...
We continue cycling, experiencing more or less wind as we reach Birsay at the northwest tip of the Orkney main island. The small offshore island can be visited via a causeway at low tide, which I have not seen yet. We take a wind-protected break, ignoring the tearoom we cycled past shortly before. Instead, we pay a brief visit to Birsay Earl's Palace, the ruin of another estate owner who also knew how to live, and indeed at the expense of others.
We now follow the north coast eastward, after reapplying sunscreen due to the sun. I ride in shorts and forget to cream my calves. A good sunburn is the consequence. One does not feel the sun's strength as much through the wind...
A shop with its own small coffee roasting facility forces us to stop. I sit next to a 'local' on a bench, and we get into conversation. The main topic: his 18-year-old VW (after identifying myself as German) and the 'thousands of tourists'. We make the return trip to Kirkwall relatively comfortably (as much as possible given the wind and the ups and downs), now missing a small piece of EV 12 on my traveled route.
We arrive tired at the booked B&B Grainbank Mews around 6 PM, run by Aileen and Albert along with their 4 children and a dog. They bought the property and, with a lot of personal effort and love, realized their dream. It is quite new, beautifully furnished. The exact breakfast wish still needs to be filled out, but Aileen is already gone.

Saturday, 14.06.2025
Albert is responsible for breakfast; he also comes from the hospitality industry and does it very efficiently yet warmly. Rain is forecast, and it is already drizzling. We need to catch the ferry to St. Margaret's Hope; the last one leaves at 5. The road again goes through the airport, but not over the runway. The highlight is the Italian chapel, almost a place of pilgrimage now. Built by Italian prisoners of war (from the battles in North Africa), it is a testament to how the treatment of prisoners can also look. They had to work hard (after the devastating attack of a German submarine on a British destroyer with 833 fatalities, Scapa Flow was heavily protected), but they had the opportunity to build a chapel by placing two barracks one behind the other. It now costs an entrance fee; in 1982 there was just the chapel...
Now it is really raining; we could not enjoy the island hopping over dams and bridges. Soaking wet, we go into a restaurant in St. Margaret's Hope; unfortunately, we skip the fish platter for 80 GBP with lobster and the like and eat haddock with chips.
Again into the rain gear (which keeps us dry from the outside) and on to the port, where we book the crossing. There is a waiting room, which we share with a German cyclist and our 3 bikes. Then we are allowed on board. Initially almost alone, but then it gets really crowded. The football club from John o'Groats was in Orkney with its D and C youth teams (I estimate). In any case, there was a lot of life in there! After a 70-minute ride, we arrive on the Scottish mainland.