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In complete contrast to yesterday, the weather today was glorious - t-shirt and sun cream was the order of the day.
My first stop was at the Orkneyinga Saga centre in Orphir. The saga was written in 1230 by an unknown Icelandic author and combined oral legends with fact to document the history of Orkney from their capture by a Norwegian king in the 9th century up to about 1200. Behind the centre are the remains of a cylindrical kirk (church) and the Earl's Bu, both of which feature in the Sagas.
The we drove along the coast a bit to Scapa, on the shores of Scapa Flow. As well as fantastic views across Scapa Flow, this is the home of the HMS Royal Oak Memorial Garden, which was sunk near here by a U-Boat in October 1939, which prompted the construction of The Churchill Barriers.
We then headed to the easternmost part of Mainland, called Deerness. This is an oft neglected part of Orkney. It lacks the plethora of ancient sites, but makes up for it with some beautiful landscape, so I took advantage of the sunny weather to do some walking.
My first stop in Durness was Dingieshow. This is on the isthmus that connects Deerness to Mainland. From here I embarked upon a short 2.25 mile walk that starts along a lovely sandy beach on Taracliff Bay. Sadly, on the beach was a dead dolphin. The walk continues along the bay up onto the cliffs and follows the coast for a while, with views across to the island of Copinsay and it's much smaller companion Horse of Copinsay. The path then heads inland and back to the car park.
Next I made for Mull Head, on the northeastern point of Mainland. Here the walk was somewhat longer at a smidge under 7 miles. At the start of the walk is The Gloup - a Norse word that describes a collapsed sea cave. This one has viewing platforms at each end - the inland ome allowing a view of the sea through the arch of the collapsed cave.
I then headed north along cliffs which, after yesterday's rain, was quite boggy underfoot. The next major feature was an almost detached headland called The Brough of Deerness. There is a path that leads onto the Brough, but is quite exposed. However, there is a chain handrail to help, so I clambered up to the top, where there is the remains 10th century chapel, as well as spectacular cliff scenery.
At the very corner of the coast was The Chip of The Mull, with views across to the northern isles of Orkney. A little further along the north coast, the main path heads back to the car park, but I decided to continue to The Covenanters' Memorial.
The Covenanters were a group of militant Presbyterians in the 17th century who fought the government. After being captured and held at Edinburgh, a group of about 200 were being transported to plantations in America as slaves. Just off the coast here the ship was caught in a sudden storm and was sunk. The Captain ordered that the prisoners were left locked up so they wouldn't escape, but one sailor gave them the key which enabled a few to escape, though most were probably recaptured. However, most of the prisoners were drowned with the ship.
After about three and a half hours, I was reunited with The Minx and we made our way to The Harbour Fry in Kirkwall. Here I tried Red Pudding. This is like a battered sausage but includes bacon, and was very nice. It was, of course, accompanied with Chips, Cheese and Gravy.
Today we drove 59 miles, and I walked about 9 miles.
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