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As the last couple of days have involved a lot of walking, and the forecast today was for heavy rain, I decided that my last day on Orkney Mainland would be easy going. So I decided to go Farming Today.
By the time I arrived at Kirbuster Farm Museum, it had stopped raining. This fascinating museum set in original buildings contains a rare example of a traditional 'firehoose'. This has the original central hearth, backed by a small wall, complete with a peat fire. The room also has a stone neuk bed, which is set in a wall with a partition to allow privacy and protection from drafts.
I then went down the road to its sister museum at Corrigall. This museum has a working barn, grain kiln, horse-drawn machinery and livestock. Inside the house were a couple of examples of a box bed. These replaced stone neuk beds where the bed is enclosed in a wooden box, with doors or curtains to enable privacy and to shut out those pesky drafts.
In one of the buildings, a couple of birds were flying around, and one settled right in front of a picture of a cat - as if they were the best of buddies!
Both museums gave a fascinating insight into how some Orcadians used to live.
As it was still dry, I decided to go for a drive around the island, including some roads that I hadn't explored yet. Then I made my way to Kirkwall to get a few more bits and pieces, before heading back to the B&B to pack and for a relaxing evening.
Today we drove 107 miles.
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