Today was a mix of sunshine and showers - and I managed to avoid the heavy ones! It was also a day of visiting ruins, though the first stop, Cawdor, is still very much intact with an impressive interior. Then I stopped at Boath Doocot - a 250 year old dove home that sits upon a castle mound with some lovely views of the area. It overlooks the site of The Battle of Auldearn in 1645 between the Royalists and the Covenanters - so a connection with the memorial I...

Today was a day of travelling as I said farewell to Orkney. The weather for the day was a mix of sunshine and showers. There were some heavy showers but I luckily got there after they'd finished, and I only had a couple of light showers. The first leg was on the MV Earl Thorfinn ferry from Rapness on Westray to Kirkwall on Orkney Mainland. On route I saw some seals as we passed the island of Shapinsay. From Kirkwall I drove over the 4 Churchill Barriers to St. ...

As the day dawned, black clouds were still around, though with some breaks, and the wind had started to die down. The forecast was set to be fair. Therefore, it was with some optimism that I headed to Westray Airfield for today was the day of The Epic Flight. I managed to park directly outside the terminal building and got through all the formalities (which consisted of saying "Hello" and talking of the horrendous weather last night where the Check-in Clerk / Ai...

After reluctantly bidding a fond farewell to Kirsty and Dave at Orkney Island Memories B&B, who have been such fabulous hosts for 9 nights, I embarked upon the next stage of my Orkney Odyssey and boarded the ferry to Westray. When we were about 15 minutes from Westray, there was some amusement when a member of the crew came into the lounge and took a lifejacket! Must've been a false alarm though as he brought it back a couple of minutes later. Westray is on...

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...