February has started with some lovely spring weather and snowdrops are appearing everywhere. Doubtless there will be some remnants of winter to come.

This month sees the reopening of Stromness Museum after the winter close down. It’s a terrific museum with an amazing collection. The focus is on the history of Stromness and its links with the sea. There are exhibits on Orkney’s Neolithic past, the role of Scapa Flow in WW1 & WW2 (including many artefacts from the German Fleet scuttled in 1919) and Stromness’ connections with North America through the Hudson’s Bay Company and the Arctic explorer Dr John Rae. See the museum link below:

http://www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/stromnessmuseum/index.asp

I’m going on about the museum because I’ve been involved as a relief custodian since 2016 but this year I’ll be full time – that means one day a week here!

Sunday 4th was a lovely day here and gave us a chance to get out for a stroll down to Ness Point. Walking south we pass some of the old stone piers with their redundant winches, juxtaposed against the modern versions in the harbour behind.

The walk takes us past the Cannon, guarding the entrance to the harbour. Stromness is full of blue plaques describing the history of the town (see Around Stromness) and here is an example, explaining the history of the old gun.

In a town heavily dependant on the sea, it’s always important to know which way the wind is blowing. This cute little weather vane does just the job.

The southern tip of the Stromness peninsula is home to Stromness Golf Club, one of the most northerly golf courses in the UK. Although a nice day today, they normally need to make a lot of compensation for wind off the sea.

Heading back into town give us a nice view to the harbour and highlights how the town sits at the foot of and climbs up Brinkie’s Brae. The hill gives Stromness a deal of shelter from the strong westerly winds coming off the Atlantic.

Tuesday 13th sees a light dusting of snow on the higher ground. The lower temperature has formed a gossamer-like shroud over the Orphir Hills.

Sunday 18th – A lovely evening for a walk. Managed to get some nice pics including these of an icebow over Hoy and a mackerel cloud formation with rays over the golf course.

Tuesday 20th – H has been doing a bit of beachcombing and her eagle eyes spotted this little gem. Sea Urchin shells are very fragile and often get broken up on the shore, it’s unusual to find one intact. A good find!

Not a pleasant sight but all part of the circle of life, the remains of a Beaked Whale on the shore at Marwick Bay provides a welcome meal for a pair of Glaucous Gulls, these gulls are quite rare in Orkney.

With the bay facing the Atlantic it’s easy to see how the power of the waves could throw a whale carcass on to the beach.

Wednesday 28th – We are getting low spring tides at the moment and the ebbing waters expose some of the creatures that inhabit Gray’s Noust, such as this starfish

and this selection of mussels, limpets, barnacles and sea anemones. We’ll eat well tonight!

Go to March 2018

Hogmanay 2018 in Stromness

This is our third Hogmanay here. Our celebrations tend to be fairly muted but I still seem to feel a bit fuzzy on New Year’s Day!

2017 was a special year in Stromness, this is the 200th anniversary of Stromness becoming a Burgh of Barony (don’t ask) in 1817 and a number of events have been organised throughout the year by the excellent Per Mare committee (Per Mare is the town motto – By Sea). This Hogmanay saw the revival of the Yule Log, an old street game last played in 1937. It involves two teams, Soothenders and Northenders – 40 men and women in each team, taking part in a tug-of-war where the teams attempt to pull a 400kg log to their respective ends of the town. To be clear, that’s a 400kg log PLUS the struggling opponents to be dragged about 100 yards along the street. The Soothenders made it look quite easy and won convincingly. Helen and I are Soothenders – hurray!!

The event was well attended and hopefully the Yule Log can continue as a Stromness tradition, or at least until somebody is maimed!?

January Generally

Following the jollities of Christmas, January is always a bit of a miserable month. Here the days are still fairly short and the weather swings between grey skies with wind and rain and beautiful sunny days without a cloud in the sky. We are, however, regularly treated to spectacular sunrises and sunsets at more civilised hours than in the longer summer days.

We have had a bit more snow than usual this year and colder temperatures have made it stay longer. Hoy always looks great and even Graemsay got a dusting.

January is a time when the island’s ferries go for their annual maintenance and service. This year our faithful Hamnavoe was replaced with the huge freight carrier Helliar. Hamnavoe is a nice, stable ship and, generally, provides comfortable crossings. Hopefully, it won’t be out of service for too long.

Stromness is known for the old, narrow twisty streets. The principal road through the town has this slab and cobble arrangement. The slabs were too slippery for carts pulled by horses, so the central cobbled strip was added to allow horses to get a grip. The streets are quiet at this time of year and the locals can enjoy a stroll without being run over.

January saw H’s Dad celebrate his 90th birthday in Kettering and she went south for the celebrations. A great opportunity to catch up with the family. A long journey, though, ferry from Kirkwall to Aberdeen followed by train to Peterborough. Fortunately, she had a decent journey in both directions.

 

Go to February 2018

2017 saw us sell our wee house in Lochinver as part of our move to Orkney. A very sad time for us. We had spent some ten years holidaying there and made many good friends.

Lochinver is situated at the head of a sea loch in a remote corner of the northwest of Scotland. In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful and spectacular parts of the country. Stunning beaches, iconic mountains and abundant wildlife make every visit a delight.

The village itself, considering its remoteness, is well served with amenities. Several excellent restaurants (including a Michelin star) specialise in local ingredients, particularly seafood. There’s a great little bookshop and café in Inverkirkaig, where we were always made to feel welcome. Entertainment was provided in the village hall, including international acts that came up from the Edinburgh Festival. Movies are provided by the touring Screen Machine – a cinema in a truck!

Definitely not “goodbye” to Lochinver and we’ll be going back for holidays and keeping in touch with old friends.

Around Stromness

This is a nice pictorial map of Stromness, showing the layout of the town. Well Park is marked at bottom left, next to the George Mackay Brown Garden. Stromness Museum is shown at left middle and Graham Place (where H works at the Red Cross shop) can be seen in the centre, indicating our long commutes to work. The map also shows the locations of the blue plaques, dotted through the town, showing points of historical interest.

Super Moon over the Flow

Got this shot of the moon over Houghton Head. The wisps of cloud made it appear to be wearing a bandit mask.

Wintry Hoy Ahoy

We don’t get too much snow in Orkney, so it’s always nice to see the neighbouring island of Hoy with a touch on the hills. The roofless building in the centre was Stromness’ first lifeboat station. Established in 1867, 2017 was the 150th anniversary and was marked by the unveiling of a plaque at the old station and a flotilla of the local lifeboats into the harbour.

Up Hellihole

Just outside Gray’s Noust is the bottom of Hellihole Road, a name which seems to amuse the visitors and is much photographed. It’s one of the steeper roads in Stromness and can be tricky in winter. The building is the former Stromness Library and is now an Arts Studio.

Climbing the hill, the road passes Stromness’ “Leading Lights” (not me and H, as I’m sure you thought). The two lights, when aligned, guide shipping into the harbour below.

The name Hellihole is derived from “Haley Hole”, a mineral well nearby, which was believed to have health giving properties. At one time it was visited by pilgrims who considered it a “miracle well”.

Around the corner, on Back Road, is this nice little cottage, The beehive structure on the corner was a type of kiln used for drying grain.

Continuing along Back Road, we can detour up to the “Citadel”, this was the site of an Anti Aircraft battery in WWII and gives great views over Hoy Sound. In the foreground is the site of the Ness Battery, first established in 1914 and updated in 1938. It guards the western entrance to Scapa Flow.

The Citadel also gives a good view to the east, past Hoy High lighthouse (on Graemsay) across the Flow to Cava and Flotta.

From here it’s just an easy 10 minute stroll downhill back home. A nice wee walk.

The Old Warehouse Buildings

This is another of Stromness’ blue plaques, recording that the “Old Warehouse Buildings” were built in the 1760s for the storage of rice brought from the American colonies during the Seven Years War. This building now houses the new library, the Council offices and the Police station but has no signage indicating this. Stromness operates on a need to know only basis, also known as “aabody kens”.

Groatie Buckies

These little shells are “groatie buckies”, or spotted cowries. They are much sought after by Orcadians for good luck. It is common to see entire families bent double, scouring the beaches in search of them.

Stromness Sailing Club

Thursday evenings see Stromness Sailing Club out on the water for their weekly get together. Here they are in Stromness Harbour enjoying a beautiful evening.

Mapping the Town

The main streets of Stromness are to be scanned using a laser 3D scanning system. A team from Robert Gordon University (RGU) carry out laser scanning of the town’s historic and architecturally unique Victoria Street, capturing key points such as well-known building facades and the topography and layout. This is their scanned image of Stromness Museum. (Article from The Orcadian).