Hi, just a photo post today. I'm doing Nano again, plus I had a special qualifications course for work that left me pretty braindead in the afternoons. We'll be back to Alnwick Castle in December.
There are several ways to cross from the mainland to Orkney; the best known is the car ferry from Scrabster to Stromnes. But I took the bus from Inverness which connects to the person ferry from John O'Groats to Burwick (and another bus to Kirkwall). It's a nice way to see a lot of landscape.
The Pentland Firth, the sea dividing the mainland from Orkney, has a pretty bad renown as being a brewery for some nasty storms, but while there were some nice waves, I would have not called it bad, and I doubt the inhabitants of Orkney would.
Since the waters of the North Sea and the Atlantic meet in the firth, there are some currents as well, which likely were fun for the Viking ships (not so much of a problem for modern ferries). The storms and currents did not prevent the Vikings from using the firth as passage to Ireland and the Hebrides, though.
So I got a tour along the scenic Caithness coastal route and then along the WW2 fortifications at Scapa Flow to Kirkness. The day was on the sunny side and I managed to snatch some photos from out of the bus. Material for another post.
My first impression of Orkney was: it's incredibly green. And that will say something in a land that's overall more verdant than Germany. The names are mostly Norse, and the Orkney flag could be a twin of the Norwegian one. The Vikings have left more than a few traces behind.
The evening sun made for some lovely pics of the crossing, though the wind on the outer deck was cold; it felt like coming right away from Greenland or so. But I love the sea so much that I suspect there must be Vikings somewhere in my ancestry. :-)
After a long day traveling from Stonehaven (near Aberdeen) to Kirkwall, I was looking forward to a good dinner, which I got down at the harbour. *grin* But that way of traveling gives you a better feel of distances and a lot more landscape than a flight would have.
BTW, I said I participated in Nano again, as 'rebel' this time since I work on an ongoing project, but it's not going as well als last year. I got a bad start due to a cold the first weekend and I may also have set my expectations too high after last years success, so I keep felling dissatisfied. But every word written is still a gain, right?
Hey, I'm doing Nano too. It's not the 50,000 words for me as much as a solid start on the project. Just plug away - you can do it!
ReplyDeleteLove the Sunset in Kirkwall Harbour pic. And you must have Viking in your past. No way would I be out on those cold waters. Of course I'm from sun-loving Mediterranean ancestry...
Constance, it's the same for me, only that last year I got such a good start and this year the words are just not coming.
ReplyDeleteHeh, you ancestors where those whimpy Romans who couldn't take some real weather. *grin*
Don't make me come build a wall across your country!
ReplyDeleteYour ancestors tried that* but it didn't work. My ancestors ran straight over it. :-)
ReplyDelete* The Limes, cutting off the angle between Rhine and Danube. It was abandoned in AD 263.
What a fabulous photo of the sunset at Kirkwall!
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember reading somewhere that the Pentland Firth has some of the most powerful tidal races in the world. Doesn't it feature in Dorothy Dunnett's King Hereafter?
Good luck with NaNo, and with your wrting generally. As you say, every word written is a gain.
Good luck, Gabriele! With all your projects :-) Beautiful photos, as always!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carla and Kasia.
ReplyDeleteCarla, I think it does. Those Vikings weren't kept back by some currents. :-)