British Isles Explorer: Ring of Brodgar, Orkney Islands (4/3/2022)

Sunday, April 3, 2022 (continued)

We received notice that our midday included shore excursion was shortened from four-and-a-half hours to one-and-three-quarter hours, and we would skip the village of Stromness. We boarded the motorcoach at 11:30 as it began to rain.

Tried to get a photo of the dry stone walls that
separated the fields in Orkney; the walls are layered
horizontally, with the top layer placed vertically

We passed a mound that was the chambered tomb of
Maeshowe (c 2500 BCE) and here the Standing Stones of
Stenness with four upright stones left from a dozen, which
may be the oldest neolithic monument in the British Isles

Our one stop was at the Ring of Brodgar, in a cold and windy rain.

The Creature of the Ring of Brodgar (KSS)

The Ring of Brodgar is a very large neolithic henge
and stone circle (c 2500-2000 BCE)

A henge is a type of earthwork of a circular or oval bank with an internal ditch, surrounding a central flat area that may or may not contain a stone circle. Here the ditch was carved out of sandstone bedrock.

The Ring of Brodgar was a nearly perfect circle of
60 standing stones, of which 27 remain upright; little
evidence has been found to determine the purpose
of stone circles, yet the geometry and placement
in regards to astronomical movement is profound

We stood on one mound full of burrowing
holes for a better view of the standing stones

Several mounds in the area may have been for observation of the sun and moon.

The Ring of Brodgar is surrounded by dried out heather

You can actually see more stones at ground level

How many stones can you get in one photo?!

The landscape is considered a heath, uncultivated land
covered by heather, gorse and coarse grass

We passed by the Scapa Flow, traveling miles and miles,
along part of the enormous natural harbor protected
by islands; this is actually Houton Bay with a ferry terminal

The Scapa Flow was a base for the British Grand Fleet during World War I. Twice German U-boats/submarines tried unsuccessfully to enter Scapa Flow. Following the German defeat, 74 ships of the German Naval Fleet sat in Scapa Flow awaiting word about the Treaty of Versailles. The German Rear Admiral decided to scuttle the ships to keep them out of British hands, and 53 ships were sunk.

During World War II, a German U-boat did enter Scapa Flow, prowling until it found a ship to torpedo. The ship was a World War I era ship, HMS Royal Oak, resulting in the deaths of 835, many of them boys aged 15 to 17.

We returned to the Viking Venus for a late lunch, then worked the jigsaw puzzle.

Next: Edinburgh, Scotland.