This week has brought the last of my current plans for getting away on my weekends.
Schools in Scotland break for their summer holidays now, so places will be busier and it will be difficult to find accommodation. I am no longer affected by school holiday dates, so I will leave it to those who are.
I am in Orkney this time, on the southern island of Burray. My journey comprised a 3 hour drive north to Inverness Airport, a 45 minute Loganair flight from there to Kirkwall on Orkney’s mainland, and then a rented SEAT Mii for the 20 minute drive to Burray.
The southern islands in Orkney are connected by causeways, so no ferries are involved.
It was interesting to pass through Inverness Airport a month further down the line of restrictions being lifted. It now has more flights, but they are spacing them out during the day so that the terminal does not become busy. I guess there were 10-15 passengers on my flight, so the terminal – even the departure lounge – was quiet and laid back.
Burray is a quiet little place. The village is almost 0% tourist orientated, the exception being my hotel. It has 8 rooms.
I have been to the islands a couple of times before, and one of the first things I did was revisit the Neolithic sites at Stenness and Brodgar. The stones are believed to date from 2,500 to 2,000 BC. They are special.
When I see sites like those I always wonder what motivated people to create them, at a time when just surviving from day to day was a full time occupation.
Burray is 289 miles from home by car and ferry, involving a 7 hour journey. I have travelled that way once, and it is fine for a longer visit, but not for 2 nights.
ⓒ iain taylor, 2021
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Orkney and Shetland are high on my want-to-visit list. You may have nudged them a place or two higher! As always, an interesting, informative and personal report of your travels.