Friday we have taken a trip out to one of the other islands. We had no real plan, other than making sure we knew when the ferries were due to run, we had contacted a local bus company to pick us up from the ferry and drop us somewhere.

So we headed to Sanday and arrived at Kettletoft where the local hotel provided a hearty meal (definitely not fine dining) and we then headed out to walk to Quoyness Cairn, which turned out to be a good two hour walk each way. If you read my blog from yesterday you will understand what I mean when I say that this is a ‘Maeshowe’-type tomb! On the way we walked around a sandy bay as the tide was going out, past the remains of an old Kirk (with, as seems typical on Orkney, a large well maintained cemetry). As we got near to the Cairn the footpath became overgrown and the weather which had started the day bright and sunny became worse and heavy rain was approaching. So we called that a day and walked back to Kettletoft where we had arranged for the bus to pick us up again.

I’m typing this in the other pub here while we recover from about a ten mile walk, knowing that because of “industrial action” on the ferries, our return journey will be via Stronsay and take two hours twenty minutes instead of the one hour forty-five this morning.