Well, I can’t believe that the weekend has come around so soon. The middle weekend of our holidays are usually quiet, relaxing ones and this weekend is no different.

After a lazy Saturday morning we went to explore a couple of ring circles that were build by the Neolithic people. As any archaeologist will tell you, we don’t know exactly when, how or why they were built … the stones are large and heavy, don’t come from the immediate locality and each site (this goes for the tombs as well) all have some sort of alignment that could indicate religious or ceremonial use. One thing, though, is that to go to this much trouble to build them, they must have been important to whoever built them, local or otherwise.

The Ring of Brodgar has 36 of the original 60 stones still standing, forming a circle 105 metres in diameter, with a ditch on the outside of that. Little else is known about it, as there has been little archaeological studies, so for example, there is no indication of what was in the middle. The size means that it is difficult to do it justice in a photo without being airborne, so here are a few photos giving an idea of what it looks like.

Next we moved to the Stones of Stenness. More investigation has gone into this site, which was originally about 44 metres across with a two metre deep, seven metre wide ditch cut into the bedrock. Twelve standing stones were erected in a ring inside this, with one entrance causeway and a hearth in the centre; recent excavations have uncovered slots and pits around the hearth for stone and timber structures. Of all of this, four main standing stones remain.

It’s Sunday today and we have been to St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall for their (very Celtic) morning service and, as the weather is very wet and windy today (that doesn’t really sum it up properly – we are in a cloud that, despite the wind, won’t blow away!) we decided to have lunch out (back at the Orkney Brewery Visitor Centre). Tonight we will be having a meal at an “aspiring” restaurant (according to the owner of the cottage we are staying in) with one of Orkney’s top chefs (Paul Doull) – The Foveran – so we have high expectations of a good meal! Until then we are keeping cosy in our cottage (when the weather is better I’ll take some pictures of it).