Ayre Hotel ( ) Kirkwall

Started off at the castle this morning and went to see the leaping salmon at Shin Fall. There were not many salmon around but after hanging around for nearly two hours I managed to get a couple of
pictures of them leaping, boy are they quick! I popped into the coffee shop for a look around the gift shop selling Harrods goods???

Back into the car and off to John O'Groats via Wick. I drove up following the A9 and ...

... a friendly B&B. I think I'm going to need this as some days I won't be smiling much!

It's early evening by the time I arrive in J O'G and there is a beautiful pink sunset. Camera in hand, I get a couple of shots of the harbour, the Last House and the view over to Stroma and the Orkneys. Having exhausted the delights of J O'G in about five minutes, I turn in for an early night as my departure looms...

... and secular patron saint of Orkney. They all know about him and are very proud of his achievements.
Our digs were about a 15 minute walk from downtown. The view from the bottom of our street is one of the many reasons I chose the Bella Vista Guest House. If you don’t rent a car, it might be kind of far for some but the walk is so fine, we considered it an advantage. A word about the Bella Vista, it is warm, brightly clean and very comfortable. Our room was ...

... a room which appears to be about 20m long- the largest of its kind from that age, but they haven't got much information on what it was for yet. We didn't get to go inside Maes How which is a chambered tomb from roughtly the same time. On the shortest day of the year (and about 3 either side of it) light rays light up the inside of the tomb- it's amazing how advanced it all is.

The shortest day of the year up here ends at about 3pm ...

... which was probably the most amazing scenery all day. The area around Loch Ness (no sign of Nessie, though we had a good look from the ruined but still pretty Urquhart Castle on the banks of the Loch) is also very pretty, though with less rugged mountain peaks. Loch Ness is one of the larger lakes and you can sail through it now, though you'll have to navigate the Locks, but luckily all the bridges over the waters swing now (interesting to watch ...

Rousay is a small island just a few miles north of Mainland, Orkney. It has been called the "Egypt of the North" because of the large number of prehistoric sites found on the island. Only about 200 people call the Island their home, but it is a popular tourist site because of its archaeological importance. We visited just a few of the hundreds of sites on the island where even today most of the sites have yet to be excavated and researched by archaeologists.

We didn't travel to the Orkney Islands to see a farm, but to see the prehistoric ruins near the Skail Home Farm—Skara Brae. The Orkney Islands are like an amusement park of Neolithic sites and this is just one of hundreds found across the islands.

Skara Brae is the most complete Neolithic village in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site ...

... br>
Six guests arrived today that flew in from the United States (1 from Germany) to join us in our tour of the United Kingdom. They landed at the Kirkwall Airport where the Bosun and deckhands met them at the airport to help with their luggage and to take them to the yacht. It's the most guests we’ve had aboard so far. Once aboard, the chef had food for them, and they were given a chance to unwind and relax from their long journey. There is always a cocktail party on ...

Our Dutch friends were, at least, consistent, in that they woke us up at 5:00 with their size 13 feet trampling everywhere. Last night I said they were nice guys, I still think they are, honestly! Seriously, we saw them off safely, had another couple of hours snoozing then had a super bacon & eggs breakfast before we too, started the engine at 08:30 and set off. I must confess to being a bit puzzled, in that the Dutchies (that's ...

... our rucksacks up in Liddle and Tesco and staggered back to the boat, just in time to beat the torrential rain that started and stayed with us the rest of the evening. As the telly was working, we were able to watch one of our favourite programmes - Foyle's War. I think they capture the atmosphere beautifully and the plots are often quite complex and unpredictable - well at least they are to us.