Sunday               Sanday

We caught the ferry for Sanday at 9am. This was a better boat than yesterday with viewing from various seating areas. It was alovely sunny day and calm water. We could actually hear the Captain’s safety message today and the journey took an hour and 25 minutes.

 

 

Sanday is the largest of the Northern isles of Orkney and has miles of white sandy beaches. Its ferry port at Loth seemed stark and purely functional being not near to anything much we could see. It could have been the site of a quarry or used during the war. Apparently it is an ideal spot for otters though we would have counted ourselves very lucky to have seen one. We set off up the hill of which there are a few at this end of the island passing the waiting room with seats ( though they are hard!) and toilets. We passed wind turbines and 2 radio masts on top of the hill.

It was an 8 mile ride to Lady where there was a heritage centre. On the way to it we passed air socks in a field that marked the airport and an enormous well stocked shop with everything from posh sweets to garden furniture. We stopped at Sinclair’s General store as it was named and bought ourselves something for a packed lunch by the sea.

The museum was interesting especially the croft and a reconstruction of Bronze Age Burnt Mound at Meur. There was a sunken tank of stone and the pile of cracked stones near it suggests that hot stones were thrown in to heat water- hence the name Burnt Mound.

Across Sanday we saw several pill box and concrete relics from wartime.

We stopped at some picnic benches which we took some while to spot despite being marked on the map. The grass was long and obscured them from view. We sat opposite the wreck of a German Ship at Lop Ness Bay and ate our picnic.

 

 

 

We decided to make for the Robert Stevenson lighthouse. Covered in vertical black and white stripes it looked impressive on the horizon. The road peters out to a track that cars would normally be allowed to use despite its grassy nature. Erosion has caused parts of the track to collapse so now it is closed to all traffic. We walked carefully, pushing the bike.

The views were fantastic-the sea shimmering turquoise,mauve and sky blue while behind us white sandbanks looked like diminuitive cliffs. The lighthouse sits on a little grassed island and we wanted to “bag” it. We tried to cross the rocks forming the causeway but they were covered in slippery bladderwrack and crisscrossed with puddles. The tide hadn’t quite gone out. We decided it wasn’t worth twisting an ankle for and gave up disappointed.

There were signs of the Highland Clearances even on these islands. On land near the lighthouse we could see empty 19^th century dwellings left to ruins. There seemed more of these to us than inhabited houses. A few miles round by a freshwater lake with swans we took a road back to Lady.

The soft sandy landscape seemed to favour rabbits who pockmarked fields with white where they had dug out warrens. Heads popped up and back again as we were noticed. Many just sat up top in the sun. A huge black bird sat waiting at a burrow’s entrance. Plenty of oyster catchers here and some curlews while crows nested in exposed rafters and sparrows in the walls of the ruined houses.

A lot of the flowers on Orkney have been yellow- marsh marigolds, flags but there have been a few marsh orchids.

Back at the Heritage centre it was good for a comfort stop. The kitchen was open and visitors can use the kettle to make themselves tea. Milk, sugar and biscuits are available too with an honesty box for contributions. We thought this a lovely friendly gesture and were grateful for a warm drink. The 2 hotels were nowhere on our radar today.

We passed a golf-course with several cars parked near. The holes were widely circled by wire fence presumably to keep the cattle out- or rabbits. We could see a few people playing. I believe there are 9 holes.

The brilliant sunshine disappeared as we waited for the ferry and it began to spit with rain. We’d cycled more than 30 miles today.There were plenty of cars for Westray leaving just before ours. A teenage girl dressed in hockey outfit came into the waiting room. She was going to Kirkwall for school and would be away all week.

Back in Kirkwall we ate at St Orla’s to a background of folk singing from the adjoining bar.