Gloup Gloup

Yesterday, we spent most of our time in Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkney Islands. This is not a particularly exciting town, but it has a few interesting sites. Sheila Fleet is a local jewellery maker who does beautiful work. I would suggest that you google her and see what you think. We visited her studio in Tankerness, and Sheelagh and Von picked out a piece each. Then we hurried into the Kirkwall Library for their Brothe and Brae. This was soup and bread to us and it was part of their crime writers theme. Ann Cleeve was the guest writer who was handing out the prizes to the best amateur crime writers.

From there we went to the Cathedral which is quite spectacular. It holds the bones of St Magnus, a Norse Earl who was killed by his brother. We visited the Earl's Palace and the Bishop's Palace.

Then after a peetie bit of shopping we doddled off home.

Today, it was blowy and gray, but what fun to go exploring the south of the Island. We found the Gloup. This is a deep ravine running in from the sea and the waves provide the name, "gloup, gloup."

We walked along the cliff tops watching the charging surf smash on the rocks, and explode into the air. The seals watched us from the water as we walked a stretch of beach.

 

Mainland Island is actually a series of small islands linked together by "Churchill's Barriers."

 

 

These are causeways built to impede the movements of enemy submarines during the war.Today they make dandy road connections between the islands. We went down 4 barriers to find The Sands for a great lunch. Then we came up 3 barriers to visit the Italian Chapel. This is a tiny church made up of two nissan huts joined together to make a place of worship for Italian prisoners during the war. The

 

 

Italians took it upon themselves to make it a special place and they painted it and created ornamentation of concrete and iron work. It is a work of art, and has been carefully maintained by the islanders ever since.