Red Sky At Night.........



Probably a Sunset.

What about that........





Until next time...........................








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A Different Day Out,


And She Flies Like a Bird in the Sky.........

 

Summer is allegedly upon us and the ferry service is running Sunday excursions to the other isles that surround us.

This trip found us rounding the lighthouse at Start Point on Sanday and heading off to the isle of North Ronaldsay. 

Any further north and you apparently fall off the edge, Here there be dragons and all that sort of stuff.

The first thing you notice is that there is no RORO (Roll on roll off) facility here and things are done the old way.

Our poor old van didn't know what hit it.

Swing low sweet chariot..........

Going down......

Nearly there.........

Aaaand.....Whump, landed.

North Ronaldsay has a light house with a visitor centre (incorporating a bar) at one end, and a bird observatory (also incorporating a bar) at the other. 

The bar in the centre of the island has closed down.

This is an island with a population of around 60 people.

Tourism is rife. 

Moody pictures of times gone by are everywhere.

Mmmm.....The telecom tower sort of messed that up.

Three short hours later and the van was flying again. 





The...

was soon leaving its place on the short pier....

and whisking us off back to Stronsay.

Closely followed by an obliging Gannet. 

Bit blurry but they are fast........excuses, excuses.

A Fulmar takes over the posing......

A blue sky would have been nice but a Haar (Scotch Mist) had descended by now. 

One day I'll get this right, this could have been a gem.


Next week it's off to Westray for the day!!





Until next time...................






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What A Day!!!


And another trip out.

We have been trying to take a day off each week on Monday over the winter period, this invariably means that Mondays are either wet, cold, windy or a combination of all three.

This Monday proved to be the exception to the rule as we awoke to a corker of a day.

A trip to Kirkwall had already been planned as we have some guests arriving mid week who have asked for some crates of "Orkney Ales", (Just to try them of course).

This weather was the icing on the cake.

Camera in hand off we set for the bright lights of the town.

Our carriage for the day was the good ship "Varagen" .......and yes you've guessed it even more icing as.....................

We were allowed onto the bridge!!

Seats were supplied along with a nice cup of coffee, this is the way to watch the islands pass by at around twelve knots.

Lots of toys to play with serious pieces of equipment abound along the bridge.

No ships wheel here though, just a small joystick on the front of the cabinet.

First stop was at our neighbouring island of Eday.

The almost oily calmness of the water has been quite a rare thing so far this spring.

Fifteen minutes later and the big old V12 Caterpillar diesels were pushing us on our way once again.

It felt like cruising in/on the Med, warm sunshine and flat blue seas.......bliss.

A quick three hour mad dash around Kirkwall and we were back aboard vacating the linkspan for the Earl Thorfinn to take her turn to load up.

Daylight left us much later but the conditions stayed the same.


                          Stronsay Harbour By Night.....

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As I said, What a day!!







Until next time.................





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