Today I decided to do something insane- ride a bike to the top of Orkney. I'm used to riding around on flat surfaces on a cruiser, so to hire a mountain bike and ride up and down the hills of Orkney for 27.5 miles was a little insane. So insane that Andrea left me to my own devices and stayed back in Stromness. The ride was cray-cray... there were times I was literally inching up hills but I'm proud to say that I never once had to completely stop on a hill and walk the rest of the way. And I lived for the downhills, except for one where I had to turn and was going kinda fast. I made quite a few stops on the flat areas to check my map and see where I was headed. I rode from Stromness all the way up to the Brough of Birsay. Birsay is a small island that's connected to Orkney by a causeway that you can only get to when the tide is low. The tide wasn't so I sat on the beach for some time and then rode back down the same way that I had came. Here are some explanations for the pictures I took.
Earl's Palace- built by the illegitimate son of James V of Scotland (for reference: James VI of Scotland became James I of England). Used both as a fortress as well as a home.
Examples of the Western Gallery- the upstairs area (no longer there because there is no floor) was one large room where they'd entertain as well as hang pictures.... which lead to the word gallery being used as a place to hang art and pictures
remnants of the stairs to the upper floor
St. Magnus' Church (not cathedral like in Kirkwall)
Birsay- not available right now because of high tide
the lighthouse on Birsay
cool beachy formations
the north side of the cove- heavy with crashing waves
my trusty steed for the day
Stone of Quoybune- dates back to 5000 years ago, according to legend, it leaves the site at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve and walks down to the Broadhouse Loch to take a drink. It's very dangerous to try and watch the stone having it's New Year's drink- one young man who was shipwrecked on the Birsay coast decided to watch its nocturnal travels and sat on top of it to be sure that he didn't miss anything. His crushed body was found lying in front of the stone the following morning. Do with that as you see fit....
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