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Day 8 – Back on the Mainland

The car ferry to the Scottish mainland leaves at 11.30am about half a mile from where we stayed in St Margaret’s Hope, so it was a relatively easy start to the day. I had scrambled eggs with salmon for breakfast and I think they gave me almost the whole fish! The smooth crossing took an […]

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01 Hermaness to Burwick

Map 7: the End of the Isles

We didn’t really want to leave our lovely home for the last 2 nights; and our excellent airbnb hosts Hilary and Edward at their charming farm “Heima” (which we highly recommend); but after breakfast on a beautiful day it was time to head south towards the final map of the Northern Isles section of my […]

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01 Hermaness to Burwick

Map 6 – Orkney Mainland

I learned quite a few things today and one of them is that the old name for Orkney Mainland is Pomona. You don’t see it on an OS Landranger map; but you do see it on older hand-drawn ones. It is also the name of a pub and a cafe in Kirkwall. Pomona was the […]

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01 Hermaness to Burwick

Day 5 – Leaving Westray

Westray seems to find ways of keeping hold of you. Jo, a 20 year resident of Orkney (but originally from Hampshire), and her Orcadian husband, were setting up a pop-up craft shop in the front room of the small hotel and told us about their previous trip out to Westray, when the weather was so […]

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01 Hermaness to Burwick

Map 4: 4 islands, 3 ponies, 2 capitals and a broch

After yesterday’s exertions, Jenni was pleasantly surprised to discover that her legs were still working this morning. The weather forecast was for very high winds of twice yesterday’s strength and a strong probability of rain. Not very enticing and possibly rather dangerous for cycling in; even though the actual weather, when it arrived, turned out […]