Orkney
Orkneyjar -the chief peculiarity of the Orkney dialect is its accentuation, the intonations of the voice, long marked by abrupt rises and falls so as to form a sort of cadence.
29.08.2006
20 °C
"There was very little news in the village, on account of the weather. The shop was as quiet as a mousehole all morning and afternoon"
George Mackay Brown, from Greenvoe
...but the rain did not raineth every day, in fact we had some absolutely stunning weather. Orkney can appear flat and grey but the slightest hint of sun and the place just explodes with beauty, everything seems so clean and raw -the sea, the sky, the air, the birds. The birds.
I spent my birthday in Stromness, we camped on a little hillock with a stunning view over the water to Hoy and defying reports of force eights and water-loggings, it was warm, dry and still as a mill pond. We spoke to an 84 year old Orcadian sailor with sparkling blue eyes, who told us in his lilting accent, stop-ping in the mid-dle of words, about "the sun-ken Nazi ships of Sca-pa flow" All the people we met were very friendly. Later, we got pissed on Northern Light and Highland Park and played on an incredible flat, two player space invaders machine. I spoke to at least four cats as I swayed home through the winding, cobbled streets. In short, one of my most perfect birthdays.
The Standing Stones of Steness and Skara Brae: 5000 year old neolithic villages and paganist ritual sites are interesting. Yes they are.
Woodwick House: Chloe got me a night is a lovely hotel for my birthday. It was set in a twelve acre bluebell wood, it had its own wee bit of coast, a burn, a doocot, great food, a whiskey menu, a german lesbian hostess and a white cat. Hello.
Bis Geos: This is one of the best hostels in the world. It looks out over the north-western cliffs of the island of Westray. It is an eco-lodge and has an amazing conservatory that looks out over the sea -I could watch for weeks. The sea cliffs are teeming with birds; fulmar, razorbill, kittiwake (not tittywank as one of our party would have you believe) shag, guillemot, puffins and gannets. Crab and Lobster is cheap. You can watch the northern lights in winter. I want to take everyone I know.
Orkney is good.
Posted by louisedear 03:20 Archived in United Kingdom Tagged backpacking
