Wideford Hill Chambered Cairn, Orkney was one of the ancient sites in the Orkney Islands we didn’t visit in 2017. We tyook it in in June last year.

The approach is up a very steep – and winding – farm road till you reach the car park (grandiose description for two parking spaces) from which you can look down to Kirkwall. The photo also shows some of the road:-

There is a view of Scapa Flow from there too:-

A notice at the car park said the chambered cairn was about half a mile away on a path round the hill. It was much longer than that.

You can see me walking the path here in a photo taken by the good lady. As you can see the cairn is nowhere in sight and we had been walking for about twenty minutes by this time:-

Cairn from path. To the left you can see the box in which the key to the entrance is kept and the information board:-

Information board:-

Original entrance (now gridded off):-

Cairn from above. The modern entrance is the blue square on its top

The previous time we visited the Brough of Birsay see here and here, the rain started to come in horizontally so we cut things short.

In June this year the weather was much more amenable.

On the way up we had stopped off at Marwick Head again.

Hoy from Marwick Head, Old man of Hoy just visible poking up at right hand end of island:-

Marwick Head from Brough of Birsay, Kitchener Memorial standing out on Marwick Head:-

Mainland Orkney from Brough of Birsay:-

Viking ruins lie close to the causeway from the mainland:-

This time we were able to stroll to the lighthouse:-

Stevenson Lighthouse, Brough of Birsay from path across the brough:-

Close up:-

From northwest:-

From South:-

In June we took a walk along the seashore of the Firth of Forth from Kirkcaldy towards Seafield Tower. There’s always some wildlife around.

This cormorant was sunning itself against the background of old sea wall blocks:-

Panorama of rocks and seals:-

Basking seals:-

On the way back the tide had come in a bit:-

“Do not disturb” sign. It’s a bit sad that there is felt to be a need to put up a sign like this:-

Video:-

On this video you can hear the seals’ howls:-

This one shows the ship we were travelling on (extreme right):-

Close up on lake with fountain:-

A road bridge in central Bergen from Mount Fløyen:-

Part of Bergen with sea inlets beyond:-

A distant suspension bridge (photo is fuzzy due to zoom function.) Due to its sovereign wealth fund – a legacy of the oil boom – Norway is festooned with infrastructure like this:-

On the way back up from Northeast England last June we took a trip over the causeway (having looked up the tide-tables beforehand) to Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, a place I’d always wanted to visit but somehow had never seemed to find the time before.

It’s an odd experience driving over the causeway – it feels quite long – but the trip was worth it. There was more to Lindisfarne than I’d imagined. Not just the castle and Priory.

Lindisfarne Castle from Approach Road:-

Closer view:-

From the road there’s a good view over the sea to Bamburgh Castle:-

I thought the objects in the next photo were a bit odd, but obviously with some age to them. Only when I got home and looked them up did I find they were Guile Point obelisks and lighthouse. (When lined up the obelisks indicate the safe channel into Lindisfarne harbour.) As seen from Lindisfarne:-

They can be seen again in the background here beyond Lindisfarne’s foreshore with these wooden stumps:-

There is a small village on the island (where lie the remains of Lindisfarne Priory) and a harbour.

Lindisfarne Harbour, Village and Priory from road to Castle:-

Isle of Whithorn is not to be confused with Whithorn. It is about three miles further south and is one of the most southerly villages in Scotland. The locals refer to it simply as, “the Isle.” It is said to be the place at which St Ninian first made landfall in Scotland.

Harbour. This is where the Drummullin Burn enters the Solway Firth:-

A chapel dedicated to St Ninian was erected here in the 13th century. Its ruins lie very close to the sea.

The village has a War Memorial to the right of the road entering it. A Celtic Cross on a square plinth. Great War names here:-

Dedications, ‘In honour of the men from the village and district who fell in the Great War 1914-1918. “Lest We Forget.” 1939-1945,’ and World War 2 names:-

Edited to add: I meant to say above that the Isle was where part of the cult horror film The Wicker Man was filmed.

Art Deco styling on Blackpool sea wall. Pillar, and fencing:-

From shore side:-

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the Royal Navy’s latest aircraft carrier. (That’s the one there’s not enough money to fit out with any aircraft.)

She sailed out from her fitting out at Rosyth in the Firth of Forth for her sea trials in June 2017. We happened to be in Cellardyke, Fife that day and caught a glimpse of her near the Isle of May.

HMS Queen Elizabeth (yacht in front) and the Isle of May from Cellardyke Harbour:-

HMS Queen Elizabeth and Isle of May closer view:-

HMS Queen Elizabeth closer view:-

Isle of May:-

HMS Queen Elizabeth and another ship:-

Not quite the farthest northeast point of the British mainland (see previous post) John O’Groats is, though, the furthest northeast settlement in Scotland.

There’s almost nothing there though, which does mean it’s thankfully mostly unspoiled.

Well, a small harbour, from which there are boat trips (foot passengers only) to the island of Stroma, and I think Orkney:-

A hotel:-

The signpost – very difficult to photograph without a body in the way – though they don’t all wear silly hats:-

This view inland also shows in the background the shop at the site:-

There’s also a sculpture with three intersecting curved metal strips to represent the local nomadic boulders the information board shown below explains. There were children playing on it though so I didn’t photograph the sculpture itself:-

Before heading back south from Thurso I’m nipping back to Duncansby Head, the northeasternmost tip of Scotland (and the UK) which is not, as most people might think, John O’Groats. Duncansby Head is a few miles eastward along a one-track road.

As we had factored in possible traffic delays we had an hour or so’s grace before the ferry to Orkney and so took in the Head.

Cliffs and an inlet:-

The cliffs are home to lots of seabirds:-

As you might expect there’s a lighthouse at the land’s end:-

Just to the south of the head are these rocks sticking up out of the sea. They’re known as the Duncansby Stacks:-

On the way across to Orkney on the ferry I took this photo of Duncansby Head from ten or so miles away in the Pentland Firth:-