The Unstan Cairn stands near the shores of the Loch of Stenness. It’s signposted from the main Kirkwall-Stromness road. Access is via a farm road/track but there is a small car park by the final path to the cairn.

Unlike some of the neolithic remnants we visited on Orkney we had this one to ourselves.

From northeast:-

From northwest:-

Entrance. There is a latched gate to open before crawling into the chambers:-

Entrance to interior from gate:-

We were surprised and delighted that there was plenty of light inside as it has a modern roof with a skylight.

Interior:-

A side chamber:-

Another side chamber:-

In time-honoured tradition people have carved grafitti onto the stones (as those Vikings did at Maeshowe). Some of this at Unstan is very modern, though. Well, there’s no attendant to stop it:-

This carving may be old though:-

Entrance/exit in natural light:-

Entrance/exit lit by flash:-

Maeshowe is another neolithic site in Orkney I’d always wished to visit. It’s a 5,000 years old chambered cairn, with three burial chambers, two of which dog-leg to the right, one to the left. The bodies were exposed to the elements to be stripped down to the bones before being placed in the chamber.

Unlike other sites on Orkney you can only visit Maeshowe on a guided tour. The car park by the access path has been closed and access is only via a bus from the Visitor Centre in nearby Stenness village. The guide said the road was too dangerous to allow cars to turn in and out and pedestrians to cross unsupervised. Apparently someone had been clocked going at 152 miles per hour along the road!

Unfortunately internal photographs are not allowed. The guide said that was for reasons of time.

You have to bend down and stoop for metres to get into the chamber proper through the access tunnel. You’ll find a photo of the tunnel here.

In deepest winter around the winter solstice a shaft of sunlight lights up the passage and enters the large central chamber. There is a webcam site which shows live pictures from November to February. They seem to have had some trouble with it last year though.

In 1153 some Vikings broke in to Maeshowe to get shelter during a snowstorm which lasted for days and spent their time carving runes. These can be dated fairly precisely as this type of runes was only in use for a short time. Some of the runes can be seen on the Orkneyjar web page.

Also inscribed was a fenrir which some people call the Maeshowe dragon.

Maeshowe from access path:-

Maeshowe showing ring rampart:-

From access path, showing entrance:-

Entrance:-

Maeshowe from south:-

From north:-

Stones of Stenness (to left) and Ness and Ring of Brodgar (to right) from Maeshowe. Loch of Harray in middle ground, Loch of Stenness above and to left :-

“The Ring of Brodgar is the finest known truly circular late Neolithic or early Bronze Age stone ring and a later expression of the spirit which gave rise to Maeshowe, Stenness and Skara Brae.”

Earlier this year a BBC TV series called Britain’s Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney fronted by Neil Oliver argued convincingly that Orkney was an extremely important cultural centre in neolithic times and that the construction of stone circles originated in Orkney, spreading south from there – eventually to produce Stonehenge.

Unfortunately the path directly round the outside of the Ring was undergoing maintenance when we visited so it was not showing its best appearance. And as you can see we were not the only visitors:-

I did try to get a photo without other people in it:-

Ring of Brodgar from perimeter:-

You’re absolutely tripping over ancient man-made structures in the Stenness area. This mound, by the shores of the Loch of Stenness and not far from the Ring (from where this photo was taken) is called Salt Knowe. The hills in the background are on Hoy:-

Ring from perimeter path, Loch of Harray in the background:-

Single stone, with man to show scale, part of Loch of Harray behind. You can easily see wear to the grass around the stone, emphasising the need for maintenance:-

Looking Towards Ness of Brodgar and Maeshowe from Ring of Brodgar. Loch of Harray to left of Ness of Brodgar, Loch of Stenness to right, Maeshowe just to left of middle of photo:-

The piece of land on which the Stones of Stenness lie contains other neolithic remnants.

One is the Watchstone (which used to have a companion Odin Stone which was destroyed in 1814 by the leaseholder of the land.)

The Watchstone from path round Stones of Stenness, Ness of Brodgar behind:-

The Watchstone and Ness of Brodgar, Loch of Stenness to left, Loch of Harray to right:-

The Watchstone, looking over the Loch of Stenness, Hoy in distance:-

Two hundred yards or so north east of the Stones of Stenness are the remains of a neolithic settlement called Barnhouse Village – of which more later. This photo taken from the edge of the village over the bottom of the Loch of Harray shows how close Maeshowe is (green mound just to right of centre of picture.)

Looking northwest over the Loch of Harray from Barnhouse Village you can also easily see the Ring of Brodgar:-

Closer view of Ring of Brodgar from Barnhouse Village:-

A view of part of Orkney for your delectation.

The Stones of Stenness are the remains of a ring of neolithic standing stones – possibly the oldest henge in the British Isles. They stand on a piece of land flanked on one side by the freshwater Loch of Harray and the sea water Loch of Stenness.

The taller ones are very tall indeed. I assume the ones no longer there were also as tall. Signs of modern life are visible though. You can just spot electricity poles if you look closely enough above.

Here’s a view from the other side of the stones back in the opposite direction. Note parked cars and people. Shortly after this a bus tour rolled up:-

What looks like a single stone to the left on the above is actually two stones:-

If you look through the gap in the stones in the other direction then Maeshowe is directly between them in the distance. See sixth photo here.

On the same piece of land as the stones lie the remains of the neolithic Barnhouse village. The Ring of Brodgar is also visible from the site.

At the centre of the Stones of Stenness are the remnants of a hearth:-

Stones of Stenness from site entrance. Unfortunately an electricity pole seems to sprout from the top of a stone in this one:-