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Leaving Orkney

On the trip back from St Margaret’s Hope to Scotland (which Orcadians, rather than ‘the mainland,’ call the nearest part of Britain – to them ‘the mainland’ is Orkney’s largest island) we passed the gun batteries on South Ronaldsay.

These are I think called the Hoxa Battery.

There were gun emplacements here in both World Wars to protect Scapa Flow. These remains have the look of World War two constructions.

Hoxa Battery, South Ronaldsay, Orkney

South Ronaldsay, Orkney, Hoxa Battery

In 2017 I photographed them from a bit further away.

War Memorial, St Margaret’s Hope, Orkney

St Margaret’s Hope was our last stop on Orkney as it was where we picked up the ferry for Gill’s Bay in Caithness. I mentioned it in 2017. Its War Memorial is in the form of a kilted soldier atop a tapering square plinth.

War Memorial, St Margaret's Hope, Orkney

The front of the memorial is dedicated to the men of South Ronaldsay who fell in the Great War:-

Close up War Memorial, St Margaret's Hope, Orkney

War Memorial from rear:-

War Memorial, St Margaret's Hope, Orkney, From Rear

Word War 2 Dedication, on side of memorial:-

Word War 2 Dedicationm War Memorial, St Margaret's Hope, Orkney

Orkney Ferries

We made the crossing to Orkney from Gills Bay in Caithness via the Pentland Ferries’ catamaran the Pentalina. It skelped along at a fair pace:-

Pentalina

Landfall was at St Margaret’s Hope, South Ronaldsay, the third largest settlement in Orkney:

St Margaret's Hope,  South Ronaldsay, Orkney

Closer view of the town:-
St Margaret's Hope, South Ronaldsay Closer View

This is the Northlink Ferries’ ship Hamnavoe in Hoy Sound on its way from Stromness to Scrabster:-

Hamnavoe in Hoy Sound

This video (click on picture to get to my flickr to play it) shows the Hamnavoe steaming through Hoy sound with Hoy in background. Unfortunately I zoomed in and as a result the focus went awry:-

Hamnavoe in Hoy Sound

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