April 25, 2024

Kirkwall is the main settlement of the Northern Isles and capital of Orkney, an archipelago in the north of Scotland. When we woke up this morning, it was 39 degrees so it promised to be a chilly day. We dressed for it!

We saw this castle on the way into the port and fortunately we were at a dock. A Seabourn ship had to tender their passengers ashore.

We watched as the local port workers attached the gangway. Quite an operation!

We took the first shuttle into town and stopped at a small local craft market first. The people were delightful to talk with and we learned that a ship couldn’t make it in yesterday because of wind so we felt lucky. There are many sheep on the hillsides but no trees at all due to the harsh winds.

Our first stop was the magnificent St. Magnus Cathedral which was founded in 1137. It has a Church of Scotland congregation and by arrangement can be used by any Christian denomination.

Magnus was the Earl of Orkney in the early 1100s. He shared the Earldom with his cousin Hakon but they disagreed so they held a meeting on the island of Egilsay. Hakon broke the agreement they made to bring 2 ships and brought 8. Rather than kill Magnus himself, Hakon ordered his cook to do the deed. Magnus dies praying, killed by an axe blow to his head. Stories grew of miracles at his grave and people began to believe he was a holy man. His nephew came from Norway to claim his uncle’s earldom and promised to build a place of pilgrimage in honor of Magnus. Both are saints and their remains lie within the walls of the choir.

This cathedral is unlike any we have seen. Known as “the Light of the North”, it is one of the finest examples of medieval architecture to be found in Britain. It is made of red sandstone. The building has moved slightly westwards over the years creating some obviously leaning pillars which is almost hard to believe because they are huge.

There is so much to look at in this cathedral – we spent quite a long time and didn’t even see everything.

After touring the cathedral, we headed to the Earls’s and Bishop’s palaces. The Earl’s palace is under construction so we could not enter it. Here is a picture of it.

We did go to the Bishop’s palace.

We climbed up into the tower. It was a very windy and steep stairway – here’s the view.

Our next stop was the Orkney Museum in Tankerness House. We were surprised by the number of artifacts from the history of the Orkney Islands that were housed in this small museum. Very interesting visit.

We went outside to the delightful walled garden.

We visited the library and warmed up – there was fast WiFi too! There was a big book sale going on and if we had room in our luggage, I would have bought some. There was a 1984 cookbook with a young Martha Stewart on the cover for the wee price of 1 pound!

They have two book clubs and show the featured books.

We decided to try to find a local cafe for lunch before returning to the ship. We walked around the streets and enjoyed the small streets.

We found the tiny and charming Cafe Lolz.

We had a lovely leisurely lunch. On the way out of the cafe, I spotted this sign.

Tomorrow we Will be in Stornoway, UK, another one of the northern Scottish islands. We didn’t book a tour and will again take the shuttle and explore on our own. We are loving Scotland!