Greetings from Kirkwall! 

THE WEATHER TODAY IS FABULOUS.

My plans today are similar to what I might have had in mind for South Queensferry.  But I am not going to laze around until the afternoon.  It’s not raining, and not too cold. The port feels a long way from the town.  If I get to visit St. Magnus, I will have seen the U.K’s most northerly cathedral.  Perhaps there will be a Choral Evensong.  In the words of a U2 song from the 1980s, it’s a Beautiful Day.

11.32 hrs

Two cruise ships are in town today as Kirkwall welcomes over 5,000 passengers.  The other ship, which I shall identify later, is a Holland America vessel of similar profile to the three newer Cunard Queens.  I am writing this part of the blog inside the 12th century cathedral dedicated to St. Magnus.  Like St. John’s in Buxton, there is just one service each Sunday morning.  Tourists are crawling around like well healed ants on a slag-heap with phones, like mine, recording artefacts which will probably remain unidentified.  Indeed, I, too, am clueless.  However, an official guidebook may help me identify some of what I have photographed.  The cathedral, run by the Orkneys local authority, is actually owned by the residents of Kirkwall, who utilise this ancient church for many local and some major events, e.g. concerts.

Kirkwall has a much smaller population than Buxton. However, I counted four still functioning  banks. Many of its narrow streets are pedestrianised and thus safe and quiet.  I assumed Kirkwall, despite its compactness, having gone its own cathedral,  was a city.  Actually, I am wrong!

While I only saw a fraction of what Kirkwall had to offer, and I do wish that I had explored further afield, I really did enjoy an idyllic day, in perfect weather, and reaching my initial 300,000 steps target in 26 days.  I was glad of refreshments in one or two nice cafés.

  Eventually, I returned to the ship on one of the four operating bendy buses.  They, in themselves, could be a tourist attraction.  A pipe band serenaded as M.V. Queen Anne, as she prepared to slip her moorings. 

The “WELCOME QUEEN ANNE” sign had been altered in readiness for the ship’s departure.

I intend to add further details to the pictures at a later date.

Many thanks for reading,

David, the following morning, now docked in Invergordon.  Like yesterday, my plan is to explore the town.