Orkney 2007 - Day 5

Friday 29th June - Sonia's birthday, Deerness, Meal out

This was Sonia's birthday, so the two of us headed out on our lonesome to Deerness, a region at the eastern edge of the mainland, which is itself almost a separate island with only a narrow sandy isthmus besides St Peter's Pool keeping it attached.  Here we had a leisurely stroll through the nature reserve from The Gloup to Mull Head and back via Denwick.  This stroll also took in Brough Head, an early Celtic Christian monastic site in a prime real-estate site, although it had seen better days.

The parish of Deerness, with Mull Head at the NE corner:

The Gloup, an impressive collapsed sea-cave:

George, an unimpressive collapsed man:

The fine shoreline of Deerness: 

The narrow walkway onto Brough Head:

The sheltered bay beside Brough Head:

Mull Head, home to a fair number of sea-birds:

After our walk, it was high time to get back to civilisation so we had a great birthday lunch in a bistro in Kirkwall and then we hit the shops before heading back to the cottage.  Once back, we were perturbed to find out that Leach had not only managed to get up, but had even expended some energy and walked some miles to check out the Tomb of the Eagles, yet another neolithic thingy...

To celebrate Sonia's big day, the guys had agreed to come along to a meal out at the Sands Hotel on Burray.  This turned out to be a very nice evening with the food hitting the spot for just about the right kind of price.  Definitely recommended if you're in the area.  A bit of whisky back at the cottage and a perfect sunset closed things nicely. Happy Birthday S.

Watching you watching me: