Castle Sinclair Girnigoe

Stage 3 of our trip took us from Wick to Orkney.

We had a bit of time on our hands today as I thought it would be nice to potter around the north coast for a while before heading off to Orkney. Our ferry wasn't until 1pm so I hit Tripadvisor to see what was what. Of the 8 things to do in Wick, a visit to Castle Sinclair Girnigoe filled the top slot so off we went (with the promise to stop for lamb-i-kins where we could). Surprisingly (not) on the way to the castle there was a field of the little cutlets so Gitama popped out and clicked away while I continuously checked the rear view mirror for traffic on the single track road.

I'd been struggling with my castle shots recently but at first sight of Castle Sinclair Girnigoe situated on the most fabulous headland took my breath away. No problems shooting this 15th century stronghold. Restoration work is ongoing to the castle and so there is a fair amount of scaffolding around the site and access is restricted in some places but that didn't detract from the awe inspiring beauty of the ruins. I've included a couple of shots in the extras.

In spite of the extra time we had we were still rushing up to Gill's Bay to catch the ferry over the St. Margaret's Hope on Orkney. It was another gorgeous day but the wind was blowing a hoolie on the way over. The sun continued to shine as we headed north to our wee cottage at Birsay. What a fantastic little place it is too. If you're thinking of coming over and you're looking for a place to stay, I can't recommend Ocean View highly enough. The lounge windows overlook the Brough and the North Sea and we were treated to the most beautiful sunset last night. Simply gorgeous.

We decided a wee trip out to the Ring or Brodgar was in order before dinner. The last time I visited here I'd only seen them at sunset. When we arrived we saw there was a wooden fence around the site. More conservation work to improve drainage. Initial disappointment was forgotten with a bit of creative composing but to be honest, by the time we'd traversed to the sectioned off area, I'd become really taken with the rough hewn posts. Several shots are included in the extras. On the way back from dinner (note to self - book the restaurant in these here parts) we stopped off at the Standing Stones of Stenness just down the road from the Ring. The sun was dipping low by now and the glow on the face of the stones in the quickening gloom of dusk caught my attention immediately. It's the last extra today.

To see our day in glorious technicolour, please drop in on Gitama's journal here.