Stromness in the Rain

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Well, we thought we had seen some interesting weather during the week, but nothing prepared us for the deluge and hurricanes of Thursday:-)  Winds of over 40 mph for much of the morning and rain so heavy that you couldn't see out of the windows at the lodge!  Welcome to summer in Orkney!!  See photo of the weather forecast in Extras.

We waited in until about 11 am, hoping it would ease but when it didn't, we decided to go out anyway!  It was only a short drive to Stromness and we popped in and out of the shops and art galleries etc, trying to keep dry, but with no success.  It was bitterly cold too and we were grateful for the hot pies bought in a shop in the main street, which we munched in the car:-)  We also visited a local café for a hot drink and a cake, just to keep our strength up!  

Stromness is a typical fishing port, with narrow cobbled streets and houses built really close together (se Extra).  This view was taken from inside the Pier Gallery, which has a large collection of sculpture and drawings by Barbara Hepworth.  I do like her sculpture, but was not too impressed by her artwork:-)  

We headed back to Dounby later in the day as our tour guide had told us about a craft shop (similar to the one Poppy volunteers in).  I could have spent a fortune in there, but restrained myself and chose a lovely print of one of the lochs and a painted pebble to remind us of our visit.