Day 9 - Lybster to Kirkwall

Today we’re up and out early for another ferry ride. This time to the farthest north for an Alex Beaton tour to the islands of Orkney. We sail from Gills Bay aboard the MV Pentalina to the harbour of St. Margaret’s Hope. The new catamaran is able to make the crossing in just under an hour.

As we approach our ferry terminal, Alex asks Barry to make a brief stop at John O’ Groats. Now, you lovers of “Tramps and Hawkers” will recognize this as another of the sites noted. The Last House at John O’ Groats John O’ Groats is regarded as the northerly most settlement in mainland Great Britain. While not strictly true (nearby Dunnet Head is actually further north) it is, in fact, the longest distance between inhabited points on the British Island, the other being Land’s End on the Cornwall peninsula. The distance from Land’s End to John O’ Groats is 603 miles as the raven flies or 870 miles by road. In contrast, the distance from my front porch in Jackson, TN, to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is exactly 845 miles.

Making land at St. Margaret’s Hope on Mainland Orkney, we head northward toward our first stop, the Italian Chapel, where we were to meet our guide whilst in the Orkneys - Claire. As we pass from the island of South Ronaldsay to Burray to Glims Holm and then to Lamb Holm, I realize that we are crossing over the Churchill Barriers. These barriers were constructed to block access of German ships in WWII to Scapa Flow following the sinking of HMS Royal Oak by a German U-Boat in 1939. They were ordered built by Winston Churchill who was, at the time, First Lord of the Admiralty.

In early 1942, 550 Italian prisoners of war, captured in North Africa, were brought to the Orkneys. They were needed to fill the labor shortage primarily employed in the construction of the Churchill Barriers. The Alter of the Italian Chapel As it happened, the POWs came to be more than tolerated but actually liked by many of the islanders. This gave them access to the many resources that would allow them to create what has become one of the Orkneys most noted resources - the Italian Chapel. The project began with the creation of the statue of St. George by Domenico Chiocchetti that continues to grace the entrance of the site. From there, they went on to model the interior of their Quonset hut to remind them of home. They added to it a concrete facade to hide the raw exterior of the Quonset hut. Though they were unable to finish it before the end of the war, Domenico Chiocchetti actually stayed after their release to complete it. It stands today as a monument to the joy of mankind even in the most grave of circumstances.

From the magnificence of the Italian Chapel, we proceeded to our hotel for the next two nights, the Kirkwall Hotel. The Kirkwall is a lovely Victorian building that sits square on the harbour front in the heart of historic Kirkwall.

But there’s still more. The day is but half done. For the afternoon, we have a tour of the Highland Park Distillery. Highland Park has the distinction of being the farthest north Scotch distillery. (Actually, it would the the farthest north of any distillery but for Mackmyra Distillery in Sweden.) The Highland Park Still House (photographed from just outside the door, of course) While most single malt Scotch distilleries have names like Glenthis or Glenthat or some strange Gaelic name, Highland Park is named for the area known as High Park (to distinguish it from the lower area nearby). While you may not be familiar with this whisky, it is, in fact, one of the most award winning single malts in the world having been named The Best Spirit in the World (twice), receiving World’s Best Single Malt for their Highland Park 21 year old in addition to numerous other awards.

Highland Park also distinguishes itself in another way from any of the other distilleries I have visited. They do not prohibit photographing any portion of their operation. However, they do not allow photography in the still house due to the high concentration of alcohol. Not wanting to ruin the tour, we all abided with their wishes. However, for the first time, here is a photo of the stills.

Highland Park also has the distinction of being one of the few distilleries that malts it’s own barley. The process of malting the barley consists of spreading the barley in a shallow layer and allowing it to germinate. Peating the Malted Barley During the process, the barley must be turned by hand every eight hours. Once the barley malts, it must then be dried prior to turning into whisky. Highland Park dries it first with peat that is harvested within 100 miles of the distillery. This peat is burned to dry the barley and the smoke from the peat imparts its own distinctive flavor to the whisky. Many factors go into determining the flavor of a particular whisky, but the peat smoke and the still shapes are two of the most important. I must say that our tour of the Highland Park was not only the most complete, but the most informative of any tour I have taken.

After our tour, we, of course, spent a few minutes savoring the final product of the master distiller. While I found the HP quite satisfying, it did not have the heavy smoky peaty flavor that I find most appealing in my favorite, Lagavulin. We had a few minutes left to browse the small but satisfying gift shop. We then returned to our hotel to check in.

Still having some time before dinner (remember, we have all the da The window above the Apse ylight we need), a group of us decided to walk the few blocks to St. Magnus Cathedral. This magnificent Romanesque church dates back as far as 1137 when the islands were ruled by the Norse Earls of Orkney. The church is named after the saint who, along with his brother, ruled the Orkneys from 1105 to 1114. After Magnus was killed by his cousing, Håkon, in 1116 (or possibly, 1117), he was buried in a rocky grave. When the surrounding rocks turned into a green field, it was declared a miracle, the first of many in his name.

The building itself is constructed of red sandstone from Orkney and yellow sandstone from the Island of Eday. The building, like many at the time, was nearly destroyed in the Protestant St. Magnus Cathedral – Looking down the Nave to the Choir Reformation of 1560, but was saved by the then Bishop. A feature unique in all of Britain is a dungeon that lies between the south wall of the choir and the south transept chapel.

After satisfying ourselves that we had exhausted ourselves this day, we returned to the hotel for dinner and bed, only stopping on the way for a small ice cream.

Neolithic Orkney