Orcadian landscapes

A FERTILE PLAIN Colin Richard has finished a three week dig in Orkney on an Early Neolithic house on the lands of Smerquoy across from where the Old Finstown Road bottoms out at the base of Wideford Hill. along from Redworth. From the old trail to the tomb this seems to stand at the head of an old burn system. Given the time constraints the decision was made to concentrate on this part of a suspected settlement, at HY403113. At the beginning he said he believed that there are further settlements hereabouts. Other settlements have been excavated in recent times based on flint scatters. Over towards Rennibister there was the 'Wideford Meadow' dig at HY407126 and north of the Quanterness tomb the Crossiecrown settlement at HY423137. In 2008 I saw [what seemed to me to be] likely-looking cropmarks at HY406122 in the field directly below the Wideford tomb, perhaps an extension of 'Wideford Meadow' ? Between here and the main road came the Old Dyke of Quanterness (i.e. Gorse Dyke) flint scatter HY407126. A flint scatter came from near Rennibister, at HY398123. A mace head fragment was found on the lands of Kingsdale (in the area of HY377117), and at nearby Rossmyre 'horse marsh' a leaf-shaped flint arrowhead came to light (roughly HY382120). Further towards Finstown a hammerstone was discovered in the Grimbister region, though these artefacts are less dateable. And then below Cuween Hill another settlement was dug on Stonehall farmland HY366126.

Labels: Crossiecrown, Grimbister, Kingsdale, Quanterness, Rennibister, Rossmyre, Smerquoy, Stonehall, Wideford Hill, Wideford Meadow

Another trip with Orkney Blide Trust, this time to Hoy. There are two routes to Hoy. The one that calls in at Graemsay and Flotta starts off at Stromness and ends at Moaness Pier in the north-east of Hoy. Our trip instead started at Houton in Orphir and took us south to Lyness (though it also goes on to South Ness pier in South Walls, part of Hoy and Waas). Had a brief look at the boat-nousts (perhaps originally as impressive as those behind Long Ayre in St Andrews and on Skaill Farm in Deerness. Then turned my attention to the remains of the WWII seaplane base directly south of the present ferry pier (I wonder if the building still standing to some six courses on Midland Ness above relates to this). Another seaplane base had been where the Scapa coastguard is now. I can see nothing there now so think that they made use of the sands at low tide (as I think could have been the case with the Sands of Piggar for a Great War landing site, though on a modern aerial photo the Toy Ness inter-war/WWI building sits suurounding by a blank-looking field which is suggested as the Smoogro airfield). Houton is different and you can see the concrete wrecks of thickset slipways.and what resemble holding pens or stalls. Further wartime activity is evidenced on the hillhead Houton Head, Battery 143, on which can be seen an obs post (no, make that two, one now a dwelling !), engine house, gun emplacements and magazine. There are searchlights down on the shore's edge. I think there could have ben a now submerged Neolithic settlement between Kirkhouse and my kirk site at the Head of Houton (Johnstone came to believe that Orphir originally only meant this, Orfirasey), perhaps near/on the causeway, though admittedly this is a grand edifice to build on the basis of one dense black water-worn pebble that I picked up along the way once !! Facing the harbour on the Hill of Midland are several quarry sites, and one of these has been re-commissioned to provide the flags used to re-furbish some of the Stromness pavements in an initiative just coming to an end - Kirkwall's town centre is next up for 'renewal'. Heading out of the harbour Stromness could be seen across the way. Soon passed the Calf of Cava lighthouse and Cava with its many ruins, both WWII buildings and farms likely enough mostly abandoned about that period. Coming into Lyness I saw Orkney's two Martello Towers and the gas plant and oil terminal of later wars. A quay built in WWII cost so much it gained the name of the Golden Wharf. On the hillside above, at Wee Fea, you can see the remains of H.M.S. Proserpine. This naval signal station had been the main Base H.Q. and Communications Centre for Scapa Flow. Nearby are more oil tanks (this time underground), LH4 gun emplacement/ack-ack and hut bases that could have been an accomodation camp. Close to the harbour is Lyness Museum with several munitions outside. We left this for now to drive north, following the road all up the rest of Hoy's east coast to Moaness. Went for refreshments at Benethill Café next to the pier. To the north I could make out some wartime buildings with what appeared to be a broad track dug through the ground in front of them. At Burraquoy this is the Skerry Coastal Battery, HY20NW 25, with the WWII observation post at HY2374305219 and the associated camp at HY23790408 (this consisting of five or more Nissen Huts to the north of Burra House on the west side of the road. Surviving parts of the battery include gun and searchlight emplacements, a magazine and the engine-room. The WWII buildings are placed into an artificial mound at the clifftop, HY20NW 21 at HY23750523. In 1964 the OS found the remains of a sub-rectangular structure ~13m x ~6m with three walls re-used for a silage pit. This they identified with the 1929 report of large boulders amongst the grass here. Which to my mind has as much basis as the paper tiger of a discounted possible broch mentioned in that report - all we have is the brough legend on the 1903 map, no name etc. Of course this could be a 'homestead' like Little Howe of Hoxa. Perhaps there was a broch in this corner of Hoy, but I wonder if the Burra placenames hereabouts don't instead come from the Bu farm. It is difficult to believe there wasn't an earlier Bu of Hoy to the present one, HY20SW 13 at 23620479, built in about 1615. Near the west side of the road, south of Bu and north of a waterfall, the old parish church (HY20SW 1 at HY23560463) stands a roofless shell in the graveyard. It would be nice to believe that the site started life as a chapel belonging to Bu, but the Royal Commission saw no trace of the likely mediaeval predecessor. The Name Book states it had been built in 1780 like the Graemsay church, though it more likely dates to the unification of the two parishes in the 1500s (and there are panels dated 1624]. That by the mid 1780s it had fallen down completely would back this up. In 1795 the church became partly rebuilt. It measures 15.2m by 6m, has two entrances in the southern wall, and the metre thick mortared walls stood 3m high in 1964. The Hoy Manse near the slipway is now Burra House, HY20SW 12.00 at HY2380904031, where Sir Walter Scott stayed in 1814. It comprises several buildings that were easy to make out from the cafe. Some of the earlier fabric may have survived its re-building in 1798. What used to be a fine example of a corn-drying kiln (attached to the east end of an ancillary building) is now reported as battered. Usually these are distinctly attached but seperate, as at Millquoy in Firth or the kiln-barn at Woodwick, but this one is hemmed about by the building. Perhaps this once stood on its own, or at least pre-dates the building in its present form ? The third building I could make out is an old boathouse attached to the pier which looks later, tall with a lnarrow low pitched roof and rectangular window holes. Nearer to where we were is a watermill. The Mill of Hoy, HY20SW 20 at HY23680392, is alongside a T-junction sitting opposite Hoyvale. Another site to go on my list for future drive-bys perhaps. Somewhere close a peedie bird's song rang out. Not much cop at identifying birdsong and the bird teasingly unseen. In the background two of high Hoy's hills. Ward Hill and the Cuilags are a simply magnificent backdrop. Ward Hill is stupendous even from here. With its two uneven humps there is a fine contrast with the Cuilags appearance as a conical peak bumped into a flat-ish hill. To explore them there is the Hoy Outdoor Centre for a base. I think. From the left a long line of comparatively low hills snake off south. Next up a scenic 2 hour trek over and through lesser hills to the west coast. The Rackwick Trail roughly follows a drovers road, this starting as as a broad level track ruuning between Ward Hill and Cuilges. To one side it is overlooked by Round Hill, and I couldn't help but feel this such a defensive position that it should have a history. No, nothing, not even a cairn. Simply a large green conical hillock topped by a circlet of yellow flowers that made it stand out from the grey brooding masses. Whether the initial road is naturally high banked, been worn through or purpose built the dogs certainly enjoyed running over them. We have to cross a burn. Well you don't have to but bridges aren't quite as fun. To our left is Sandy Loch, a long wisp of a thing above which we rise. I spy a flock of large birds bathing in the lake and am surprised when I recognise that they are bonxies. This word I always use for skuas. Only one species is supposed to go by this sobriquet, but the one I was told this was on first coming to Orkney isn't the same species that they now limit it to ! My guess would be that this is probably an island thing, as with peedie/peerie for small. High up on a hill to our right a rocky outcrop resembles a near vertical scree slope with the boulders' flight frozen in time. At one point I can see clear across to the waters of Rackwick Bay, outlined centrally in a wide tilted depression as if some deity were panning for gold. And then the track curves right and heads down into the valley, the surface breaking up and eventually becoming a narrow footpath through heather. Just before that dip we came across the first of the blue gentian for which the islland is well know. Naturally its even tidgier thean the Scottish primrose, but far easier to spot once you know its there. Also along our way we find the cinquefoil called silverweed, some vetches and rest-harrow. At, I'd guess, about halfway through the trail the mists came up and pictures became difficult, though as well as the moist hills I did later snap knuckles of fern curled up lke a newborn bairn's hands. Hoy became rather damp but not our spirits! The track grew narrower yet, and the one signpost we see is a little equivocal, so despite the erosion warnings some crossed the peedie streamlet whilst others followed the other visible track. As we closed in on Rackwick the hills greened again. Some of the party needed the loo and the one here fits in with the other buildings it stood amongst. Passed some lovely ruins. One stood to roof height at one end, and the wallface is heavily bearded with dull green vegetation that still managed to make it photogenic. Over to our far rightt Too of the Head's outline resembled the world's scariest slide, along the far left the shore has high Mel Fea to watch over it. At Rackwick we used the Burnmouth bothy provided for visitors and cooked the barbecue food prepared by The Blide's catering folk, with a mushroom-burger for the vegetarian. Only one of our group went to the beach that those awfu’ high cliffs of Mel Fea overlooked. The dogs provided entertainment for the rest. In the barbecue area/field could be made out probable footings covered by the 'lawn'. Looking over to whence we came stands low Greenhill that should be simply a monstous former sand-dune. There are no records to go with it, but again I get a feeling from it - perhaps like the mounds beside Dingieshowe. Certainly dug into at the very least. On the way back Rackwick Burn meandered pleasantly away from us through flat grassland at the end of its travels On the ‘bus between here and Lyness we passed Trowie Glen with its Dwarfie Stane and Betty Corrigal’s Grave. Too many folk going to the former some of us chose the latter for a side-trip. Lyness Museum was closed so we contented ourselve perusing the outside exhibits until the ferry left. The armaments are now coloured an attractive mix of fading battleship grey and rust. From an engineering point of view the large pipes and valves of the surface oil tanks are equally interesting (I preferred the ?disconnected black ones to the gunmetal grey stuff). Of course what attracted me was climbing up the banks to view some huge brick walls - they virtually had to drag me away. The Rackwick Traill deserves to be traversed slowly on a long warm summer's day. Wartime Lyness is much more than the area about the museum, deserves time on its own, some lovely structures remain. And then go to marvel at the Martello towers.

Labels: Burra House, Burraquoy, Greenhill, HMS Proserpine, Houton, Hoy Manse, Hoy Parish Kirk, Lyness, Martello Tower, Rackwick, Round Hill, seaplane base, Skerry Coastal Battery, Wee Fea