Saturday, 12 July 2014

Orkney

Today dawned cloudy, mild and dry.  The ferry to Stromness, on Orkney, left from Scrabster, a - shall we say -functional port maintaining a polite separation from Thurso.  Good views of Hoy as we passed, which looks an amazing place with towering sea cliffs to the South, mellowing to Lakeland type fells which give way to low meadowland to the North.   Not bad for a smallish island.

The main street of Scrabster hugs the bay and is paved with large stones - interesting to ride on.  But it soon gave way to tiny, empty lanes rolling through the fields.  Nice cycling with a fresh breeze behind me, but the terrain is a bit like north Norfolk - easy on the eye but surprisingly tough on the legs.  I wasn't sure if I had eaten enough to fuel my ride so  after 10 miles I stopped at the Skara Brae café, which also had a well-preserved neolithic village, 5000 years old and a World Heritage site. Quite good.

The hills were still troublesome so after another seven miles I stopped at snother café.   Well, who knows how long to the next chance?

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