Friday 24th Start of Week 4

Scotland to Orkney

Sunny start in JO’G, with plenty time for shower etc before my 1330 Pentland ferry to Orkney. I had coffee and toast at the small but well stocked knitwear and deli shop, and bought a couple of compact island guide and walks books. Bought diesel and milk at the combined garage/post-office/general store (“Last in Scotland”), and headed along the coast to Gills Bay, where there were I’d guess a couple of hundred cars or vans lining up for the ferry. Burgers, chips, pies etc were available on board, and lots of passengers were tucking in to a full meal, thankfully for a smooth crossing with no more than a gentle rolling motion. 

We disembarked in moderate (for these parts) drizzle. I didn’t stop in the worsening rain to inspect St Margaret Hope (‘hope’ in Gaelic means ‘bay’, and is pronounced ‘hup’by locals), but followed the written instructions (‘Don’t use the postcode on your satnav’) to get to my turn into the hill above the coastal road to Kirkwall. The entrance to Pool Farm Caravan Site (Caravan Club certified - more comment on that later ) was a mile inland, and led to what is in effect an almost derelict farm. My host, Alan, was waiting for me as promised, exercising his dog in the muddy field, and pointed me to pitch #2, which he said would be sheltered from the northerly wind. (Yeah, right!) I hooked up to the power socket at once, because Alan wanted to check it was working (it was) and to show me the meter and explain the system for putting money in a numbered jam jar in a cupboard if I should exceed my allocated amperage. He then guided me through the tortuous route to the back of the farmhouse over waterlogged and slippery ground, past half a dozen rusty abandoned cars, a rotting sailing boat, and some wrecked tractors, to reach the ‘facilities’. These ‘facilities’ consisted of a wooden hut, containing a WC which doubles as a sluicing-out place for cassette toilets, and a functioning sink (cold water, of course). By the time I had sloshed my way back to the van I had already decided I would use the facilities only in extremis, at least until the weather had improved enough to get there dry-shod, and definitely not in the middle of the night (no lights anywhere in the site). I ran the engine a bit to heat the van and took off the shoes I wear to drive (and in fact everywhere) which were now soaked through to my socks. I settled myself down to listen to BBC radio through the van’s excellent sound system, but immediately discovered that there was neither Wi-Fi nor phone signal up here. Alan later told me that this is a difficult area, and sometimes the only signal they can get has been routed through several masts, originating in Norway. So I am incommunicado for the foreseeable future (and I’m booked in here for 4 nights!) Why am I here? That’s not an existential query: the reason is that this is literally the only ‘camp site’ on the Orkney Isles that is open before April. And believe me, I’ve looked! Anyway here I was (am) and I have light and heat, so no point in agonising about it - it’s marginally better thn a true ‘wild camp’. However, interim Plan B into immediate action: unhook the power, and drive to the Sands Hotel in Burray, across the causeway, for beer, food, and technology!

Sands Hotel, by contrast, is well known and probably the best on the Islands, and therefore expensive to stay. I did wonder if they’d let me park overnight in their enormous car park, but didn’t ask. They aren’t listed in my invaluable  Britstops guide. In fact mowhere in Orkney is, so that’s that then. I sat in the warm bar, used their WiFi, and had a pint of local Scarpa ale, and later a good dish of soup and a Haggis starter. I didn’t stay late because I didn’t relish finding my way back to my spot after dark, but that idea still didn’t work, as it was already pitch black and raining solidly by the time I left. I have to confess to one wrong turn (into a different farm entrance) from which I had to extricate myself. I settled down for an early night with my reading books, snuggling up in my bed with the ‘eclectic blanket’ working its miracles. And a wee dram always makes life feel better. I was still able to get some entertainment through the sound system as I settled down, using downloaded Spotify playlists. (Note to self – when I have WiFi again, somewhere, I must download some more) . .