Sunday March 26th

Orkney, West Mainland sites

A day of revisits and one for the first time. I planned a route through those sites that are open, which is probably no more than 50% of the top sites. I loved the driving, on largely empty roads, under mostly blue sky with intermittent flurries of snow. The Stones of Stenness still impress on a second viewing, open to close inspection and touch, albeit in freezing cold, with snow bordering on hailstones pelting my face. I walked the circuit of the massive Ring of  Brodgar, also still awesome, imbued with memories of my visit with Cate. However, the Ness of Brodgar, which was top of my to-see list, was covered over for the winter. And looking down now from the Stones to where we had watched the excavation in progress, the ground is as level as a football pitch, and I'm not sure if any future digging is planned. So I think I'm not just a season early, but probably a year late. I'll just have to watch this extraordinary site again on TV. 

To make up for this to some extent, I followed the map to the Rennibister Earth House. I looked down the hole, and the ladder (I hate ladders), and with my heart in my mouth I climbed down into the subterranean room. I hadn't thought to bring a torch (or even better, my head torch), so used my phone's rather weak beam. If Cate had been here, she would certainly have clambered further into the house, but I don't have her courage (or flexibility) to squeeze through the narrow opening into the deeper chambers. But the experience of standing in this remarkable home occupied by a family 2000 years ago, was quite a thrill, and worth the climb.

My final visit of the day was nothing to do with archaeology. Crucial scenes in my novel Albastan are set in Stromness Harbour, close to where we were berthed in 2012, and in particular the Ferry Inn. The scenes in the book were written from a mix of memory and imagination, so I had always planned to revisit the scene. I had a beer in the Ferry, and a chat with the barman, who of course bears no resemblance to the character in Albastan, whose appearance I based on an old medical school friend.

 Another key location in the book is Yesnaby, a remote stretch of the West coast with dramatic cliff structures, but I have never been there, and that episode had been written entirely from my imagination, with reference to the OS map. I couldn't make that visit today,  because I was beaten by increasing snow, so I just did a brief tour of the streets of Stromness, and the Yesnaby Stacks will have to wait until tomorrow.