Day 12 - East Mainland

It was raining heavily when we got up and although not as bad as forecast we didn't venture out until late morning.

We first went to one of the Island Gin distilleries where Paul did some gin tasting.  I tried their Vodka and also a Coffee Liqueur both of which were quite nice.  We bought a couple of small bottles and then went to the nearby nature reserve of Mull  Head.  There are a lot of unusual rock formations around the headland.  Near to the car park is "The Gloup" which is a natural arch in the rocks where a river flows out to the sea. 

The Gloup

The Gloup


We walked along the headland and often got some spectacular coastal views.  There is an island called Brough of Deerness and we could see there was a path down to the beach and then up to the top of this island.  At the top a chapel and rows of ancient houses were found.  There were Fulmars and Kittiwakes nesting on the cliff edges but I didnt see any puffins.  I think they are more common on the west side.

Very narrow crevice between rocks

Cliff top view



Cliff top view


Sea birds nesting on the cliffs

Brough of Deerness (island in the middle) 
with Viking Age settlement at the top

We also went into the visitor centre which is unmanned but had some useful information about the reserve and the headland.  We have seen quite a few long boxes which appear to be animal traps about.  These ae for trapping stoats which are not native to Orkney and are causing a lot of problems with the wildlife there.  As we got back to the car we saw a short eared owl hunting over a nearby field.  It was about for quite a while and I managed to get some photos of it.

Stoat Trap

Shags on clifftop

Little Ringed Plover



Possibly a meadow pipit

Possibly a skylark or meadow pipit

Short eared Owl

Short Eared Owl

After this we drove to the Italian Chapel which is on Lamb Holm, a small island connected by a causeway to the Mainland.  The road has been built on one of the 3 Churchill Barriers that were created during WWII on the orders of Winston Churchill after the Royal Navy vessel HMS Royal Oak was torpedoed by a German U-boat that managed to get into Scapa Flow.  The road now goes across 2 more of these barriers and is the main route to the Southern Islands, all of which are connected by road. 

Monument to the Italian POWs on Lamb Holm

The Italian Church, Lamb Holm

Churchill Barrier 1 with Lamb Holm beach

We had planned to drive to Scarpa and look over Scarpa Flow and the Oil Terminals but sea mist had come in and we couldn't see far so abandoned this idea.

So we came back to the lodge and had an early dinner while watching the tide come in but didn't see the seal tonight.  It has rained on and off all evening.



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