Day 13 - Rousay
Today we took the inter island ferry to the island of Rousay from Tingwall, a small port not too far from where we are staying. Crossing time is less than 30 minutes. We took our bikes with us and they are carried free of charge but have to be tied up by one of the crew for the duration of the voyage.
There is a road circling the island so we rode around it. Rousay is called the Egypt of the North because it has a lot of archaeological importance. It is the 5th largest Orkney Island and the hilliest, as we found out.
The first half of the ride was undulating to say the least but we did get ourselves up the hills. There are quite a few cairns (burial tombs) on the hillsides and we stopped at one called Blackhammer Chambered Cairn. There were glass windows on top of the cairn and to the side of a sliding door. Paul opened the door and we could then climb down a ladder into the cairn. The windows let light in so we could see inside. It was quite a big area and remains to 2 people had been found here. It dates back 5300 years.
We then carried on cycling up the West of the island with views of the uninhabited Orkney Island of Eynhallow. We stopped at Midhowe Chambered Cairn and Broch. These were located near to the beach and we had to walk down a very steep path through farmland to get to it. The cairn has been enclosed in a wooden building to protect it. To see it properly a walkway has been built above. It was quite amazing. It was created 5400 years ago and has been called "The Great Ship of Death". The remains of 25 humans were found here. Close by to the Cairn was the Midhowe Broch which was the centre of an Iron Age settlement about 2400 years ago.
We took a slight detour around Wabister Loch and then saw the massive hill ahead of us, known as Ward Hill. We had to climb for about 3kms and we both ended up walking the steepest parts. When we finally reached the top we saw a very large concrete table so we thought it would be a good place for our lunch. We sat on it while we ate our lunch. I later found out it is a modern art work and is called a Megalith with the words "Gods of the Earth, Gods of the Sea". I thought it a bit of an eyesore. From here we had a good view of the Orkney Island of Westray.
After this it was all downhill back to the port. There were a lot more cars about but it seemed to be finishing time for the primary school on the island which we rode past. When we reached the turning for the ferry we went to the RSPB Trumland nature reserve. We found the entrance but couldnt really go any further as the narrow path was completely overgrown and it was really difficult to find our way around.
We went back to the ferry port where there was a refreshment room with honesty box so we had a drink and then walked around the port area where I saw another owl at close range.
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