Day 17 - Burray and North East Mainland

I woke up at just after 4am and noticed what looked like a fire in the north east. It was the sunrise, so was lucky to see both sunset and sunrise within 6 hours.

Sunrise

We set off for the Island of Burray, which is between the Churchill Barriers 3 and 4. It was warm and sunny when we set off but as we got south of Kirkwall a sea mist rolled in and it became quite foggy.

We stopped at Burray village and had a chat with a local lady who didnt seem to think the sea mist would lift. We set off on our planned route around West Burray but couldnt see the coast at all.We decided to try the other side which was also very misty. There was a wind turbine and we couldnt see the sails. We parked our bikes near here and and went for a walk to the cliff top at Northtown. Within about 15 minutes the mist had completely lifted and it was warm and sunny again.

Churchill Barrier 2 from Northtown

Oil Terminal visible from Northtown

Glimps Holm from Northtown

We finished looking around this side of the island and then went back to the west side and cycled the road that overlooks Scarpa Flow. We could see several oil tankers and the oil terminal very clearly. We also saw the uninhabited island of Hunda which is connected to Burray by a causeway. The guide books give details of a walk around this island but it seems that it is now privately owned and access is no longer permitted. We just took some photos and went back to the car for lunch.

Goats in Burray

Oil Terminal and tanker being filled in Scarpa Flow

East of Hunda and salmon farm

Hunda Island and causeway from Littlequoy

There was a plant sale with donation box in Burray so we bought a couple of grasses and another plant that we have yet to identify.

We then went down to sand dunes that have built up against Churchill Barrier no 4 over the last 80 years. This has created one of the biggest nesting sites for Little Terns. We didnt see any Little Terns but did see a lot of Turnstones. It was really windy and we didnt stay long there. There was a strange Totem Pole wood carving at the side of the Barrier but it has only been there since 2002.

Turnstone

Totem Pole with Viking Head. Erected by a local artist in 2002

We then made our way to the North East of Mainland and an area called Tankerness. We walked to Rerwick Point which was used extensively during WWII to protect the islands from German attacks. There were the remains of many gun battery housings and other buildings.