orkney islands, scotland - Day 17 - July 28, 2023

We arrived this morning in Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney. It is a foggy morning - very typical for Scotland. We took an excursion to Skara Brae, Europe's most complete Neolithic village. It was occupied around 3000 BC. The visit to Skara Brae was one of the places I was most looking forward to on our trip. It is amazing how old this site is! They discovered the site in 1850 when a huge storm hit and uncovered the site. Our guide, Helen, is an archeologist and told us about several other sites on the same ridge that they are beginning to excavate and that are even older than Skara Brae! We toured the local Skaill House, the home of the local lord.

We then proceeded to the Ring of Brodgar, a Stonehenge like structure that is older - around 2500 BC. Orkney is an amazing place, not far from the north end of the mainland of Scotland; but seems to be in a different time.

Map of Skara Brae

Skara Brae

Underground Room at Skara Brae

Ring of Brodgar

Ring of Brodgar - It is difficult to see all of it from one location