Last Updated on July 20, 2022

Orkney tree surviving the hoolies

Visiting the Orkney Islands, Scotland, was probably the highlight of this trip for me.

First and best of all, my travel companion and I had an “Orkney connection” by the name of Allan. Allan is the cousin of David who is the husband of Carole who goes to our church. I had had my reservations about this rendezvous, imagining myself and Colleen searching in vain among throngs of noisy travelers and tourists and townspeople, all holding up signs and shouting in Scottish brogue, trying to find each other. But the reality was far simpler. Allan and his wife Jill easily found us at a quiet little tourist gift shop at the Kirkwall dock. They were immediately recognizable in their turquoise rain coats…just like Carole had said. Our private tour guides were extraordinarily knowledgeable and hospitable, even including a delicious lunch at their 18th Century stone cottage – homemade soup, breads, and local cheeses.

Among the famous attractions that Allan and Jill showed us were the red sandstone St. Magnus Cathedral, the Italian Chapel, and the “Churchill Barriers.” It seems that Magnus was betrayed by his cousin Hakon in the early 1100’s and was unceremoniously whacked in the head with an axe wielded by Hakon’s cook Lifolf.

Magnus was on his knees praying at the time. The Italian Chapel was built during World War II by Italian prisoners of war brought in from North Africa to help construct the Churchill Barriers, a mammoth military defense against German U-boats. While in Orkney, the Italians were allowed to create a place to worship out of some very rudimentary materials – hence, the Italian Chapel.

I was enlightened and educated by the important history surrounding these and other attractions and events. However, walking through the Orkney Island’s capital town of Kirkwall was also a thrill, but for entirely different reasons. Within close proximity to each other on the main road through Kirkwall, there are three…count them, three…second-hand shops, and I absolutely love second-hand shops. Jill observed that the crew members of visiting ships also love these shops, buying all sorts of merchandise at very small expense to take back to their families in far-flung corners of the globe.

Among the treasures I purchased in these shops were lavender sachet pillows made out of recycled saris, a well-worn 3-inch piece of an antler, new Irish linen tea towels, a little beat-up quartz carving of a squirrel, a little book about Orkney myths and legends, a new tube of locally made hand cream, a big beautiful multi-colored striped scarf, and five colorful hand-crocheted book marks made by local women. Talking about local women, these shops also sold small bags of goodies cooked in their kitchens or grown in their gardens – “Local Tatties” and “Fattie Cuties” at one pound per bag (about $1.25). Recently, several small Kirkwall churches that take turns selling their second-hand donations in one particular shop did a whopping fundraiser for the benefit of Ukrainians.

Throughout the Orkney Islands there is abundant evidence of human life dating from the Neolithic Age (think Egyptian Pyramids). Trees don’t grow very well in the Orkney Islands because of the wind and other climate conditions, so prehistoric structures were made of stone, not wood, which means that they still exist! Some were built underground or into hillsides. For example, the Knap of Howar, an ancient farmhouse dwelling; Iron Age archeological sites; Stone Age tombs; and the Ring of Brodgar, a perfect circle of standing stones similar to, but older than, Stonehenge. There’s also plentiful wildlife throughout the “holms” (islands): seals, puffins, whales, dolphins, otters, etc.

All day, driving with Allan and Jill, I was tuning my ear to their accent and listening for a new vocabulary as they talked. I learned that trees don’t grow well here because of the hoolies that are always blowing, keeping the trees peedie; trees just can’t grow muckle and tall. Orcadians live in a variety of butandbens with plenty of sheep and coos roaming around the landscape. The claes worn by many Orcadians are practical and warm and weatherproof, suiting the climate and their occupations (many farmers and fishermen).

Tourism is a very big industry in the Orkney Islands. Lots to see and do. Old and new. Practical yet artsy. Breweries, bakeries and dairies, tweeds and knitwear, arts and crafts, music, myths and fairytales  –  all in this ancient geography where the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. Very lovely. Very exciting.

Julie Helms