ONE ADVANTAGE OF THIS MORNING’S RAIN - consecutive sunny days would be too much to hope for - was that we had the Ring of Brodgar Stone Circle and Henge all to ourselves. The nasty weather even added to the atmosphere. While the nearby Stones of Stenness are older (and more aliterate) Brodgar’s location on a hill overlooking the sea and its completeness - 27 of the original 60 stones still stand - make it more attractive. And it is older than its more famous cousin Stonehenge.
The Watchtower and Stones of Stennes in the afternoon sun
The Broch of Gurness’s location is equally impressive and the rain was falling just as hard when we arrived. The Iron Age village of Gurness spans a much longer time period than Brodgar and more resembles Skara Brae than Maes Howe.
Broch of Gurness
Maes Howe is he most impressive of the many burial tombs scattered about Orkney and the jewel of the Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, but you would hardly notice the grassy mound from just driving by. Visitation is by guided tour, reservations are mandatory and photos are prohibited inside the tomb. You must stoop Grocho-stlye for the first ten meters to enter the well-preserved interior where the most interesting thing are the bits of runic graffiti left by the Vikings. Seems they had a sense of ribald humor. “Many a beautiful woman has stooped here, however pompous she might be” and “Here Thor and I bedded Helga” are my favorites.
Maes Howe, a bumb on the landscape
