Orkney, St. Magnus Cathedral; Churchill Barriers, John O’Groats-Scottish Isles and Glens
Day 8 of our Scottish Isles and Glens adventure and we're leaving Orkney for the mainland and heading for Inverness. We'll be taking the Pentland Ferry and the seas are still a bit angry today. It might be an interesting crossing. But first, we're walking from the Ayre Hotel up to St. Magnus's Cathedral . On our way we pass a replica of the "Odin Stone" that I mentioned the other day. This stone formerly stood about 150 yds. north of the Ring of Stenness but was destroyed in 1814 by the tenant of the farm, by Captain Mackay. When it was standing, the dimensions of the Stone of Odin were, about 8ft high x 3.5ft wide, with the hole 3ft from the ground. One piece, about 5ft long and from 2-2.5ft wide survived until it was broken up by a farmer's son in 1940. The Post Office is adorned with a symbol of a Viking Ship with Queen Elizabeth's insignia. The Orkneys have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic t...