Kirkwall, Scotland and the Orkney's Wartime Legacy...

Greetings from Kirkwall, Orkney Islands! The Viking Sky made port early and we were serenaded by Scottish dancers and bagpipe players colorfully clad in their authentic dress as we left and returned to the ship later in the day.

The day was party cloudy with just a little drizzle and temperatures were in the low 50's F. We've really been blessed with good weather and haven't been impacted in any way with our excursions on our "Into the Midnight Sun" Viking Ocean Cruise.

Our excursion for the day was Orkney's Wartime Legacy. We toured the famous Ness Battery which played a vital defensive role in both World Wars. Scapa Flow was the main fleet base for the Royal Navy. You'll view the actual structures that were used in my video as well as the barrier ships that still remain in the waters. They never had the opportunity to fire in anger toward a vessel. However, they did send a few volley shots in front of the bow of several friendly ships that failed to observe proper call signs.

Another stop on our panoramic view of the island was the Italian Chapel. Italian POW's during WWII built this Chapel while they built the Churchill Barriers. The chapel was built using scrap material and still stands as a memorial to man's faith, ingenuity, and hope for peace in times of war.

The island has Black Angus, cows, sheep, and goats roaming everywhere! The wool and beef are a huge industry for them. Wind turbines are a big source of their power and unemployment is very low...around 2%. Twenty-one thousand people reside on the island and their population is growing. 

All in all, it was a lovely day and we had an excellent tour guide who is a geologist. His wife is the curator for the St. Magnus Cathedral. 

We did pass a couple of B & B's and heard that tourism is very big. I could see the draw for people to visit this area...laid back community....green pastures everywhere....and a real sense of history with 8,000 year old dwelling sites which reminded me of Stone Henge only older.

Thanks for stopping by and happy travels! 

~ Cindy