Made It To Orkney

Sheep near the North Sea on the NE Coast of Scotland (Click on any pic for larger images)



Ocean waves breaking NE Coast of Scotland




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Posted by Marsha & John
Our posting is out of synch, we couldn't get Internet at the crappy B&B last night even though they have WiFi. The room was so small you couldn’t swing a cat in it. Their only redeeming feature is that they have six buff coloured hens in their back yard - digging and looking for bugs. I think we are chicken crazy.... Their eggs were served for breakfast - yummy orange yokes.

We drove from Tain to Gill`s Bay ferry terminal today, the wind getting a bit worse as we went. The land changes from trees and hills to more desolate windswept moorland. The drive wasn`t too bad as John is getting used to the other side of the road driving.

The ferry terminal is a ramshackle mess and the staff are very laid back, we went into a decrepit reception building to pay and the woman said, oh, just go line up behind that car and come back later. The ferry comes in and backs into the dock, then starts unloading, two loads of cattle and sheep were onboard. The semi tractor does not board the ferry, instead, the ferry has weird looking tractor units to hook onto the trailer and it backs the load onto the ferry and takes the load off at the other end. The swivel where the trailer attaches to the tractor can be hydraulically lifted, as the ramp off the ferry is very steep, and by lifting, the trailer is able to not bottom out, as it comes down the ramp. A normal semi tractor shows up to hook onto the load once the specialised tractors have unloaded the trailer. (This detailed description above is for Gregg’s benefit.)

The cars get to drive on front-wards but then you have to drive around the outside of the car deck to park facing the unloading ramp. The crossing was a bit rough due to the wind but nothing to hurl over.

We stopped in Kirkwall to pick up some groceries then made our way to our self-catering accommodation. We are out in the country in the middle of nowhere and the accommodation is unbelievably fantastic, the nicest place we have ever stayed in. The owners are super nice and put some milk in the fridge so we could have a cup of tea when we got here.

The wind is wicked right now, it makes prairie winds look like a breeze, if you had a swath out in this wind it would be in the ocean. It is pelting rain but we have no care in the world in this place. We are going to stay in tonight and cook, the Scottish food has been super, but we are in need of more vegetables. So, right now we are relaxing in the cozy living room with some wine and Orkney cheese, listening to the rain and wind, and typing.