Orkney Hike
Two days ago I was on one of the islands comprising the archipelago of Orkney. Key reason was to witness an extensive archaeological site dating to the Neolithic period of around 3000BC. This site visit was reported in this blog post. By way of a quick rehearsal: Orkney comprises an archipelago situated about ten miles north of the district of Caithness in northern Scotland. In all, Orkney comprises about seventy islands of which twenty are inhabited. The islands have been inhabited for about 8500 years starting with the Mesolithic, the Neolithic and then the Picts. In 1472 the islands were ceded to Scotland from Norway, hence there is a lingering Scandinavian heritage. The climate is relatively mild. With soil extremely fertile most of the land is farmed and agriculture is the most important sector of th economy. In terms of latitude, Orkney is about 60 degrees N or further north than Labrador in Canada. On the day I transferred by taxi from the town of Stromness to the heart of the...