Traveling Fool

                                             Our stop at Yesnaby Cliffs was not as long as I wanted it to be, so I wasn't able to take a good long hike. Archie dropped me off near the dramatic cliffs you see in the photos, and I walked around a little, but if you have the time, and if I ever have the chance again, I would definitely hike around. It was really windy up there, and I was mesmerized by the crashing waves. In the far distance (not in these photos), I could see Hoy, another island in the archipelago (check my usage of the word here).  The cliffs are beautiful, but they can also be dangerous if you're not careful and lose your footing, so be mindful when taking selfies.  Our next stop was Unstan Chambered Cairn (a burial mound). There are several of these types of cairns around the mainland, some are more accessible than others. This was accessible, but it did require a few more maneuvers that I had not planned on, like crawling in on my hands and knees. I almost didn

First let me say - please try to spend more than two days on Orkney, you'll get to slow the pace down a bit and really savor all the sights. Second, if you don't have the time (and if you do not have your own car), I would recommend a 6 hour tour with Craigie's Taxis to maximize efficiency, get some local knowledge and maybe explore things you hadn't thought of. Archie was my taxi driver on my arrival, and that's when we set up my itinerary for the next day; I told him what I was interested and and in a general sense, what I wanted to see. Voila.  We started the morning promptly at 9:30 to make it to Skara Brae by 10:00 am (as of this writing, it is recommended to book your tickets online). You check in, get your ticket, go through the exhibit which has replicas of what the Neolithic houses looked like, the interior design, etc.; there are also storyboards throughout with information on what they might have eaten, worn, farmed. As you head outside, you follow the p

I can't remember when I first heard of the Orkney Islands, I do know for sure when I decided to add the Orkney Islands to my most recent UK itinerary. It was after re-watching the first episode of Simon Schama's A History of Britain  and he went to Skara Brae. I knew I had to go. I jammed two and a half days into my trip, between Edinburgh and Glasgow. I regret that it was so short, but I did cover a lot of ground, literally. The Orkney Islands consists of about 70 islands, only 20 are inhabited. They are north of Scotland. I made my way to Edinburgh Airport at O Dark-Thirty in the morning, made it through one of the most packed security lines I recall in a very long time, and with 20 minutes to spare (mainly because the other passengers were stuck in the same lines), waited for my LoganAir flight to take off. It was a pretty small plane, but not the smallest on the trip (more to come one that). The flight was uneventful, I think there were snacks and beverages served, but I ho

This was my third visit to Scotland and I was lucky enough to connect with my friend who lives outside of Edinburgh for a day in the Scottish Borders, or at least a small section. We focused on a few of the Borders Abbeys: Melrose, Dryburgh and Jedburgh. It may not surprise you that we found all three abbeys undergoing restorative work, so we weren't able to walk amongst the ruins as we would have liked. The abbeys were built in the 12th century and of course, have been subjected to the multitude of wars between the Scottish, between the Scottish and English, and time and Mother Nature. It was disappointing we couldn't walk around as much as we would like, but you we could still get a feel for the places and appreciate the size of the abbeys. Melrose Abbey has a museum that was included in the admission and we did walk through there. I feel like we kind of rushed, partly because there wasn't much sense in dawdling, partly because I wanted to see as many of the abbeys as we