Orkney’s ancient walls stand the test of time
One day at work, head in a spin, had me climbing walls. How to decompress? Build walls of course. Rather than drive straight home, I called past a local farm where I often indulge my passion for building dry stone walls.
See more details on the Orkney’s ancient attractions at the following links:
https://www.orkney.com/listings/skara-brae-skaill-house
https://www.orkney.com/things/history/world-heritage-sites
Whenever I take guests to our ancient sites, I find myself staring at the walls. I picture the builders at work—choosing the perfect foundation stones and carefully layering them to last for millennia.In Orkney, the 'old ways' are often the best ways. The art of dry stone building remains a rigid, essential skill used to cope with our wild environment. Keeping the tradition of dyking alive isn't just about maintenance; it’s about honoring a craft our ancestors would still recognize today. And maybe they too had a variation of the old saying which says:
Dinna lay a stane abuin a stane
Lay ae stane abuin a twa
Cairry on daeing that
Au suin ye’ll hae a wa
Personally, I find the whole experience of dyke building deeply rewarding and something I am hugely passionate about- it's such a huge part of my heritage-so don’t be surprised if the tour commentary involves a discussion about stones should you ever take an Orkney tour with me!
Interested in a tour exploring Orkney’s ancient history?
