This winter I have been exploring hidden corners of Orkney in preparation for guiding and recently I visited the island of Shapinsay, just 25 minutes by ferry from Kirkwall. I particularly wanted to visit an isolated corner of the island known for its windswept cliffs and birdlife as well as the ancient remains of "Castle Bloody", a mound 1.2m high, and most likely a Neolithic chambered cairn.
The trek over the heather clad hillside, amid startled seagulls floating on the cold breeze of a fresh Atlantic wind was invigorating; the views along the craggy coastline from my vantage point at Castle Bloody were utterly majestic.
After lunch at the family farm and a nice peedie catch-up, I braced myself for the cycle into the teeth of the rising wind. Slowly but surely, I made steady progress to my next stop: the remains of an ancient settlement on the coastline. Judging by the scale of the mound in the field, this must have been a significant site at some point in history. The expertly built rows of walls can still be seen hiding behind the overgrown grass. There are a number of archaeological sites in the island but few have been excavated. Today I was just content to peer behind the curtain of Shapinsay's rich past...
Interested in my Shapinsay tour? Learn more here
