Orkney - IV

Some of our group paid extra to go see the Italian Chapel in Kirkwall so the rest of us got a free hour to wander the town on our own on. The main attractions here are the Bishop's Castle (left)and the St Magnus Cathedral (right) with a grave yard in between.

For those of you who like interesting old history of the founding of areas, look up the story of St Magnus - feuding brothers, executions and ashes in a box found hidden behind a stone in a wall.

Before heading for sight-seeing we headed down a short market street to see if we could find a snack. On our way back out we spotted this 

The bag holds bagpipes...important in a moment.

We wandered around the cathedral before going in to get a sense of it and the grounds.

We headed back up to enter the church and found this.

Our bagpipes guy and others getting ready for a fancy full-blown Scottish wedding. Needless to say, we didn't get to tour St Magnus.

But there were some other interesting buildings close by.

Town Hall

And a very modern, interesting home tucked away between all this history. I took a picture of it through the gravestones in case the family was home wondering why some crazy women was photographing their abode.

The last stop was the Bishop's Castle and ruins.

Look at these cool windows.

On the way back to the ferry we drove past Scapa Flow and heard the history of the military importance of this area for both world wars.

Aboard the ferry, Mike toasted the island with a local beer.

Not to be outdone, I found my own way to celebrate. 

We are back at The Ferry Inn and resting up for an 8 hour train trip to Edinburgh tomorrow. New adventures await. See you then.