Scottish Islands Explorer 41: Jan / Feb 2017

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‘A Good Enough Day’ ‘A Good Enough Day’ Alayne Barton on Rousay, 45 years after George Mackay Brown One fine summer’s morning in 1971, the Orkney writer, George Mackay Brown, took a boat to Rousay in the company of a few friends. ey spent the day touring the island, stopping oen to admire the scenery. On his return he noted, with ‘an Orkney understatement’, that they had ’had a good enough day.’ 45 years later, on a day equally blue and cloudless, but far colder, since it was April, not July, my husband, youngest son and I made the same journey across the treacherous Eynhallow Sound. First though, we had to reverse the car onto the ferry; a prospect made more alarming by the large number of vehicles already in the queue. e ferrymen briskly worked their magic however and within minutes the boat, its deck a jumbled-jigsaw of cars, bikes, 4 x 4s and livestock trailers, was under way to Rousay which lies less than two miles to the north of Mainland Orkney. e name comes from the Old Norse Hrólfs-øy, meaning ‘Rolf ’s Island’ but has changed incrementally over the centuries, becoming Rousay by 1549. Surprisingly Self-sufficient At 19 square miles it is the fih largest island in Orkney’s impressive archipelago. Nowadays the island has a population of roughly 200 and is surprisingly self-sufficient, boasting a primary school, doctor’s surgery, shop, pub/restaurant and even a fitness-centre. e ferry service is frequent and cheap, allowing locals to work on the Mainland and teenagers to attend school in Kirkwall or Stromness daily. We drove off having elected not to travel widdershins, turning le onto the B9064 which encircles the island, and headed for the first in the series of magnificent archaeological sites which gives Rousay the nickname ‘the Egypt of the North’. Even in an island with more than its fair share of wonderfully eccentric names, Taversoe Tuick stands out. One of only two two-tier chambered cairns in Orkney, the 4,500-year-old tomb was discovered accidentally in 1898 by Lt General Sir Frederick Traill-Burroughs. It appears an unremarkable grassy mound from outside. However it is possible to enter the upper chamber through a grille door and from there descend by ladder into the lower - claustrophobia permitting. Notions Dispelled Just along the road is another tomb, the Blackhammer Cairn, dating from 3000 BC. A stalled-cairn with seven compartments, the tomb is accessed through a trap door in the hillside, prompting thoughts of peerie folk and magical fiddles. Once inside however, all such fanciful notions were dispelled by the prosaicness of the modern concrete roof. At the Knowe of Yarso, a stalled-tomb dating back to 3500 BC, the remains of 29 adults were discovered in 1934 with, strangely, those of 36 red deer. From the car park at Westside we admired the stunning view across to the mysterious island of Eynhallow, summer home to the treacherous Finfolk. It was the subject of speculation, in 1990, when two visitors ‘vanished’ on a Orkney Heritage Society trip. 16 SCOTTISH ISLANDS EXPLORER JANUARY / FEBRUARY <strong>2017</strong>
‘Archaeologists believe that the living would visit their dead in the tomb.’
Page 1 and 2: SCOTTISH ISLANDS THE UK’S ONLY MA
Page 3 and 4: Gallery of Rust Page 36 Scottish Se
Page 5 and 6: VISION FOR 2020 ‘Challenge Ordina
Page 7 and 8: INSIGHTS Page Index Header Shipping
Page 9 and 10: Scottish Seabird Islands - Part One
Page 11 and 12: Scottish Seabird Islands - Part One
Page 13 and 14: House on the Point - Ullapool House
Page 15: ISLANDS BEYOND Island of and Iceber
Page 19 and 20: ‘A Good Enough Day’ e archaeolo
Page 21 and 22: ‘As well as being crucial for nat
Page 23 and 24: New Marine Protected Area in Wester
Page 25 and 26: READERS’ OPPORTUNITIES Page Index
Page 27 and 28: Golden eagle in flight during winte
Page 29 and 30: The Atlantic Grey Seal ‘Grey seal
Page 31 and 32: distances of over 200 miles. Man ha
Page 33 and 34: A History of Lismore A History of L
Page 35 and 36: A History of Lismore Roman Catholic
Page 37 and 38: JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SCOTTISH IS
Page 39 and 40: A Gallery of Rust next to a redunda
Page 41 and 42: Apostle of Land Reform The Crofters
Page 43 and 44: A Short Hop to Papa A Short Hop to
Page 45 and 46: A Short Hop to Papa Flying Time Fro
Page 48 and 49: RESPONSES Responses The west coast
Page 50 and 51: ISLAND INCIDENTS Mike Heslop wonder
Page 52: £60 Richard Kershaw www.nake

Scottish Islands Explorer 41: Jan / Feb 2017

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