Stromness, Orkney Islands, Scotland

 

Italian Chapel

The Orkney Islands have 22000 inhabitants. The primary industry is agriculture, beef and sheep fed with lots of grass and barley. 400 million years ago the Orkneys were below sea level near the equator surrounded by mountains, resulting in an island of sandstone. We drove along the shore of Skapa Flow, one of the world’s largest national harbors. During World War I, the German fleet was captured here, while the armistice was negotiated. The day before the treaty was signed, the German fleet was scuttled rather than becoming a prize of war. The metal from these ships was salvaged well into the 1950s. The remaining wrecks make for a scuba divers paradise. In fact, one of our guides has dived here. Skapa Flow has one entrance. The British stationed 120 ships here and sunk old ships to close many of the entrances to discourage German U-boats from entering the harbor, but on October 14, 1939, a U-Boat entered and sank the HMS Royal Oak, a training vessel killing 834. Churchill came the next day and suggested that the Eastern channels should be barricaded, the Church Barriers. The work was slow, so Italian POWs were sent here to create 4 concrete barriers. While here the commandant of the camp, let some of the men build a chapel out of two Quonset huts. The Italian Chapel has a mural behind the altar which reads, “Mary, Queen of Peace, Pray for us”. We went on to Kirkwell and St Magnus Cathedral, built in 1100. Next door is the Bishop’s Palace from the same time and the Earl’s Palace from 1500. It is a Renaissance building, the finest example in Scotland. The Earl Patrick Stewart was considered Orkney’s worst leader, he was arrested for treason in 1610. Our visit is on a Sunday, so only a few businesses were open, but they opened the Orkney Museum for us. The first floor had many artifacts from the Neolithic age, introducing us to our afternoon’s sights.

Ring of Brodgar

In the afternoon, we visited the Standing Stones of Stenness from 3100 BC. Down the road is the Ring of Brodgar, 27 of an original 60 stones. Thought to be 4500 years old. Both of these suggest a place of ritual and community gathering. Then the highlight of the day the Neolithic village of Skara Brae an interconnected village of ten structures with rooftops made from sod and whale bone. 

Village of Skara Brae

Since the structures were built of stone, we can see their stone shelf, bedding areas with a fire pit in the center. This village was unique. It was occupied from 3180 BC to 2500 BC and is Europe’s most complete Neolithic village. It was discovered by the local landowner in 1850 by a local landowner after a severe storm who lived in nearby Skaill House.

Stone beds and storage area

Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland

 

Dun Calloway Broch

The Isle of Lewis is mostly peat bogs and other swampy lands with many lochs. Most of the land is too wet for trees. Peat grows about 1 mm. per year, so when you cut the peat for fuel, you’re cutting 2000 years of growth. The peat is dried in the sun to be suitable for fuel. Our first stop was Dun Carloway broch which was built 1900 to 2300 years ago for a prestigious family. The building likely housed both the family and their animals.

Garenin Village

Nearby was Garenin Village consisting of restored Black houses, built of stone with thatched roofs and heated with peat fireplaces. This village died out in 1974 but has been restored to its look in 1950. They also demonstrated the making of Harris tweed and how peet was cut and dried. We could see the narrow strips of land, crofts, which are rented from the owner of the island. Here people would build a house and have a garden primarily raising potatoes. Even today most people rent their land, but if they pay their rent, they cannot be evicted and can even pass on the right to rent that land to their children. We finished our morning by visiting the 4000 year old Callanish Stones. These stones have been standing longer than Stonehenge.

Callanish Stones

The island has primarily been owned by clan leads or individuals. Opposite where our ship is anchored is Lewis Castle, built by James Matthienson in 1844. He made his fortune from the opium trade. While he owned the entire island, he is well regarded because he bequeathed the land to the parish and helped the tenants to emigrate to Canada and the US. The grounds include a garden and most of the trees that exist on the island. In the castle is a small museum, which features 6 of the 93 Lewis chessmen. These chess pieces were discovered in a sand dune on the island. They were carved out of walrus and whale teeth in Trondheim, Norway about 800 years ago.

We finished our day with some highland dancers.

Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland

 

We started our day at the Red Scar Farm which makes the Isle of Mull Cheese. The farm is only about 100 acres with 130 cows, 20 or so pigs, and a few goats. The present owner’s parents bought this derelict farm when he was 16. The original stone building was used as the milking parlor while they lived in a trailer. At the time, they couldn’t afford to sell milk at the price milk could fetch from imports, so they used most of their milk to make cheese. This was another example of an organic farm operation. Their electricity comes from the running water. They use the 32 degree Celsius temperature of fresh milk to heat a swimming pool, then cool it down to make whey. We saw their heat exchanger which was hand-designed. They get 3000 liters per day of milk. The cheese is made from whey by carefully controlling the temperature and Ph. We saw both old and new cheese presses. Normally they age their cheese from 6 to 8 months, but business is still slow, so some cheeses have aged for a year. The primarily sell to deli shops. A 25 kg wedge of cheese sells for 100 pounds.

Isle of Mull cheese aging on the shelf

The farm is experimenting with turning whey into a distilled liquor. The whey is fermented 36 to 72 hours, before distilling it twice, resulting in 80% alcohol. The next experiment is to flavor the alcohol into a gin with botanical flavors grown in their garden. They are trying to trademark the name wheysky. We also saw their pigs and goats as well as their woodchip powered boiler. The cheese itself was very tasty. Especially the blue cheese version.

In the afternoon, we toured the waterfront. Of course, the Tobermony distillery was right there, next to a stream. The buildings here are bright colors meant to attract attention as businesses. The island is the fourth largest in Great Britain with 300 miles of coastline. Because of the narrow roads and the lay of the land it can take 2 hours to travel between by car. Even though there are only 3000 people, they have medical stations in 4 different towns and 6 primary schools. We had a pleasant stroll through the woods to a lighthouse. In the evening we were serenaded by a Gaelic choir. This was their first concert under a new director. They also taught us a simple Gaelic dance.

Islay, Scotland

 

Carraig Fhada Lighthouse, Islay, Scotland

We are the first tourist ship to visit Islay (pronounced eye-la) in four years. We walked along the shoreline on a beautiful day, watching the children play on the beach and the adults out for a picnic. Our primary visit was to the Laphroaig distillery, one of 10 Whisky distilleries on this 18 by 24 mile island. The whiskies have a peaty smell to them because the grain is smoked in a peat fire. We sampled four different whiskies from a three year old to 10 year old to a selection of 7 to 21 year old, to a fourth aged in quarter casks adding more intense flavors.  A Scotch Whiskey has to have at least 40% alcohol by volume, be aged 3 years in oak caskets, and be made from barley grown in Scotland. What was most interesting to me was how adding one drop of water changed the taste significantly.

Taste Testing at the distillery

In the afternoon the church ladies fed us tea and cakes as they sold some of the local crafts. Unique was some flavored Sea salts. We then learned some of the local history including that the entire island once was owned by a Walter Campbell. Today’s population is 3000.

Belfast, Northern Ireland

 

Titanic museum from the deck of the Nomadic

We started our day at the Titanic Belfast Museum. While we waited for our time slot in the museum, we toured the oldest white star line ship, the Nomadic, which served as a tender to the Titanic in Cherbourg France. Just like in the Titanic, there were obvious class distinctions between 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd class.

Launching the Titanic

The Titanic museum started by telling the story of Belfast, an industrial city for linen, machinery, stoves and shipbuilding. Ships have been built here since 1600, and over 200 were built the year the Titanic sailed. The museum gives you a sense of the infrastructure needed to build this new class of ships. The museum is sited where the ship was built. After launching the ship, the innards were built and furnished with those clear distinctions of class. Relatively new to ships was the Merconi telegraph which had a range of 1000 miles, just enough range to maintain communication throughout the voyage. We all know the story of hitting an iceberg and quickly sinking. Two boards of inquiry were created one in the UK and one in the US. A key conclusion was the ship was traveling too fast for the conditions. The recommendations made from the inquiry are still in place today: Enough lifeboats for everyone aboard, a mandatory briefing on safety procedures, and radio communications constantly manned. This museum was very crowded and has none of the remains from the ship, but it provides a thorough background on the town, the ship, and even the rediscovery of the ship from the bottom of the ocean.

Mural on British side

In the afternoon, we did the black taxi tour of the Troubles between the Catholic Irish nationalists and the British Protestants. Even today, the city is quite segregated with many Peace Walls separating the neighborhoods. We visited the 2 ½ mile section of wall which has 4 gates that are opened each day and closed each night. Our cab driver was Catholic and pointed out that most children won’t meet a protestant until their first job or at university. The worst case was a playground with a wall between the two communities. The troubles began just after the Civil rights movement in the states. The Catholics felt discrimination in terms of housing and jobs, similar to blacks in the US. But the truth may be more subtle. Northern Ireland did not have one person – one vote, it was one household owner – one vote. If you rented, you couldn’t vote. Most of the working class couldn’t vote. This was changed in 1970s but too late to avoid the violence of the troubles. The troubles began with the burning of Catholic homes on Bombay Street. Each side of the wall has murals and memorials to the people who perished in the troubles. The British side had flags and pennants leaving no doubt that they were British. The Republican side was not as clear, but had memorials to the IRA. We paid a visit to Christ the Redeemer Church where the troubles were formally ended. Built just after the potato famine, the church is richly decorated with mosaics.

The "Peace Wall" today

In the evening we heard from two men who were on opposing sides, and still can’t agree on the end point for Northern Ireland, but often engage in front of audiences to encourage dialog.

Michael is a Catholic Republican. He spent 16 years in prison for murdering a British soldier. The US Civil rights movement started my thoughts. What would you do if the Russians invaded? That's how I felt about the British, especially when 13 were shot for asking for their rights.

Robert is British. He spent 17 years in prison for his actions with the Ulster Volunteer Force. I don't want people to use guns to settle differences, use debate. Be true to yourself, but don't use violence.

We're friends with different viewpoints and different end points. Though we both think Brexit was a mistake, but for different reasons mine was economics, Michael felt Brexit might lead to a united Ireland.

We’re trying to get young people to meet other people and understand their viewpoint. Over 90% still are educated separately from the other. Most don't meet the other until a job or university.  What were women’s role during the troubles? 24000 IRA prisoners about 2000 women. Very few British women prisoners.

Vote was based on owning a household, renters couldn't vote in the mid 70s. The laws at the time undermined the Catholics, but also any working-class person. Class had a lot to do with what happened.

The people who live near the wall remember what happened before, they still feel more secure, “the walls should be removed, but not now”.

We need to encourage the next generation to dialog, rather than violence.

Memorial on Irish National side

The signs of hope are like our taxi driver's 23 year old Catholic daughter, who married a British protestant.

Lake District of England

 

Lake Windermere

We arrived about 11AM and immediately left to the Lake District. Barrow was a sleepy village of 400 before Henry Schneider came to mine copper and iron. After 10 years of searching, he finally hit a rich seam of iron. That led to the building of the Furness Railroad and the growth of the town to 40,000. He built a magnificent home on Lake Windermere and would commute to work with his steamship across the lake and then take his railroad to town. Today Burrow has a population of 60,000 and has both a nuclear submarine facility and British Aerospace Engineering.

Goats on John's Farm

The Lake District includes a 900 sq. mi. park, forests and grazing land. Everywhere we looked the fields were separated by drystone fences. We had our lunch of Bangers and Mash in Schneider’s mansion, now a hotel. Then we headed to a farm. John the owner is a 6^th generation farmer. We watched him quickly shear a goat. In today’s economy it is important to diversify beyond farming. Maria has helped him by adding campsites, selling wool yarn and products and milk soap. They advertise primarily by farm visits and interviews explaining to others how to diversify your farm.

That evening we had a dynamic speaker who teaches how to build drystone walls that will last 500 years without the use of mortar. There are five key points:

1 The width of the bottom should be ½ the height and the top ½ the width of the bottom.

2 Periodic flu stones, heavy stones that go through the width and stick out a little.

3 Fill the voids with small stones that are hand placed. Fill under each face stone, giving a slight tilt to 3ach stone so that water flows away from the center.

4 Big stones on top that are layer at a slant

5 Break any vertical lines as you the stones with the long side going deep in the wall.

Drystone Wall

Isle of Man

 

Gardens of St. Germain Cathedral

The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown Protectorate having a parliament which has governed since 979. The lower house is elected by the people and the upper house is elected by the lower house. The island is 35 by 13 miles with mountains in the center. We landed in Douglas the capital city and headed to Peel. Our first stop was the gardens of the St. Germain cathedral. The gardens are arranged to tell the story of Christianity through the centuries. Knockalor Internment camp was created in 1914 to hold the citizens of the Axis Powers living in the United Kingdom or rescued from ships during World War I. 30,000 people were interred here. They kept busy with crafts, plays and concerts. The good news about this camp is that its mortality rate was below that of the island itself. The bad news is that many German Jews were repatriated into Germany in 1919 and would face persecution under Hitler.

Peel Castle

We had time to walk the harbor and beach including Peel Castle on the cliffs before heading to Port Erin. Here we rode the Railroad line built in 1874 back to Douglas. We had a lunch of meat pies in our 1905 dining car on way back.

Our locomotive in Douglas

We were supposed to leave at 4 PM at high tide, but the winds are over 50 mph. So, we’re going to leave at 5AM tomorrow at the next high tide. But that let us hear a young harpist, Myrna Royal. She played an interesting mixture of local tunes and some jazz.

Fishguard, Wales

 

This morning we were greeted by the mayor of Fishguard and her welcoming committee. Fishguard is the site of the last invasion of Britain by the French on February 22^nd, 1797. The town created a 100-foot tapestry, like the Bayeux Tapestry to commemorate the story on its bicentennial anniversary. The French invaded with a newly conscripted army of 1400 soldiers (most former prisoners), led by Colonel William Tate. They had a poor start when the winds blew the ships north from their intended landing in Bristol. When the villagers spotted the ships, they fired their cannon to call up the local militia. Led by Jemima the women dressed up in their red traditional costumes with black hats in straightness down the hill. From a distance they looked like British soldiers. The French soldiers landed north of the town and attacked a nearby farmhouse which had an excellent liquor cellar. The French proceeded to get drunk. Jemima continued her heroics by capturing 14 soldiers with her pitchfork and locking them in the church. The drunk French soldiers believing that they had encountered a large British force surrendered three days later.

Jemima capturing 14 French soldiers

We had a lecture and photo showing of the history of Fishguard. The gulf current here makes for mild weather making an ideal location for Dairy farming. In the early 1900s they tore down the cliff face to create a harbor for transatlantic cruise ships and extended the railways to here. Eventually, the cruise ships went to other ports, but today the ferry to Ireland leaves here twice daily.

Parsonage House

We had a home hosted lunch with Adrian and Jean and their Italian exchange student. They retired here from Cambridge to escape the city life. Their home was a parsonage house built in 1901 and had been the home of seven ministers. The garden was beautiful.

In the afternoon we went to the smallest city in Britain, St. David, to see the cathedral there. It’s a city because it has a cathedral. On the way, we stopped to see a Celtics cross marking the pilgrimage route to the cathedral. In 1124 the Pope declared that doing a pilgrimage to St. David twice was equivalent to a pilgrimage to Rome. Originally a wooden church, the first stone was laid in 1130. Across from the cathedral are the ruins of the Bishop’s Palace where rich pilgrims would stay. As we entered the church, you immediately notice the sloped floor - 4 meters of slope from the front to the back. Built in a swamp, the back walls have fallen down several times. A window has obvious signs of being rebuilt at least three times. The arches within the church are asymmetric, each have a different design. St. David, a Celtic Saint is depicted with a dove on his shoulder and the ground rising beneath his feet. This miracle is said to have occurred while he was speaking at the Synod of Brefi. The church used to be quite colorful inside but was whitewashed under Henry VIIIth. Buried in the church is Henry VII, the Welchman who claimed the English thrown with the Dragon in his crest. Lady Maidstone Kent restored part of the Cathedral and has a chapel where she is buried. 

Lacock in the Cotswalds

 

University education

Having visited Oxford, people were curious about the costs to go. The British cap the cost of tuition at 9500 pounds per year regardless of the school. Students typically take out loans for other costs. Payback of these loans is differed until your salary passes a threshold. Students fill out one application which they can send to six universities. They are accepted to schools based on their exams and an interview. Some private high schools have strong ties to particular universities, giving their students an advantage at that school.

Lacock in the Cotswald

Tourist descend upon Lacock

Cotswolds comes from “cots”, a sheep enclosure and “wolds”,rolling hills. This is an area of England 30 by 90 miles from Stratford on Avon to Bath. Lacock is one of the preserved villages of 1000 people held by the National Trust.

Gardens

The town of Lacock is in the Doomsday Book, the tax collectors book written in the time of William the Conqueror, described as a village of 160. An abbey was built here in 1232.We spent an hour and a half walking this picturesque village. The tithe barn was interesting. It held the corn or fleece given to the abbey as the village tithe rather than rent.

Tithe Barn

From there we drove to Bristol to catch our ship, the Corinthian which carries about 100 passengers. The cabins are larger than we expected and decorated in dark wood. Unfortunately, the winds were up all night and many folks struggled with sea sickness or insomnia during our trip to Wales.

Oxford and it's University

 

Yesterday we arrived at Heathrow. We had been quite nervous. It’s been 2 ½ years since our last foreign trip, the news has been full of lost luggage at Heathrow, and London had an all time high of 104 , 2 days before. We arrived with luggage and 70 degrees. If you prefer watching a video of this trip, it is available on youtube. 

Radcliff Camera

Oxford was founded in the 8^th century at an ox ford across the Thames. Oxford University is the 3^rd oldest in Europe founded in the 12^th century. Priests had studied in France until Henry II started a war with France, so Oxford was founded to provide their education. By the 13^th century, there were 39 colleges, each consisting of a chapel, a library, a dining hall, and dorms. Right next to our hotel was Morton college. We started walking, passing college after college. Some notable buildings were Radcliff Camera (library), All Souls College with its sundial built by Christopher Wren, and Bodleian College (the school of divinity). The Bodleian library was destroyed by Henry VIII when he broke with the Catholic church. It has been Britain’s copyright library since  1610. After our tour Mary and I walked to the Christ Church gardens. We had missed our turn to the hotel and ended up wandering the wrong way until we realized our mistake. You can get a good view of the University from the University Church Tower

Christ Church Gardens

In the afternoon, I visited the Ashmolean museum, a smaller version of the British museum. It is the Oxford’s museum of art and archaeology It included Iron Age, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian, Assyrian artifacts, and art work up to 19 century paintings. More surprising were artifacts from India and Japan, as well as an historical exhibit on money.

Statue of Sobeck, Egyptian 12th Dynasty