Orkney

After sailing all night, we were woken at 7am to the sound of an Arctic Tern over the ships PA system. We were a few hours south of the Orkney Islands, so had time for a leisurely breakfast before docking.

First event of the day was a briefing about the day's activities, followed by a presentation about Artic sea birds we are likely to see. The expedition staff consists of an historian, botanist, ornithologist, geologist, marine biologist and wildlife photographer, so we'll have lectures on a variety of subjects during our sailing days. The ship isn't quite full, with 87 passengers (capacity is 114) and 84 staff and crew, so almost a 1:1 ratio.

Our arrival port is the capital Kirkwall, on the largest island, Mainland. The Orkney's are made up of 70 islands, with only 14 inhabited. Kirkwall has 10,000 residents and a cathedral, so is classed as a city.

We were scheduled to leave on the last bus, so we had time for a walk around the city, and some caching, before our tour.

We drove across to the west coast to Skara Brae, a stone built Neolithic settlement, older than Stonehenge and the Great Pryamids. It was only uncovered in 1850, so is very well preserved.

On the way back to Kirkwall we stopped at the Ring of Brodgar, a large standing stone circle, like Stonehenge. It originally contained 60 stones, but only 27 are still standing.

Dinner was back onboard the ship, due to set sail at 11pm tonight.En savoir plus