The Rings

(Post should have been 28th but no phone signal to post!)
Today began with groans and moans as yesterday's bruises took their toll on Anny's back and legs, but the application of a heat pad overnight was declared to have been a great help and the application of tea, heat and breakfast helped greatly. We headed for Maes Howe for the second attempt, arriving safely as before and parking with great deliberation, extremely close to the kerb, with the aim of foiling any attempt on Anny's part to trip over again. I stood close at hand and prepared to catch any staggers but in fact this time the disembarkation process proceeded flawlessly and we made it inside safely to be greeted by anxious staff. Having satisfied themselves that Anny was in fact recovered and healthy, we were ushered into an excellent tour of Maes Howe.
The chamber itself was fascinating and it was a pity (but understandable) that all access has to be by guided tour. I would have enjoyed ferreting into the side chambers and reading all the runic graffitti in peace but it was not to be. Interestingly both Anny and I felt that the place was not a tomb at all but an initiation space, since it felt so very different from the Tomb of the Eagles and Banks Chambered Cairn, neither of which had provided any kind of echo or reverberation when we were in them while Maes Howe provided excellent echo space and, of course, has the three internal chambers to be shut up individually and the famous light-box for midwinter sunrise.
Maes Howe completed, we checked a few directions with a compass to confirm what we felt about the landscape alignments (such as where the sun would rise and set behind various hills) and then set off to investigate the Stones of Stenness, which were visible from Maes Howe quite easily (as indeed was the Ring of Brodgar). The Stones turned out to have a very fine wide layby so we had a pot of tea.
Thus fortified, we sallied forth into the field to investigate the Stones of Stenness, a fine tall monument of five standing stones (surviving) and a pair of slim pillars with a fallen slab of a dolmen next to them.We paced both ways around the circle individually, both of us finding that we were drawn to enter the circle at the same place (which turned out to be the 'correct' entrance spot according to the archeology/interpretation boards at the entrance when we checked later). Standing on the dolmen and looking through the gap between the two uprights by it gave a view of Maes Howe, which was interesting as these two monuments were in use at the same time (c.7,000 years ago).
Having pranced about the Stones for a while, we investigated the village a couple of hundred yards away which was also in use at the same time as the Stones. This turned out to be fascinating as we both immediately felt sure it was a 'ceremonial' settlement rather than a normal everyday village, where the population were perhaps serving a period looking after the Stones. One building in particular was very definitely used, we felt, by groups of people, as it had an outer wall which enclosed an inner building. The outer area felt watery, with a covered drain in one corner, a wider section that felt like a seating area and lots of moss and soft ground underfoot. It felt like a place for ablutions. Proceeding around this space, one came to the diametrically opposite entrance to the inner area, which had a low doorway section and then a hearth set in the doorway of an inner room, which had another very large hearth in its centre and low walls that proved ideal for sitting on while, perhaps, story-telling, feasting or other communal activities in a wall, enclosed (perhaps sauna-like?) atmosphere. There was also a small drain in the corner that led out into the covered drain we'd noticed outside, so providing indoor sanitation as well!
After this, we had a look at the Watchstone at the end of the bridge to the Ness of Brodgar, a narrow space of water separating south-west to north-east land between the Lochs of Harray and Stenness. it was a very imposing guardian of the crossing point and an offering of three red-skinned potatoes, a neep, a bulb of garlic and a carrot lay tidily at its foot, which was fascinating.
We retired to the Kite Wagon and proceeded across the Ness of Brodgar to the car park at the Ring of Brodgar, the younger and much bigger ring of standing stones on a slight hill above the lochs and all of perhaps a hundred yards from the Stones of Stenness. They also had many fascinating aspects and we took several photos and a number of compass bearings before retiring to the Wagon to lunch, drink tea and rest fevered brows and over-worked brains for a time.
Deciding that doing Skara Brae on the same day was too much, we drove to a marvellous clifftop WWII ex-gun post on the western coast named Yesnaby and collapsed to rest. A short walk gave us a fine set of views of the coast, some sunning seals, lots of seabird roosts and, on the way back, a pocketful of limpets hammered off the rocks with a pebble. We boiled them briefly in butter and Raven beer (a fine Orcadian brew) before consuming them with bread and butter. It was a very fine end to a magnificent day!

Kirkwall. Repeatedly!

All began nicely this morning with a pot of tea, and then the gas cylinder ran out. Admittedly we've been using it for supplemental heating in the uninsulated Kite Wagon as well as tea and cooking! We had planned a slow trundle north over the Churchill Barriers, pausing on Lamb Holm to see what the Orkney Wine Company might offer before achieving Kirkwall and shops, but the idea of going tea-less until 11 when the Wine Company opened its doors was intolerable! We traded possible opening lines for novels beginning 'By the faint glimmer of a dying gas stove' while drinking our tea, then went straight to Kirkwall instead. After various wanderings and directions gas-cylinder-wards by randomly chosen but uniformly friendly and helpful natives, we located (in chronological order) the banks, a local arts shop selling all sorts of hand-made items, book shops, the main Calor dealer and a shop which sold us the remaining map of Orkney which we needed! All missions thus achieved, we went back to the Orkney Wine Company shop where we enjoyed a tasting session, acquired various gifts and some North Ronaldsay sheepskins!
After this we turned north again, passing through Kirkwall again and taking the road for Maes Howe.
We arrived at Maes Howe in due course and parked in a super big space in their car park. So far so good! I hopped out and paused while Anny alighted, and then - oh, drama! Anny fell over the kerb in stepping back and performed quite the most polished and dramatic full-length hurtle to the ground I think I've seen! Leaving the keys in the door lock I hurled myself after her, although I landed tidily and compos mentis on one knee rather than landing on the back of my head and tailbone, and for a minute or two tried the strategy of informing the patient that she was to take her time, all was ok. This worked well. All was not altogether well, however, as a pool of blood was becoming visible under said patient's head. I tried a calm and reassuring tone of voice while saying 'you've cut your head a bit, when you're ready let's get you inside and sit you down safely', which also apparently worked well. Anny got herself on her feet without screams of agony, although dripping gore vividly in all directions, and we tottered the 30 yards or so into the visitor centre. Greeting the receptionist with a request for their first aid kit set the scene nicely and in very short order a chair was produced, their staff first aider summoned forth and I was able to ferret through the gore and decide life threatening injuries had been avoided. To be on the safe side, however, an ambulance was summoned and I had the interesting experience of chasing the ambulance at 60 miles an hour back to Kirkwall and the Balfour Hospital.
X-rays proving nothing had been broken, the offending scalp was given a stitch for safety's sake and we were sent off to enjoy some sunshine. We toddled a few miles back towards Maes Howe at a far lower and less hair-raising speed, then parked up in a nice layby and put the kettle on. Enough for one day! The patient accepted tea, fudge and adopted a lateral posture in her sleeping bag to doze and rest for the remainder of the day. We've had some highly therapeutic creamed rice and are now settling for the night. We'll try for Maes Howe again tomorrow!

Orkney!

Wow! After a seriously rocky night in our quarry (heaven only knows how bad it would have been without that shelter!) we headed to the ferry at crack of dawn (or at least early in the morning). The ferry terminal has a well-equipped cafe with excellent draught-proofing and heating so having checked in and paid up, we settled to wait for the ferrry with bacon roll and mugs of hot chocolate. Sheer luxury!
Boarding the ferry turned out to be by swinging around and reversing down the loading ramp - slightly nerve-wracking as we were surrounded by very competant commercial coach, lorry and tanker drivers so I felt somewhat on my mettle! The manouvre was safely acheived in one go however and the similarly competant ship's crew marshalled all the vehicles into place, tight-packed as sardines, then chained them all down very securely. We repaired to a comfortable lounge area to enjoy the view.
Once underway we were soon heading into a quartering four-foot chop that did for Anny's stomach. Fortunately they were plenty of sea-sick bags provided and it wasn't far to the ladies'! I confined myself to handing fresh bags and tissues over, interspersed with time-checks and encouragement to admire the view and watch the horizon! Once we landed all was soon well however and we arrived safely at the Tomb of the Eagles in Isbister at the southern end of South Ronaldsay within 40 minutes of landing despite a pause to change clothes and regain land-legs!
The Tomb of the Eagles is a 5,000 year old chambered tomb, consisting of five chambers in which various human remains were found. The walls are built from slabs of the local rock, which naturally fractures into flat slabs of excellent size and sturdiness. I crawled into the tomb on hands and knees, although Anny chose a giant skateboard and hauled herself in hand over hand along a rope fixed for this purpose! Once inside, skylights in the modern concrete roof (necessary protection) allowed us to see the chambers clearly and we fossicked about happily for half an hour or so before setting out on the mile-long and incredibly windy trek back to the interpretation centre in search of a cup of tea. About halway back we passed a bronze age structure, again stone built, which we agreed was definitely a sauna house!
The interpretation centre, although excellent in many regards, sadly offered only a coffee machine and no seats. It was by then gone 2pm and we agreed to sally forth and try the bistro next foor. Never has a better decision been made! Not only was the bistro superb, providing us with a pot of Earl Grey tea, locally-sourced beef lasagne and homemade salad followed by coffee and Orkney ice-cream for Anny (I passed on putting anything cold into my core in the face of the icy gale blowing outside!) But they also had a neolithic chambered tomb!! We're both hugely envious of the people here - everyone seems to have masses of fabulous archeology on their doorsteps and oin this case, right smack in the middle of their car park! Stunning!
Better yet, the Banks chambered cairn is hardly even touched by archeologists yet - a major surprise given its size and the vast array of human remains found in the only chamber (of 6) that has been excavated to date. We spent some time in a little hut that sits by the side of the car park and were shown photos and some of the very finds excavated just last month, even handling some of them (they're in the process of being slowly dried and warmed to avoid them fragmenting) while the very man who owns the place told us the story of the tomb's discovery and exploration as he and his wife had lived it! After that it was into the tomb itself, crouching under the original roof to examine bones jutting from the ground at our feet, 5,000 year old marks carved into the roof and peering by torchlight into the still rubble-filled remaining chambers, all guided by a super young supply teacher who'd taken the job just that morning as a summer job! It was a privilege to pay £5 each towards the future excavation and preservation of tha site.
Stunned and surfeited (and provided with inside info on other stunning tombs to visit on Rousay!) we thanked the Skerries Bistro and Banks Chambered Tomb folks for a fabulous afternoon and trundled off to find our campsite for tha night. Weemys campsite was soon found and is proving very satisfactory so far; there are hot showers and we've been able to park nose to wind in the lee of a caravan and half-built bothy, so for now the Kite Wagon is lying in relative peace under blue skies and we're allowing our excitement to subside gently. Tomorrow we plan to drive round to the north, leaving South Ronaldsay behind and arriving on the Orcadian Mainland, where we hope to visit a craft and food centre promoting local artists and artisans, then on west to the heart of Neolithic Orkney.

John O'Groats!

Dornoch gave us an amazingly wet and windy night (but no leaks in the Kite Wagon - we slept very well despite the weather) and having collected our dry washing and refilled the water tank, it was off for Forsinard and the Flow Country. By half past eight we were thundering up the A9 with a topped-up fuel tank and all set, despite the continuing northerly winds and showers, for another great day's adventuring.
At Helmsdale we turned off the A9 and took the lovely, scenic and single-track-with-passing-places A897 to Forsinard, where we had to turn round and come back to find the tiny RSPB centre, housed inside the old station buildings. We browsed the souvenir badges and picked up a red kite (naturally), a magpie, a wildcat, a barn owl and a golden eagle! Having done merchandising and wandered around the small but very informative displays, we girded our loins and sallied forth on a short walk through the bogs - on a safely paved path. We heard curlew and saw larks, the dwarf birch just budding and the bog cotton nearly flowering but otherwise the country was still very wintry.
Our expedition completed, it was back to the Kite Wagon to heat up tomato soup, brew a pot of tea and devour bread and cheese with the soup for lunch. By half past one we were on the move again, continuing north for the coast. We spotted the vanishing rear end of a very stocky, thick-tailed tabby cat vanishing up a bank at a place called Trantlemore, so we think it may have been a wildcat, who do live in the area! If so, that's quite a notable sighting for us as neither of us have seen one in the wild before!
We reached the coast road and hung a right, reaching Thurso before half past two, so decided to push on for John O'Groats - it seemed a shame not to get there while we were so close! On the way we checked out Gills Bay, where we catch the ferry tomorrow, and on parking at John O'Groats, the trip meter read 1009! I set it when I first filled the tank just tten days ago almost at the other end of the country so this feels like a significant milestone.
Once we'd frozen our fingers taking proof-we-were-here pics, we made hurriedly off in search of a less windy overnight spot. We're now parked in an old quarry above the village, kindly pointed out to us by a lovely lady in the post office, and drinking hot chocolate. An early night awaits, then early tomorrow we go to meet the ferry!

From Caves to Coast

This morning we were on the move swiftly, pausing only for a pot of tea before donning waterproofs and setting off to find the Inchnadamph bone caves. The path took us past a chambered cairn, which we paused to examine. Thus beguiled from the path we strayed into botany, spotting various interesting plants such as mountain thyme, sundew, some beautiful potentillas with silver leaf edges and others we couldn't identify.
Reclaiming our attention from the flora we resumed the walk, accompanied by larks ascending all over the place and a pair of buzzards courting high over the ridge across the valley. We paused to breakfast in the shelter of some trees, then pushed on towards Cnoc nan Uamh, the Hill of Caves, where we could already see a cave mouth beckoning.
After a further half mile or so across a landscape pocked with sinkholes and sometimes unnervingly hollow underfoot, we reached the caves. Inside a wide, steeply slanted entrance a veritable torrent of white water was hurtling through the cave - we admired with awe from a safe distance, jaws dropped, before retreating slightly to have a steadying cup of tea from a flask.
The second cave we reached was much less staggering, being a gently-dripping affair some seven or eight feet high rather than a dizzying fifteen or twenty feet down in rapids; we could hear the river from beyond the cave's first chamber but since we lacked equipment, skill and inclination to take up serious spelunking, we went no further than daylight would reach! It was, surprisingly, colder inside the cave than outside in the wind-driven rain in the valley.
Having satisfied our cave-dwelling impulses for the time being we carried on up to the top of the ridge and enjoyes stunning views right down the length of Loch Assynt to the hills beyond. Deer were grazing on the heights north of the valley, a good 500 feet higher than our best efforts.
Returning to the Kite Wagon parked in Inchnadamph village, it was all change on the clothes front despite our waterproofs, then eastward on the road to Dornoch. Yet again the Kite performed superbly, handling single track roads, cattle grids and passing places as to the manner born. We stopped at one point to offer assistance to four young tourists who'd fared less carefully and ended up parked five feet down a steep bank, but they were all safe and had a phone signal to summon a tow-truck so thanked us and declined further assistance.
Dornoch is as far as we want to go for now, so we're parked overlooking the Dornoch Firth in the local caravan park, where laundry and hot showers were delightful. Despite the zig-zagging across the countryside the disel tank is still half-full from Tyndrum; we'll top off tomorrow at a garage we spotted on the A9 just past the Dornoch turning, then aim for Forsinard RSPB reserve in the Flow Country before ending tomorrow's adventures near the ferry terminal for Orkney.

Assynt and Stags

We got away from Rannoch Moor early this morning and enjoyed a fabulous run through to Fort William, then on to the Commando Monument at Spean Bridge, where we paused for photos and some stunning views as well as to pay our respects. Following that we pressed on, breakfasting in a layby with views of Loch Lochy. We paused again at Invermoriston to admire the falls and stroll in the woods around midmorning, taking advantage also of some superbly kept public loos and a drinking water tap on the village hall by the car park! A delightfully well equipped village! With a sparkling fresh 10L of water in the jerrycan, it was on to Inverness, then over the Kessock Bridge. We turned west again on the Ullapool road (A835) thus achieving a double crossing of the entire British Isles in one day and arrived in Inchnadamh (the Isle of Stags) in Assynt for a late lunch.
Having examined maps and finished lunch, we strolled through the little village, spotting some of the eponymous stags grazing by the road. The car park in the village being of the 'no overnight parking' variety, we drove on a couple more miles to a fine big carpark by the ruins of Ardvreck Castle on the shores of Loch Assynt, wandered around for half an hour or so and then, encouraged by a brisk shower falling heavily from great heights, returned to the Kite Wagon to pack our rucks and lay out hiking clothes for tomorrow's planned trek up to the caves under Cnoc nan Uamh, the Hill of Caves.

In the Land of Giants

After a fabulous run up round Glasgow and west of Loch Lomond, we pushed on over Rannoch Moor, pausing for diesel in Tyndrum and dinner at the King's House Hotel in Glencoe. Their venison casserole was excellent and the utterly wicked raspberries and cream confection called cranachan snared us afterwards. We're now parked in the land of giants; Munros all around, with Buachaill Etive Mor, Buachaill Etive Beag, Bidean nam Bian and Meal Mor all spread in front and more peaks behind! Stunning views.
The Kite Wagon is doing marvels, handling the desperately narrow roads around Tarbert and Ardlui with aplomb and fairly storming the high passes over Rannoch and into Glencoe.a greater change in geography from her previous life in Buckinghamshire would be hard to imagine!
Tomorrow we hope for an early start, to get through Fort William early, pause to pay respects at the Commando Memorial in Spean Bridge around breakfast and then on up the Great Glen for Inchnadamph.

North of York and Trucking On!

We left York a few minutes before 8 this morning and are now paused for coffee at Annandale Water services after a super run up and across. The York ring road was bearable early on a Sunday morning and we quickly picked up the A19 to Thirsk, then cut across to the A1 and up to Scotch Corner. From there the old Roman road (A66) to Penrith provided a fast run and super views over north Yorkshire and Cumbria. At Penrith we took the M6 north, which then became the A74(M) at Carlisle. We're about an hour south of Glasgow now and hope to be parking somewhere round Loch Lomond for a late lunch!
Last night has shown us a few minor leaks in the fibreglass in the back of the van that will need patching before insulation and lining can take place but nothing serious and we slept dry and snug. Better to find the leaks before lining the back, anyway!
No photos just yet - I haven't yet figured out to upload photos from the blackberry so there will be a slew of them when I get web access with the netbook!

York

It was late last night when we arrived in York after a wet trip up from Herefordshire; the fronts kept rolling in and hurling quantities of heavy rain around but the Kite Wagon kept on truckin' without missing a beat! There's a minor leak somewhere in the back but we'll track it down and fix it in due course. The campsite is fine; we've parked in the carpark facing the fishing lakes rather than on the grass camping pitches but it's handy for the shower block so no complaints! Today I'm at the Pagan Federation North East Spring Conference doing a workshop on runes and their use so it'll be back to the campsite for the night. Photos later!

Welcome to the Kite Wagon!

This blog is specifically set up to track the progress of a major work of transformation - the metamophosis of an ex-Rentokil van to a unique motorhome! Here she is, four days after purchase and parked in a friend's yard, just as she was when I bought her except for the magnetic adverts stuck on the front doors.

Right now she's about to set off on her first long-distance trip - Hereford to York, then up to Glasgow, Tarbert, Fort William, Inchnadamph, Durness and on across the top of Scotland to Forsinard, then John o'Groats and onto the ferry for Orkney. Once in Orkey, we'll be touring South Ronaldsay, Mainland and Hoy before taking the ferry back to Scrabster and heading down the east coast of Scotland, pausing in the Cairngorms before washing up in Aberdeenshire. Right now the interior arrangements are very rough - more camping in a van than a motorhome! - but in due course the interior will be done over into permanent living space for myself and my dogs.

View forward from the back into the cab - lots of space for 2 but the real bonus is the instant access into the rear to get at a cup of tea without having to step out into the rain!

Storage of the stuff we're lugging with us - spare fuel cans in red on the left, water in the green can, food and cooking equipment in the two clear boxes, the luggable loo stored in the wooden box on the right and various oddments in the crate on top of it for good measure! At the moment everything has to be bungee'd to the side of the van for security in transit - in due course there will be cupboards and lockers.

The cooker - for now, a very portable 2-burner gas stove but in due course, this will be incorporated into a proper worktop unit and a wood-burning stove will provide heating in cold months.

View of the rear doors and current sleeping arrangements - four-season sleeping bags laid on sheepskins on top of closed-cell sleeping mats on an Aberdeen Angus cowhide, laid in turn on carpet tiles. All in the name of insulation! Tons of headroom inside - I'm 5'2" and can just touch the ceiling without going on tiptoe!

More photos and reports from around the country as we trek, and in due course there will be details of how the conversion progresses. Keep watching!