The Orkney Dream – DAY TWO – by Joanna Tinsley

It was 8^oC and it was hammering it down. Yet here I was, fully gortexed-up, barefoot on a beach on Orkney and heading for the sea. After a lifetime of stomping about the countryside in hiking boots, walking barefoot is a strange, but bizarrely enjoyable, experience. “Walking barefoot is a metaphor for how we should treat our environment,” explained our guide for the day, Malcolm Handoll from Five Senses, who had just persuaded us to throw off our socks and shoes and head down to the rocky, seaweed-covered beach in the rain. “It teaches you to tread carefully and engage with nature rather than trample all over it.” It also teaches you that that’s no stranger sensation than feeling bubbles of bladderwrack between your toes and, more conclusively, that when you’re at a latitude parallel with St Petersburg, the sea is painfully cold.

Back in the house, our numb feet began to thaw as we wrapped our hands around a mug of hot tea and watched as Malcolm demonstrated how the Neolithic people of Orkney made fire. After a quick lesson, which was interrupted when a hen harrier hovered inches from the window (wildlife always finds you when you’re least expecting it), it was our turn to create nature’s more basic yet elusive element.

First we constructed a tinder nest by tying a tight knot of dried grass, thumbing it out into a cup-shape and lining it with cotton grass. We then crouched over a long, flat piece of wood with an indentation and a notch, while Malcolm wound a wooden spindle into a primitive bow made from a branch and a rope. I clamped the wood with my newly-thawed foot, steadied the spindle with my left hand (using two limpet shells as a bearing) and held the bow with my right, while my friend Rachel grasped the other end of the bow. The idea was to push and pull the bow, thus spinning the spindle and creating enough friction to generate heat. It was trickier than it looked, but after a few wobbly attempts we saw smoke – lovely thick curls of smoke as the charred dust fell onto a piece of goat skin under the notch. After letting this smoke happily away to itself for a few minutes we gingerly tipped the embers into our tinder nests. Cupping our hands around our nests we then blew gently until the smoke grew thicker and a orange glow appeared. “This is it,” whispered Malcolm, “now take one deep breath and blow gently at first, then harder…” We did as we were told and within seconds were holding our very own flaming ball of fire in our hands. It was a truly a magical moment, exhilarating but a little bit scary. After much whooping we dropped the flaming nest and extinguished our handiwork in one quick step. Strangely satisfied, we were left babbling and smiley and smelling nicely of campfires.

Visit www.allfivesenses.com or wait for the August issue of the magazine to find read more…

Sat, 02/05/2009 – 23:42

Submitted by Joanna Tinsley

Go to BBC Countryfile Blog for more of Joanna’s adventures in Orkney.

Books about Natural Navigation – no map, compass, or gps – not even a signpost

Moon at dusk can guide navigation when you are lost

I am passionate about the lost art and science of what is termed “Natural Navigation“, or ‘emergency navigation’ – the skill or reading nature’s clues to find your way without map, compass, gps or signposts.

To start you off, here are my favourite books on the subject, which you can all find online. My favourite is Harold Gatty’s Finding Your Way – a classic.

You will understand why I call my business Five Senses, and why walking barefoot has great advantages to learning to read the landscape. Based as I am in the north of Scotland, I believe in teaching people to read and understand their local environment, so not all techniques are applicable in your area (sand dunes are not so common here, nor trees but what there is has been well sculpted by the prevailing winds!)

Have a look at the books:-

Gatty, Harold – Finding your way without map or compass

Aveni, Anthony – People and the sky

Burch, David – Emergency Navigation

Wilson, Neil – SAS Tracking and navigation handbook

Grylls, Bear – Born survivor / Man v Wild – survival techniques  …

Thomas, Stephen – Last Navigator

Cunliffe, Tom – Celestial Navigation

It is all about using your senses, being aware and observing – skills that need to be taught and developed – technology has made us lazy. Just like my other passion, making fire. For courses and private info, you can email me.

Aventi

Gatty

“Fire-Maker” by Jacqui Woodward-Smith

Fire-Maker

Published – Goddess Pages – Spring 2008

by Jacqui Woodward-Smith (for Malcolm Handoll) Heather-bound, barefoot and dancing, Soul fire held in dreaming tension, Smiles the sky and sings the hollows, Combs the beach and walks its beauty. All potential held within him, lintel stone and sea-soft tinder, Connection found and joy uncovered, Fire-maker, the land has called you. Pulled by tides and scoured by sea spray, Cradled by the sandstone hills, Strata formed from life’s deep journey, Weathered by the winter storm. Prays the flame and nurtures brightness, Fire sparks from the bow that sings you, Cotton grass brushes your fingers, Fire-maker, the land has found you. ©Jacqui Woodward-Smith (7th – 9th June 2007)

One Man’s Journey -The Crieff Drovers Tryst

One Man’s Journey along
the Skye to Crieff Cattle Drovers Route

By Malcolm Handoll, published 2003

The last time I did anything this stupid in public – I fell out of an aeroplane for charity.

It all started with a phone call to Trail Magazine looking for publicity for the Crieff Tryst. In some daft attempt to grab the journalists attention I ended up promising ever more – which left me needing high-quality photographs of myself and various idiots in costumes with live(ly) Highland Cows (with horns!) within three days. A sinch. Oh, and I’d also stated I was walking from Skye to Crieff along the old Drovers routes, averaging 22-25 miles per day (so what, they said?), bivvying out under the stars ‘like the old Drovers’ (well?) … and … and living on a Drover’s diet of porridge oats for a week (interest at last!!) … no chocolate (I had a story!!!)

So that was the plan – walk for a week along vague routes, sleeping out and eating rabbit food. After 6 months of not leaving my computer and a bum moulded to the shape of my swivel chair, and a distinct feeling of public pressure – a fixed arrival date that wouldn’t allow for delays of the ‘I had a blister/got lost/bored/broke my neck’ sort. Damn, I had to do this, without a stove, no money for ’snacks’ en-route or the bus and no idea if my tendons would play ball.

Oh, and the photographs. Poo! Lots of cow poo, actually, as we stood in a field with Highland Cows looking cute (them) and nervous (them) and stupid (us) in our kilts, gortex, and costumes down the ages. No Wellington boots. Cows don’t like being told what to do by a photographer so we had to casually ‘walk’ into a herd of cows (with sharp horns) and stand as they inevitably bolted between us. Yeh, walking would be a sinch – and it WAS. It was fantastic -the best long distance walk I’d ever done as it turned out. This walk deserves to be a classic. Do it – but read on first.

Terry from Dun Caan Hostel (Kyleakin) dropped us off at the KyleRea Ferry and ‘G’ and I sailed the rapids that once drowned panicked coos, over the pinched gap that keeps Skye an isle, to Glenelg. Omens made me nervous, and ‘G’ felt it, felt the straps dig into soft shoulders. Conversation was sparse as we gauged steps, counting the metres and calculated the distance each day would necessitate. The mountains ahead showed no way through to ‘G’ – who’d joined this 1st leg with me, knowing nothing of Scottish mountains, Drovers or me!!! (We’d only once spoken on the phone – after she’d read the Trail Magazine article).

The Brochs in Glenelg took our minds off the mundane walking and navigation and from then on I was in a world of past lives. I was connected to the endless movement of humans and livestock across these mountains: seeping with memories, revealing hidden valleys and paths unlocking a natural route. My heart had reason to beat – it was magical! To follow such a natural route, leaving man-made paths in favour of the obvious gentle gradient, the lush pasture remnants, where cattle were grazed at night, fattened on their way to market by these skilled herders – the farmer’s ‘long-distance lorry drivers’ and security (they kept their guns) too. It all made such sense, and within the first hours of this walk, I am leaping around the tussocks of grass, a child transformed into a Drover, the journey inside my imagination.

From that first day on I was a drover and it felt great – to not just do a walk, but to understand why and to feel part of this history. Telford planned to use this route for the main road but I’m so glad he didn’t – it’s far too beautiful for that. Let the cars sweep down Glen —–, and leave this journey back in time, when the crags echoed the mooing of cows, the thwack of sticks and the bark of excited cow-dogs with occasional manly shouts. Now I had the rutting deer and felt satisfied.

Each day was marked by the passing of the ‘high-point’, the psychological barrier of that day, which once crossed left a sunset amble metaphorically downhill to some soft patch of grass. Of course G didn’t quite see it that way. I cajoled us on in an anxious bid for a raised knoll where a breeze would ensure midges stayed grounded. A week earlier it would have been very different and a tent would be wise – but Drovers didn’t worry. Mind you, they had whisky, and midges prefer cattle blood, so I’m told. I’m no ‘wuss’, but seven nights sleep deprivation worried me. So we slept on high ground and it was perfect.

Every place I wanted to rest, I found the grass richer and the water clean, sheltered but well drained, dry and midge free – I also found the remains of an old shieling or enclosure. Someone had been here before, many times – and I sincerely hope many stay there again. This walk is always following the natural route, the way you’d go before maps existed, just follow your nose, head in a general direction, think like a drover, and walk on.

‘G’ left after day two, reluctantly to return to civilisation’s commitments – it grabs you so quickly this walk, carries you into a land of dreams, feeds your imagination, and gives reason for each step, like no other – except maybe the pilgrims walks. And my body tuned in too. Eating complex carbohydrates proved a real success, and my pace adapted to the day’s rhythms, yet the slower energy release gave me such stamina, I continue to eat oats, out of choice.

A note on my diet; one of the rules – was no cheating – but hospitality would be welcomed in much the same way as Drovers would have stopped at farmsteads on route, maybe collecting cattle, or just saying ‘hello’.

Obviously, route choices were influenced by familiar stopping places, good pasture, avoiding worn or recently grazed routes and steering clear of trouble or less hospitable folk en-route – and this lends to the argument for a Drovers Route being flexible not a path. The cattle hated the sharp stones of hard core and I am in awe of those who wrestled the beasts to the ground to shoe them for road sections.

I ate raw porridge oats, and much as I love black pudding (the modern equivalent of the bloodletting Drovers supplemented their meagre diet with) I had no fuel to boil even water. I tried soaking the oats over night in cold water – and this was a real culinary masterpiece, different and bland as cold wall paper paste. I ate like a child, forced by hunger, not by pleasure – and for that experience I am forever grateful.

Wise to the nutritional demands of a weeks walking, and to replace the salt, protein and minerals otherwise hidden in cows blood, I enhanced my oats with the vegan equivalent of seeds, nuts and dried fruit (sugar-free muesli). This seemed sensible, true to my PR goal, and made munching on route palatable. Every stream crossed I drank from, so not to carry the weight of water, and I left my watch at the first one, day one!! I was putting it away in my rucksack for the week but its absolute loss made me even more in tune with the Drovers – time from then on followed the day’s weather and setting sun. (If anyone finds a charcoal grey Marmot fleece – it’s mine! Fell off whilst slipping through peat hags in the failing light and on wobbly, end-of-day legs).

Not knowing anyone on route, the hospitality option was severely limited. I therefore treated myself to one night under cover in a bothy (South Spean Bridge) – and a tiny fire, enough to heat hot water – real porridge, and some cheese, bread and tinned fish. It was also a day for cleaning seeping wounds, burst blisters (I never felt a thing) and realising the walk was quite a long way without any preparation. It began to look serious that day and I began to temper my enthusiasm, knowing the media awaited my return. How could I do that? What if my tendons swelled? – They did. By Loch Rannoch I couldn’t get my boot off it was so swollen, and trench foot has a peculiar smell, suitable only for solo walks and open air bivvying.

My concerns about conflicting access and landowners shooting deer didn’t materialise – in fact it prompted me to a route that is far more enjoyable and diverse than had I stuck to the ’shortest line between two places’. Of course I contacted gamekeepers before setting off, and ensured they were happy with the plan (they were) and after Loch Ossian Hostel (tea stop) my route ‘detoured’ via Loch Rannoch – and I’m so glad I did! This kept the scenery changing constantly; never getting dull like a drudge up the West Highland Way.

This walk is characterised by its ever changing countryside – from Kintail and Knoydart’s wild beauty, to idyllic broadleaf woods beside still lochs, long tracks ideal for mountain-bikes, meandering streams, woods and rich farmland – and best of all, the whole way uses existing ‘natural routes’. That’s one of the joys – to walk in the footsteps of our ancestors – our inheritance. This walk is a journey, at the end of which you are in tune with nature, humanity and the seasons. Sleeping out allows the ultimate luxury of simply sleeping any where you like – beside the path, a kind bed of moss, a turfed lochside, a roofless hovel, they are yours for the night! literally! It is a route that is in essence many various routes, there is no right or wrong as such. My only sadness is that the many old buildings along the way are not restored to a basic bothy – that would be my long term dream – for they are in the best possible spots – chosen by our wise ancestors – the sheltered, watered land – complete with sunrise and stunning view! Had Telford’s road gone through these would be luxury holiday homes now. For a night at least, they were mine, complete with stars and air conditioning.

My only other suggestion to walkers of this route is not to have set days – but instead let the journey unfold, as if you are herding cattle and sheep, let the weather and the mood guide you, choose to explore and let your imagination run wild. I got ahead of myself, had to wait half a day for the media to arrive at our rendevouz, and like a true drover managed to wile away some hours in the coach house bar, with rowdy farmers and crazy musicians. It felt ‘as they would have done’.

I swear by the end of it I just wanted to keep on going – or turn round and go back. Whichever direction you choose, this walk is a classic.

The original text can be viewed at The Scottish Mountaineer

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland

Issue 20 October 2003

The Crieff Tryst takes place yearly in October. Go to the website for more information.

***

What they are saying about Five Senses in Orkney, Scotland

Following yesterday’s post about attention to detail, here are some quotes from testimonials, feedback and letters of thanks, posted to me at Five Senses, here in Orkney, Scotland. I was preparing to put them up on the website but they also seem appropriate for the current blog theme, so excuse the praise and read the detail - it is all about the detail. [Italics and bold added by me].

Malcolm of Five Senses with Stinging Nettles

What is being said about Five Senses:

(See also The Scotsman Newspaper article)

Guests write:

“We cannot say enough about Malcolm and Rachel of Five Senses Tours. We had a great tour of the Highlands and Orkney and saw and experienced so much more than we would have on our own. Tailored to our needs and flexible, educational and fun! I can still taste the local food and drink!”

***

“I want to thank you for the day my daughter and I spent with you. Your tour was quite remarkable.

The Five Senses Tour experience certainly engaged all our sense, as promised, but it did more. It engaged our minds. As a guide you presented us with the tactile, olfactory, aural (I shall never forget the acoustics at the Stones of Stenness), and visual feasts, along with a terrific lunch. But you also asked us to consider what we saw, not to take it on face value. Too often a tour will tell you what the experts say and leave it at that. With Five Senses, you offered us competing theories and then you asked us what we thought, what we saw. I left enriched and excited…and my brain was wonderfully full.

Would that all tours were that wonderful.”

***

“‘Twas the most memorable experience of my two weeks holiday in Ireland and Scotland…”

***

“Just spent three amazing days in the Orkney Islands with the wonderful couple from Five Senses of Scotland. Learnt firelighting with a handmade wooden bowdrill, explored ancient sites – including singing and drumming inside a stone tomb until we found a pitch that caught its natural frequency and amplified our quietest voices many fold – hiked and camped through the lush island of Hoy, drinking delicious fresh water from a rippling stream, while learning to navigate with a compass, and sharing an old stone bothy with passing hikers and a roaring fire (and much more).

If you want to immerse yourself in the land and culture of the Orkney Islands, I would highly recommend this group. Both Malcolm and Rachel are deeply friendly and caring about the people they work with and the land and work it self.”

***

“Thank you very much for giving us such a fantastic time, so much information, new skills and much food for thought, so, in a way it was an intellectual experience too!”

***

“Just want to say how fantastic the new Orkney Experience was. You are both such an inspiration.

Malcolm you are a talented person with such a special gift to see the world in all its wonder and be amazed. Thanks for sharing it.

Rachel, thanks too, for sharing your smile, warmth and sincerity.”

***

“Thank you again for such a memorable day!”

***

“I have arrived home from my wonderful vacation to Scotland and Ireland. What an amazing adventure it was! I wanted to thank you for hosting such a wonderful day in Kirkwall. It was so nice to be shown around by someone who truly loves their country and enjoys sharing this joy with others. I will be posting your contact information on the Cruise Critic web site. Perhaps a few cruise tours here and there may be helpful to you. Please stay in touch and let me know how your business plans are going. If there is anything I can do to promote All Five Senses on my end please let me know.

Again, thank you for a wonderful day.”

***

“Thank you for an absolutely brilliant evening yesterday – Ellie hasn’t stopped talking about it since. We have tonight made fire at Birsay and even demonstrated
it to someone else.

Thanks again.”

Making fire by friction - using your senses

“What an outstanding, thoughtful, insightful and unusual introduction to Orkney. Including tea on your fabulous sun porch was an added bonus!!

Thanks so much for a wonderful day.”

***

“We cannot thank Five Senses enough for our trip to Orkney and beyond, we saw and learned far more than we thought we would and ten times what we would have it we had done it on our own. Our only regret is not having more time. What probably sums it up the best is what happened at the Inverness airport, as we were leaving and they asked how many of us where flying we answered “six”, to which the seven year-old replied “yeah, six, we’re short one now”.”

***

“Well, I’m home now and looking back, the day spent with you in Orkney was the highlight of my trip. Thank you so much for sharing your stories, the fire-making and the special magic of Orkney.

It was such a blessing to meet you and to feel welcomed by your spirit to these ancient sacred places. I will always look back on that day with gratitude.”

Burnside cottage, Rackwick, Island of Hoy, Orkney

And there is more …

“It’s an amazing place; however, this can only really be appreciated if you do it with Five Senses. Out of all of the experiences that we had on our trip to the UK, meeting Malcolm and his wife Rachel and going to all of these ancient places and learning so much was the highlight of the trip. Not to mention actually being able to touch a part of the past.”

***

“We had a picnic with Malcolm on the last day in this field of heather. I still to this day remember what the food tasted like. It was incredible — we can definitely say that we experienced Orkney with all five senses. Not to mention we now know a lot of survival techniques that we learned from Malcolm while visiting Orkney.”

***

“Touring the island with Malcolm was truly a five sense experience. He not only introduced us to the topographical, geological and spiritual aspects of the environment, he and his lovely wife, Rachel, made us feel like family – one well worth a return trip.”

***

“Having used Five Senses I have to say that the quality of interaction with the children, the content of the experience, and the high motivation factor were all really impressive.

So much was this the case that I have booked a half day for my own school to launch our Fuel and Power Topic with a spark! Several other of the commonly used cross-curricular, science- or history-based Topics in Primary would be greatly augmented by such an experience as we had, especially several involving past civilisations or prehistory, or those considering materials and their properties.

The level was right, the risk assessment and health and safety issues were addressed, the personnel were SO enthusiastic and engaged the children without exception and for the whole duration of the afternoon. The children worked as a team eagerly, each having hands-on experience and all gaining so much knowledge, in theory and in practice, about materials, past times, the creation and maintenance of fire, its significance to various times, cultures and peoples, its dangers and safe management.

I have no hesitation in recommending colleagues to take a look at what these people have to offer.”

Limpets are survival food

***

“Planting a naked foot on a board, Malcolm used a bow and hazel ‘drill’ to create flame. Even in these hi-tech days fire still has a magical power to thrill.

These are experiences the children will never forget. Science is all about seeing, enjoying, discovering, trying things out – and, sometimes, being so enthralled by a moment that it changes the way someone thinks for ever.”

Fire Making Class with Malcolm

***

“Five Senses showed our family of 4 plus my sister and her husband around for a week. It was incredible. The highlight of 3 weeks in the UK – and we plan to return. We could not have seen 1/3 of what we saw without Malcolm. It was not a “okay so look at this for 20 seconds” type event. Malcolm asked us all kinds of questions for weeks before we arrived. Once there, he learned more about us — and surprised us with a stop off at a rare breed sheep farm, as well as a combination wool shop / bookstore, to satisfy all 6 of us. I would highly recommend Malcolm and Five Senses to anyone. It is not costly when you realize how much you end up doing, seeing and experiencing.

We shall be back”.

***

“The rest of our trip was nice but we really feel the highlight was the week we spent with you and can’t stop talking about it. Kudos to you Malcolm”.

Exploring Shetland by Bod

I have just returned from exploring the Shetland Islands – the most northerly place in Britain, over 60 degrees latitude. Watched puffins (early August) and lots of seals. Slept in the doorway of a Bod each night, caught the overnight ferry from Kirkwall and flew back from Sumburgh in a twin engine Saab. Rented a car for 3 days from Star rental, which worked well, except the car had an unpleasant smell I attributed to cleaning chemicals and the new upholstery. My nasal passages were much happier when freed of this noxious asault, to enjoy the salty air, the peat fire, the smoked salmon and seaweeds.

Cooked fresh scallops in garlic butter with a dusting of paprika, followed by reestit mutton and tatties. Ate mouthfulls of alfalfa, fruits and veggies. Made scambled eggs and then toasted wholegrain bread with a fork, holding it close to the orange embers of the peat fire. Toasted in under 10 seconds. Smothered in unsalted butter. I didn’t eat this myself – it was for my guests!

The Bod was too hot to sleep in – thanks to the peat fire in the stove (the only source of cooking heat, except an electric kettle. So, I slep in the porch, in a sleeping bag, with the door open. Fine until 3.30 when the birds all woke up and bugled me awake. Another night was very calm so the midgies were biting and I closed the door to all but a whisper of cool air.

The “Bod“ at Skeld, best described as a cross between a bothy and a hostel, or camping barn, is a mix of modern and ancient, of electrical appliances and basic simplicity. Bods are clean and cared for, provide only mattresses (wafer thin too) on wooden bunk beds, and some like this one have electric showers, lighting and a kitchen, indoor toilets and a black stove. At £8 per person, a night (plus a £1 for electricity and £5 for a bag of peat, which lasted 2 nights continous use) they are a good alternative to b&B or self catering. The only youth hostel, being in the town of Lerwick, is functional but lacks character. Self catering is charged by the week, so is too expensive. B&Bs do not provide places to cook, and it can be tiring eating out and not having control over your diet.

For more info go to Shetland’s Bods run by Sheltand Amenity Trust (branch of the Sheltand Islands Council).

Highlights were the puffins, seals and the rugged coastline, the wonderful hospitality and good weather, making walking to Staneydale a delight with a picnic of smoked salmon, oatcakes and cheeses. Looked at Mousa broch, Clickimin broch, croft museum, Scatness, Jarlshof, Lerwick, Sumburgh Head and lots of Atlantic Ocean and North Sea water! See Doug Houton for some pictures.

Slept ok on the ferry from Kirkwall (Orkney) but the noise of the engine and thrusters took some getting used to. Never the less, it was mighty convenient to have a shower in my cabin and get breakfast before leaving the ferry at 9am. The only downside was being woken at 6.30 am to be told, by a loud announcement, that breakfast was now being served – a totally unnecessary disturbance that wakes everyone! This is followed at 7.30 am by the announcement that we have docked, and a number of other messages for the car drivers (who have to leave and remove their cars – at least they are allowed back on board for breakfast). So, not enough rest for this wicked person. Please will Northlink Ferries cease this practice of waking everyone to promote breakfast sales and let us tired drivers sleep one more delightful hour of cosy dreams? Please.

26/8/08 Here is a blog i just read, about a 6 day tour of Orkney & Shetland, which you might find interesting. Everyone in tourism should read and analyse this fascinating insight into a visitors experience.

Camping in Scotland – Rackwick on Hoy is a real treat.

Rackwick Bay – Bothy and Campsite – Hoy, Orkney, Scotland: A superb location beside the Atlantic at 59 degrees north.

Rackwick Bothy and Camping at "Burnside", Hoy, Orkney

The ‘bothy’, provided by the Hoy Trust, is a wonderful, simple shelter, ideal for cooking and socialising. An open fire can be maintained using driftwood and seaweed from the adjacent beach.

The scenery is breathtaking, beside the Ocean, surrounded by cliffs. Excellent, easy walking all around. Highlights include the Old Man of Hoy, Ward Hill, Dwarfie Stane, Berriedale and the local croft called Craws Nest. Best of all though is the campsite and bothy – very hard to leave!

Facilities include running water (untreated), toilet (paper too) and washing soap, use of the bothy and a stone walled grass camp plot, big enough for a dozen tents. Fires and BBQs are common.

Note: I left plenty of tinder and fuel for a fire – please consider others and replennish this supply. “Leave it a little better than you find it“. The fireplace is the heart of the room so treat it carefully and avoid setting fire to the place – especially the lovely heather thatched roof.

Donations for upkeep can be left in an honesty box. Please do help.

Rackwick Bay is beautiful. It is 4 or 5 miles walk from the Moness Pier (ferry to Stromness) and the cafe there is very handy (the pub has closed I believe). No shops. Bring enough food for extra days!!! A telephone and a scattering of houses are nearby, in emergency, but it is otherwise quite remote. A very popular bothy and camp site – expect other people, even in winter – and groups must book in advance. Hoy is magic! Go, enjoy, and respect the fragile nature all around. Tred gently!

There is also a small SYHA hostel in Rackwick, up by the telephone and the path to the Craw’s Nest / path to Old Man.

The bothy – a basic shelter with a concrete floor and no lighting - is in the house called “Burnside” on maps.

Rackwick means ‘rock bay‘ in old norse – you’ll see why when you get there! So you don’t need the word ‘bay’ after it. I have a picture of the rocks in Fire Your Imagination.

Go to Five Senses for info about holidays and getting to Hoy, Orkney, with Malcolm.

See the first BASE jump off Hoy and the sad story of one of the jumpers, here.

Old Man of Hoy - Orkney Islands, Scotland

Scotland Info and Pictures – an honest insiders view

As I have lived in Scotland over 10 years, moving here from Wales, and my wife is from the USA (we met on day 3 of her vacation, on the Isle of Skye, very romantic!) I think I can see Scotland through the eyes of both a visitor and a local. So, here I am offering some honest and helpful advice for people planning their first ever trip to Scotland. Also note, Scotland is turning green!

First, some pictures. Everybody loves pictures. Then some useful websites for reviews and travel advice – and my contact details if you want a hand to hold.

Walking in the rain and open hillside

Walking in Berriedale, Hoy, in July

St John’s Head, Hoy

A beautiful walk along high cliffs of Hoy, Orkney Islands

Fishing Boats, Tay Esuary

After the Storm - Fishing Boats on the Tay

Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle

Beach near Ullapool

Beach near Ullapool on the West coast

Hogwarts Express and Harry Potter

Jacobite Steam Train - Hogwarts Express!

Monty Python’s Holy Grail – Doune Castle

Doune Castle - of Holy Grail fame

Edinburgh Cobbled Streets

Edinburgh Streets - in Stockbridge

Edinburgh Old Town

Edinburgh Old Town - a quiet street by the castle.

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle and City View

That is a flavour of some of the beauty of Scotland, if not the classic shots. I hope this gives you a sense of what Scotland could offer you – in addition to all the information about clans, tartans, loch ness, bagpipes and haggis.

For good honest, helpful information, the three best sites to use – where you can read tips (personal opinions) and get advice from keen-to-help locals:

• Tripadvisor Scotland
• Virtual Tourist Scotland
• Extra Mile Scotland

For my own pages, feel free to go to:

• Scotlandscotour -  my Virtualtourist writing
  
• Five Senses -  my website – tours of Orkney, Scotland
  

If you need more advice than these sites can give, you’d better check out the more official sites – but risk heading to all the same tourist places every other joe goes, or if you want the real thing and off-the-beaten-track, contact me now, or see some New Pictures I have added to this blog, January 2009

Also, I suggest you look at these superb books about Scotland! …

• Flora Celtica – a fantastic copy about nature, culture and people
• The Rough Guide – to Scottish Highlands and Islands
• Edinburgh Locals’ Guide – an insider’s guide to the beautiful city
  
• The Scottish Islands – beautiful, informative picture guide
• Cool Camping Sites – the best way to enjoy the Freedom to Roam
• B&B Guide 2009 – better than hotels, by far
• Malt Whisky Companion – every visitor should at least sniff them!
• Walking in Scotland – Lonely Planet Guide – the country to hike
  
• Driving Routes – AA (automobile association) guides are the best
• Map of Northern Scotland – the best map for touring and exploring
• Scottish Genealogy – it is great fun discovering your connections
• St Kilda – a brilliant wee book about life on the most remote island
• A History of Scotland – the newest book by Neil Oliver of Coast fame
  

I love Scotland

Amazing Orkney Islands, Scotland – Day Tour in summer

Here are some of Orkney’s many wonderful places to visit – from a day tour in the Five Senses car. Always atmospheric, memorable and unique – a land of history preserved in stone, protected by distance and heritage, and now open to exploration – right on our doorstep.

Broch of Gurness

The Iron Age Broch of Gurness in Orkney, north Scotland

The Broch of Gurness: one of, if not the, best preserved broch sites in Britain. Some brochs may be taller (a broch is a round tower with double walls, dating back to the iron age – they are found mostly in northern Scotland, near the coast, where a once great people or society must have flourished), but at Gurness there are the amazingly well preserved outer defenses, the buildings of a village huddled around it . Most impressive of all is still being allowed to go right inside the site, touch the stones and explore. A beautiful setting too – this site was a highlight of touring Orkney.

Kirkwall

Kirkwall Main Street early, before the crowds

Kirkwall is the main town in Orkney - the capital town, with a population around the 7,000 mark. This number is swelled by all the 19,000 or so residents in Orkney, who come from all over the many islands to shop and work and play, in Kirkwall. In the summer there are also many cruise ships calling by, passengers getting a fleeting look at the famous sites and a little bit of shopping before sailing away. It is much better to stay in one of the many B&Bs, hotel, hostel or camp ground and enjoy the nightlife.

Notice the ice cream sign on the left – Orkney ice cream is the best – reflecting the way the cows graze tasty, fresh grass and lead healthy lives, and no doubt craftsmanship in the making too.

Stenness Standing Stones

Stenness Standing Stones in Neolithic Orkney

The Stenness Standing Stones are in the middle of the Neolithic World Heritage Site and a “must visit” site. Notice I don’t just say ‘must see’? To appreciate these stones and his site you need to get out and walk amongst them – which we can do for free! How cool is that – the oldest henge (like Stonehenge) in Britain, probably, and it is open access 24/7.

This site holds great secrets!

The sheep keep the grass down but watch where you step!

Birsay Shoreline

Seaweed in morning light at Birsay

One of the delights of Orkney is the amazing coastline and the life it supports. At Birsay, in the NW corner of the biggest island – called Mainland – you can get really close, explore rock pools and sandy beaches as you cross the tidal causeway to the Viking and Pictish settlements.

Take time to enjoy the detail – we always try to be out of the vehicle as much as possible, to slow down and be fully present – if for a fleeting moment – at least enjoy it as much as life allows.

Tomb of the Eagles

The way in the "Tomb of the Eagles"

Tomb of the Eagles – a 5,000 year old chambered cairn above stunningly beautiful cliffs of South Ronaldsay (southerly island of Orkney) is so named because of the many sea eagle talons that were found there, as well as human bones, skulls, and mysterious stone objects / tools.

Best of all is that the site is privately run by the wonderful family who discovered and unearthed the site. You can get closer to the artifacts, learn more and visit the Bronze Age house also found on their land. From experience it is best to allow at least 2 hours for a visit – we had lunch there (picnic). See this blog.

Dwarfie Stane – Hoy

"Dwarfie Stane" - Rock Cut Chamber on Hoy, Orkney

The Dwarfie Stane is fantastic – the only one of its kind in Britain – it used to be the most visited site by antiquarians but is now forgotten, so we got it all to ourselves. Three people can crawl inside this huge sandstone boulder that has been hollowed out, experts think by Stone Age people using simple tools and brains. Not much else is known about it – unless you go with Malcolm, who knows secrets about the site.

Skara Brae Neolithic Village

Skara Brae House in Neolithic Village, Orkney

Skara Brae Village, in west Orkney is the number one tourist attraction. This is just one of the “houses” as they are called of the unique village cluster, exposed after a storm in 1850. The site has been much cleaned up and tidied now and due to visitor pressure you have to keep out of the actual site, and walk around the edge. Fair enough – the site needs protecting.

This is more than enough for one day – yet there is so much else to see and do, this is just the tip of the iceberg but I hope it helps you to decide to come and visit these amazing islands and people.

For more information see these websites:

• Visit Orkney
• Five Senses Tours
  
• Historic Scotland
• Orkneyjar
• Orcadian
• Orkney Travel

BTW – The auto selected links below are rubbish!

Miracle Thread: Bog Cotton – July Harvest

The annual gathering of Cotton Grass / Bog Cotton took place today – a day late but no great disaster.

Cotton Grass / Bog Cotton

I went up the hill this morning for my annual gathering of bog cotton or cotton grass, as it is also known. last year I had delayed going out to gather it, waiting until it was perfectly dry and just ready to drift on the wind (the fluffy seeds) when in the night I was awoken by sudden storm – wet and windy! I knew then that it would scatter the white cotton everywhere making it impossible to harvest. Sure enough, the next morning I marched up the hill to find it white, like there had been a frost or light falling of snow – but it was the bog cotton seeds, released by the plant or pulled away by the wind, scattered! That day I trudged back down and set my sights upon the later thistle and rosebay willowherb harvest, which are easier to find, being lowland plants.

This summer I have been paying close attention to the condition of the bog cotton and the weather, waiting. Last night was perfect: It had been dry for days, the wind was light but a new front was due, so the seeds were ripe for picking – still bunched on the plant so easy to gather but ready to release and dry! I should have gone. It had been a busy day and the forecast was for the winds to remain light, so I slept.

With a groan I again awoke to the sound of wind and rain. Surely not?! I set off up the fields, soon soaked by the wet grasses and made my way to a good, healthy patch of white tufts. There were still there. Some were gone, strewn across the ground, seeds that have escaped. The rest were there still, hanging on but soaking wet.

I got a bag full in 10 minutes and returned home, relieved and happy, my nose clear and scenting the distant cattle, the odd smells of things unseen. The cotton is now in a pillow case over the solid fuel stove, slowly drying so I can keep it dry and use all year, until this time next year. There is no supermarket for this sort of stuff -just like the old days, the weather and season matter greatly. Be lazy and stay in bed and you miss it for at least a year!

Bog cotton actually had many uses, one of which was as a stuffing for pillows, so my harvest over the fire looks appropriate! Of course, it has also been used like commercial cotton to make thread and cloth, described in the Great Exhibition of 1851 as “garments woven by crofting women … much admired for their beauty and fine texture” (the fabric, not the women, alas).

Bog cotton is also reputed to have miracle healing powers for the sheep that eat it, though I do not know how accurate this observation from the 19th century is.

There are a number of traditional Scottish stories that refer to shirts made of this plant, known locally as canach or caineachan. I’ll quote from Flora Celtica:

“such as the tale in which a girl refuses to marry her suitor unless he procures a gown of canach down.”

“In another story a prince is bewitched and becomes a creature, neither man or beast. His distressed father calls on the local maidens to weave 3 shirts from canach down but only one girl sees it through to the finish. When the prince receives his 3 shirts he turns back into his handsome old self and marries the lass, and they all live happily ever after.” (p159 Flora Celtica, Milliken and Bridgewater).

So what do I want with the downy, white seed heads? I have not the patience to weave a shirt, though I will try spinning some thread from it. I do not believe it shall make me more handsome – though I suspect the stories demonstrate just how hugely labour intensive making garments from this lovely, soft material would have been. It is hard enough to gather it, let alone clean it, spin it and then weave it. I sit here in my cotton t-shirt bought pre-made and I am grateful.

What I want the bog cotton for is making fire – as a very fine, fibrous plant material it is perfect for helping the most stubborn ember to glow bigger and grow into a ball of heat! A dry bag of it in my pack weighs next to nothing and it also makes fantastic down-like insulation, which could just save a hand from freezing – and in the outdoors that is the sort of advantage that might save my life – just being able to open a karabiner or a rucksack for precious food. I’ve been there so I speak from experience.

It is interesting to note how many plants associated with wet ground are helpful in making fire – how these are our friends and not weeds. Today we stick close to the land, rarely venturing out in a boat, be it on sea or a lake, so it is hard for us to imagine how our ancestors lived close to and on water. They had no roads, no metal tools – so they thrived at the water margins. Land we have either built cities on or drained for farming – little remains, to our loss.

Bog cotton is my friend!

Note: I only gather small quantities from any one location allowing natural processes of seed germination to carry on unhindered. To take too much from any one plant or area breaks to rules of aesthetics and nature (one and the same).

Bog Cotton is the common name of Eriophorium vaginatum.