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July 30, 2017

Sandwick, Orkney – St Peter’s

A few miles south of Birsay, is St Peter’s Church, Sandwick – HY 234198. It is a very dramatic setting, on the north side of the Bay of Skaill. It is rather nice closer up, and there is parking next to it. There was a “Church open” sign, so I opened the door. It is now in the care of the Scottish Churches Trust – website. The kirk was built in 1836 on an ancient site. The earlier church had fallen into disrepair. The Reverend Charles Clouston, minister at the time, wrote that it was “in a very bad...
Categories 1,000 mile walking/Scotland/World War 1 Comments: 0
July 27, 2017

Birsay, Orkney – St Magnus

Monday 10 July. We drove along the A966 to Birsay, past the Earl’s Palace, and found a very nice café, Birsay Bay Tearoom – website. It has wifi – so I spent a happy half hour booking seats to Cumbria in the Virgin Trains mega sale. All done in a café off the north coast of Scotland, and with electronic tickets. The first time I came to Orkney, in 1983, I had a free British Rail pass from Cambridge to Thurso. The line from Inverness to Thurso and Wick divides at Georgemas Junction, so I planned to go north...
Categories Railway History/Scotland Comments: 0
July 25, 2017

Orphir, Orkney – Round Church

This was our first Orkney church of the holiday (Sunday 9 July). I have always liked the south road from Kirkwall to Stromness, the A964, that runs along the top of Scapa Flow. We went through to Orphir and stopped at the little Heritage Centre, the Saga Centre, and enjoyed the presentation – it hasn’t changed in many years, but tells the story of Magnus very well. I left Julie and walked to the Church – HY335043 – and Earl’s Bu. The round kirk is the only-surviving circular medieval church in Scotland, built around 1120. It was reputedly built by...
Categories 1,000 mile walking/Scotland Comments: 0
July 24, 2017

Deerness, Orkney – St Ninian’s church and the Brough of Deerness

Julie and I had a fortnight on Orkney in July 2017 – the first holiday fortnight we’ve had just the two of us for many years (and we didn’t argue!). We drove north from Derby – as you have probably guessed from previous blogs – and crossed the Pentland Firth on Pentland Ferries – website – who could not have been more helpful to a traveller in a wheelchair. We stayed at The Slap Cottage on the Island of Burray – website – which was excellent (thank you). Normally I blog about churches simply in order of when I...
Categories 1,000 mile walking/Scotland Comments: 0
July 23, 2017

Cromarty, Highland – East Church

After a morning (Friday 7 July) in Inverness we drove over the Kessock Bridge and on to the Black Isle to visit the little town of Cromarty. Coffee in the bookshop, then I parked by the sea and went for a 2 mile walk. The town looks slightly more prosperous than it was – there are some lovely houses. We first came we came here was when the kids were little, and we came on the bus from Inverness – then went across to Dingwall (or it could have been vice versa). Buses still terminate by the shore. There...
Categories Scotland/World War 1 Comments: 0
July 22, 2017

Inverness, Highlands – St Andrew’s Cathedral

Inverness Cathedral, Serving the Highlands – says the tag line. Grid ref – BB123456 – website. Interesting that the guidebook gives their social media links, not the website. It is the Episcopal Cathedral, as the Church of Scotland doesn’t do things like bishops and Cathedrals (“they haven’t got bishops to show them the way” Michael Flanders and Donald Swann A Song of Patriotic Prejudice) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vh-wEXvdW8. The Provost of the Cathedral is also the Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness. The Cathedral stands west of the river in an imposing position, and doesn’t align to the usual east/west position....
Categories Cathedrals/Scotland/World War 1 Comments: 0
July 20, 2017

Fortingall, Perthshire – Kirk

I first came to Fortingall in the summer of 1982. Richard Hunt, Chaplain of Selwyn College Cambridge, used to organise long-distance walks, and that summer’s was from Dundee to Iona. I had to leave before we got to Oban as I needed to be back in Cambridge for an orchestra course – I remember that there was a rail strike and I hitch-hiked home. One lift from Oban to Edinburgh, another to Doncaster, and one ten minutes later to the M11 two miles from home. A few days earlier we had arrived in Fortingall, and then made our way...
Categories Personal/Roman Britain/Scotland Comments: 0
July 17, 2017

Grandtully, Perthshire – St Mary’s

We are en route to Orkney. On Friday 6 July we are heading up the A9, and following a prefab house on a lorry – worse than a caravan. A few miles north of Dunkeld we turned left onto the B898, and then the A827. St Mary’s church, Grandtully is an Historic Scotland property (unstaffed, free access) and is sign posted off the main road at NN 887556. Plenty of parking, and a short walk to the church. This is one of those churches where you open the door and go wow. A church here is first mentioned in...
Categories Scotland Comments: 2
September 8, 2016

Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway – St Michael

On Wednesday 31 August I had a look at St Michael’s parish church in Dumfries – grid reference NX 975756. They have a website with this wonderful address – it is still advertising 2015 Christmas. The church was open and I got a good welcome – thanks for the guided tour, much appreciated. They have united three congregations in the one building – I wonder how that has worked. There is evidence suggesting that Ninian (circa 390 AD) stopped here en route to Whithorn – at least he didn’t have a wife who got no further than the Book...
Categories Scotland/World War 1 Comment: 1
September 7, 2016

Ruthwell and its Cross – Dumfries & Galloway

Ruthwell Church is just north of the village – NY101682. What the OS map does not tell you, even with its “Selected places of tourist interest”, is that it contains the Ruthwell Cross. We parked and I entered the church. Other visitors gave me the key (if the church is locked the key lives outside the Manse). Having seen the cross I got Julie to come and see it too. The guidebook on sale is a book about the Cross by the Reverend John L. Dinwiddie. He was minister of the parish for 45 years from 1890 – apparently...
Categories Scotland Comments: 4