Kirkwall, capital of the Orkney Islands

Kirkwall, capital of the Orkney Islands, was a delight, and was our first port of call on our recent cruise, after one day and two nights at sea. The skies were overcast when we arrived and the temperatures much colder than we'd been used to back in Kent, for much of the summer. It was also was nice to see plenty of bright green grass after weeks of looking out over parched and burnt lawns, roadside verges, and sad, bare-looking hedgerows. Kirkwall, itself is a lovely little town, untouched and unsullied by many of the 21st‑century woes that afflict mainland Britain (litter and mindless graffiti, posing as art).

A shuttle bus, laid on by the cruise line, drove us into town, and dropped us at the bus station, close to the town’s cathedral. This compact building is constructed from local stone, that has an unusual reddish tint to it, although for the life of me, I couldn’t tell you what the stones are. This is despite achieving an “O” level in geology. We then took a wander down towards harbour, passing lots of familiar shops on the way, along with banks that were still trading, unlike many of those back home. We even noticed a proper Royal Mail, Post Office. The drop in temperature, I mentioned earlier necessitated Mrs PBT’s buying us each a warm and attractive-looking woolly hat, as we’d foolishly left our own headgear back home in “tropical” Kent.

We stopped at a colourful looking coffee shop, which I think was attached to one of the local breweries. We sat out in the courtyard, overlooked by a colourful mural, painted on the back of some of the local houses. We then headed down towards the harbour, picking up a few more goodies on the way. A pint was in order, but it wasn’t quite opening time, so we sat admiring the tranquil scene of the boats in the harbour, and before long staff at the small and attractive Helgi’s Bar, were opening the door. We were the first customers of the day, although not for long.

Helgi’s is a current Good Beer Guide entry, and after spending some time there, it’s easy to understand why it achieved CAMRA Northern Isles, Pub of the Year. There were three beers on sale from local brewery, Swannay - Sunny in Birsay 3.4%, Dark Monro 4.0% and Scapa Special 4.2%, which was the beer I went for, a perfectly balanced beer for every day quaffing. Swannay are based in a rustic farmstead in the north westerly tip of Orkney’s mainland. It wasn’t long before Helgi’s started to get busy, but despite the beers and the friendly atmosphere we've decided not to eat, as we only really wanted a light bite.

After leaving the pub we made our way back to the bus station and then the shuttle bus back to the ship. After a spot a lunch, we ascended to the pool deck, and spent a pleasant and lazy afternoon soaking up the sun. The views out across the calm waters of Scapa Flow - the legendary semi-enclosed, area of water that provided a calm and sheltered anchorage, for the Royal Navy’s Home Fleet, during two world wars. We remained there, enjoying the warm weather until the 6pm sail-away, when Ambience bade farewell to Kirkwall and Orkney. 

Our time there was spoilt slightly because a local Pipe Band had been booked to play for the sail-off, but unfortunately the the music of the band was partially drowned out by the dross emanating from the ship's "entertainment" system. 

The volume hadn't been turned down sufficiently, so we had to try and listen to the the local musicians whilst at the same time putting up with sounds of the 70’s and 80’s drowning out the local performers. Leaving the quayside behind us, we enjoyed the sail away, as we headed out in the direction of the nearby island of Hoy. I remember watching, with my father, a live televised broadcast, of a group of climbers, successfully scaling the impressive sea stack, known as the Old Man of Hoy. This was back in the late 1960’s, and was the first time that this lump of rock had been climbed.

Leaving Hoy behind, we headed out into the main channel. Then following a south-westerly setting, we sailed towards the island of Lewis and the port of Stornoway, where we would be docking the following morning. So despite an all too brief glimpse of Orkney’s capital, we enjoyed our time on this far northerly part of the British Isles. One final thing we noticed, was the number of Norwegian flags being flown from buildings in Kirkwall. Now this was either a tribute to the King of Norway, who had died a few days previously, or it might have been due to the large number of inhabitants of both Orkney and Shetland, who claim Viking descent. An interesting point, but the people who live in these islands, are definitely not Scottish.

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