Castle in the Rain, Palaces in the Dry

The weather was the worst it has been all week. Heavy rain at times and clouds all day.

We started with Yesnaby Castle, not a real castle but a sea stack (rock pillar just offshore) just south of Skara Brae.

We visited here on Sunday with blue sky and calm seas. Today we had 25mph winds and high tide so I hoped for some waves and white water around the base of the stack.

Unfortunately the wind was blowing offshore so there were no waves at all. I took a couple of record shots in heavy rain and returned disappointed to the car.

The rain continued for a few hours as we drove around, eventually parking in Kirkwall as the rain stopped.

To start with it was dull so I left the camera in the car and went to the pub for a pint of St Magnus, a reasonable pint.

It was a brighter after the pub, or maybe it was just the effect of the beer! Photos of the cathedral, Earls Palace and Bishops Palace followed. The last shots were sunlit, albeit fleetingly.

Tonight was our last night on Orkney so most of us had dinner together at the Stromness Hotel before transferring to the Ferry Inn across the road. Dark Island was back on after a 5 day absence so all is well with the world!

Sorry, once again I forgot to take photos on my mobile to illustrate this blog. You will just have to wait until my films are processed and I find time to scan some of them. 33 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 taken so far.