Published August 16, 2021

An Incredible Month in Orkney!

By Priscilla Rivera

Greetings from Orkney! I hope wherever you are in the world that you are keeping safe and well. I know I said exactly the same last month but once again this month has flown by and what a month it has been!

My parents left last week after spending just over three weeks with me. As I had hoped the weather was kind so there was short walks around Kirkwall and lots of lovely lunches out and about on the days when I was not working. Towards the end of their stay we took the ferry to Hoy so that my parents could see a very different part of Orkney. Hoy (High Island) is quite unlike the other islands that make up Orkney. As its name suggests Hoy consists of lots of high hills and its landscape resembles the Northern Scottish Highlands rather than the rolling green hills of Orkney. The weather was bright and sunny, although that infamous wind was persistent during the day, and we drove all around Hoy exploring from top to bottom. A traditional Scottish dish of mince and tatties kept us all fueled up before we caught the ferry back to Mainland Orkney.

A few days after my Mum and Dad left (and in-between having three nights away in Invervess and the Dornoch Firth) my brother, sister in law and my nephew and nieces arrived for their first ever visit to Orkney. It was fantastic to finally show them where I lived. We had a walk to Hoxa Head and explored some of the old buildings built to defend Scapa Flow during WW1 and WW2. Then there was puffins to be seen at Birsay where we had to walk over a causeway at low tide to reach where they nest. Of course beaches featured heavily and shells and pretty rocks were found and packed safely away to be take home to Lincolnshire. My brother decided he would take home a rather large rock as a souvenir. As is compulsory on all holidays a large amount of ice cream was eaten…… well if Auntie Isla can’t spoil her nephew and nieces when they visit her when can she? It is safe to say we all had a lot of fun and the house feels very empty now they have gone. However, plans are afoot for a trip south in the Autumn to see them

Knitting wise I have been able to block my Habitation Throw (my niece loved having a snuggle in it when she was feeling poorly and took it to bed with her) and I am very close to finishing my Nuuk Sweater which I hope to have finished for next time I write to you.