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8 September 2024

I was excited to finally make a long-awaited first visit to Orkney after months of planning and research. I had planned for four days, including visits to three islands, but in the end poor weather curtailed my trip to just two. Landing in Kirkwall under grey skies, I was relieved that it was at least dry so I immediately headed off to nearby Inganess beach just a mile or so from the airport. However, the tide was fully in and there was basically no beach to see, so I left this one for another day. Instead, I drove to popular Scapa beach, just outside Kirkwall. This crescent-shaped beach looks out to busy Scapa Flow, a body of water steeped in naval history but now populated by oil tankers. A road borders the back of the beach and there is plenty of parking, with a nearby memorial to the Royal Oak, the Royal Navy battleship sunk by a German U-boat torpedo in Scapa Flow in 1939 with the loss of 835 servicemen. After visiting this beach, I popped over to see the famous Orkney landmarks of the 5,000 year-old Ring of Brodgar stone circle and the even older Standing Stones of Stenness.