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8 September 2024

I am so excited to finally make a long-awaited first visit to Orkney after months of planning and research. I’ve planned for four days, including visits to three islands, but I’m keeping an eye on the weather, which isn’t playing ball. Landing in Kirkwall under grey skies, I am relieved that it’s at least dry so I immediately head off to nearby Inganess beach just a mile or so from the airport. However, on arrival, the tide is fully in and there is literally no beach to see, so I leave this one for another day. Instead, I drive 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 pop 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.