Tag Archives: Scotland

Donald where’s yer troosers?

Posted on 19 Jul 2013 by lornaofarabia

Part of the reason we picked these particular dates to be on Lewis was so we could attend the Hebridean Celtic Festival. More about the festival tomorrow, but for now I’ll just say it’s a great place for kilt-spotting. Here … Continue reading →

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Mathain va

Posted on 18 Jul 2013 by lornaofarabia

Having proven myself unable to learn Arabic and Amharic, why would I think I could learn Gaelic?  Consistent failure doesn’t stop me from trying. About 60% of people in the western isles speak Scottish Gaelic. The highest proportion of Gaelic … Continue reading →

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Heart of Brave

Posted on 17 Jul 2013 by lornaofarabia

Woo hoo! Here we are in Lewis, land of my people! (the MacIver ones, anyway). We’ll be staying for a few days in Stornoway, the capital. This is also the land of the Disney film, Brave. I did not know … Continue reading →

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All the way to Ullapool

Posted on 16 Jul 2013 by lornaofarabia

A couple of days ago I happened to see a poster advertising a “Ferry and B&B Offer” in the window of the NorthLink ferry terminal. This offer turned out to be the best bargain we’ve encountered this summer. The morning … Continue reading →

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Here comes the rain again

Posted on 15 Jul 2013 by lornaofarabia

On our last full day in Orkney we made a day trip to the island of Hoy. The largest village, Lyness, is on the southeast coast of the island but we bypassed the big city (just kidding: the entire island of … Continue reading →

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Neolithic Orkney

Posted on 14 Jul 2013 by lornaofarabia

Among the many amazing sights to be seen in this place are the Neolithic monuments. Everyone’s heard of Stonehenge in southern England, but not everyone knows that the British Isles are positively littered with stone age ruins. Orkney, as you … Continue reading →

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Inspiration

Posted on 13 Jul 2013 by lornaofarabia

I love this poem. I carried and shared it on Poem in your Pocket Day on April 18, soon after we decided to come here this summer. The author lived for a time on Rousay, a small island off Orkney’s … Continue reading →

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Walking on Westray

Posted on 12 Jul 2013 by lornaofarabia

Westray is the second largest island in the Orkneys. Its main village, Pierowall, consists of a small hotel with restaurant, two general stores, a fish vendor, a chippie (open summers only), and the hostel where we are staying. People come … Continue reading →

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Kirkwall

Posted on 11 Jul 2013 by lornaofarabia

Last night we got stuck in Kirkwall. While I love Orkney (I’ve been here twice before), I had hoped to avoid its capital city, which I remembered didn’t have a whole lot to recommend it. But we arrived too late … Continue reading →

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The island adventures begin

Posted on 10 Jul 2013 by lornaofarabia

Our time in Scandinavia came to an end today with a short flight to Kirkwall, Orkney. This route makes for an easy transition between regions: Orkney was ruled by Norse kings until 1468 and there are still many cultural ties. … Continue reading →

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