Last winter I found a little book in one of the local tourist information offices: Orkney, 40 Coast and Country Walks. So far I’ve done 14 of them. There is no way I will be doing all 40 – I can’t see myself catching a 90-minute ferry ride out to Sanday to wrestle Scout along to the Holms of Ire (only accessible at low tide). But I do intend to do all the ones on the Mainland (three to go) and south isles (three more there).
The weather this week has been spectacular – sunny and mid-teens – so I decided we would head over to The Knowes of Trotty. The Knowes of Trotty is a Bronze Age burial site and one of the largest and oldest in Britain. (In spite of that, none of my friends from the walking group had ever heard of it, and they are all either natives or have been here at least five decades.) It seems a ‘knowe’ is a burial mound, and ‘trotty’ translates from old Norse as ‘trow marsh’. Trows were nocturnal mischief-making goblins. So The Knowes of Trotty translate as the ‘Mounds Beside the Marshes where the Goblins Live’.
We met cows up close (they were on the other side of a fence, but as I know from personal experience, cows and bulls can jump fences, so I always walk very quietly and respectfully past them), crossed burns, and eventually were knee-deep in heather. It was a glorious day, and an absolutely beautiful walk.
This morning looks to be equally nice, so I’m thinking Brinkie’s Brae this afternoon – it’s quite a steep hike and yesterday I think I may have broken a baby toe, but it’s too nice today not to be outside. To be honest, the only reason I’m even writing about these walks (other than a chance to post photos of spectacular scenery) is because I am entertained by the names. Already accomplished: Yesnaby, Skiba Geo, and The Gloup. Still to do: Brinkie’s Brae, Dingieshowe, and the Kame of Corrigall.