42 - North Shore News - Sunday, April 16, 2000 isolated Fascinating history found on Orkney and Shetland islands Caroline M. Jackson Contributing Writer “In the course of a single day vou can see, it that immensity of sky, the dance of am, cloud, sea-mist, thencer, rain? (Orcadian post, George Mackay Brewn) AN archipelago dotted with sheep, forboding cliffs and fascinating prehistoric sites, the Orkney and Shetland Islands are part of Scotland but lie on the same latitude as Whitehorse and are only a day’s sail from Bergen in Norway. _ ‘An ideal way to explore these fascinating islands is to take a three-day mini-cruise aboard the P&O Ferry, the St. Sunniva which makes the 260 km journey across the Pentland Firth from Aberdeen to the Orkneys. Early in the evening just as we were finishing off a delicious home-cooked dinner in the ship's dining room, the St. Sunniva slipped into Somness Harbor. It was a perfect evening for a mid- _susmmmer stroll in the Simmer Dim — the long twilight. __ It was intriguing to explore this Norwegian-style harbour town with its meandering streets and gabled houses huddled together, each vying for jetty access to the waterfront. If stones could speak, these dwellings could have told us tales of smugglers, of agents recruiting Orcadians for the Hudson’s Bay Company and other fascinating history. ~...: In the late 18th Century. Orcadians comprised three quarters , of the Hudson’s Bay Company's workforce. Many of them with names .such as Inkster, Isbister, Moar, Mowatt, Sabiston and -° Sindaiy ‘eventually: settled in Manitoba and other Canadian ... provinces.’Ir was in Stromness that skippers picked up provisions ~: and fresh water fron: Login’s Well for long, arduous transatlantic voyages — an era when merchant ships preferred to sail around than. face attack in the English Channel. Secomness islands strategi ; Sete Photo Hamish s. Jackson LERWICK is the most northerly town In the U.K. and capital of the Shetiand Islands. The harbour once provided sheiter for King Haakon and other Viking fleets. scrap. The remaining dozen or so ships are now a mecca for div- ing enthusiasts who come from all over the world to swim in the clear protected waters. . During World War II, more than 60,000 military troops were stationed on the islands and Scapa Flow became the assembly point for arctic convoys. It also became the fast resting place for more than 833 men aboard HMS Royal Oak who were torpedoed by an enemy U-Boat in October 1939. Now classed as a world grave, the oil which still seeps to the surface from the Royal Oak’s bunkers is gigantic causeways which eventually linked the southern islands ; together. Many workers were Italian prisoners of war and they left a beautiful legacy behind them — a lovely Italian Chapel creative-- / ly fashioned from scrap materials and two Nissen huts. orn an To tum the clack back even further — to a time. before the ~~ building of the Great Pyramids of Egypt — we visited the Ring of |. Brodgar which dates back to 2,500 BC, about the same time-as - Stonehenge. This mysterious: ancient stone ‘circle located ‘on )a~ bleak moorland originally consisted of 60 giant stones. Only.27: |, standing stones have survived the ravages of time and winds of up. a poignant reminder of the lives sacrificed. C N . to 224 km/hr. An old wives’ tale says that if you run-around the Scapa Flow had to be made irapregnable to enemy submarines so 1,700 men were conscripted to fashion more than 250,600 tons : Je a ey of concrete into what became known as the Churchill Barriers: See Vikings page 83... spite; their: northerly location, the Orkney Islands were caught up in both World Wars: When the German fleez found itself ‘ marooned in thé great natural harbour of Scapa Flow at the end of “World War I; the German admiral scuttled the entire fleet of 74 war ships.‘ During the interwar years, 25 destroyers and niore than {dozen batueships and cruisers were re-floated and taken away for, Everything — youneed. / WORLD " 10 Priority Club points f “oo every $1 spent? Clean comfortable rooms. Free breakiast. . Free local phone calis. Great Priority Club® rewards. _ Everywhere ~ you go. Karnioops 1850 Versotile Or. “Discover your own backyard -. 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