17th May to Orkneys

The one day tour from John O'Groats cost us ₤57 each. The bus driver was from Liverpool having relocated there. He got the job cause the tourists could understand his English!

The Orkneys are` home to one of the greatest natural harbours in the world, the Scarpa Flow. It was where the captured German Fleet was scuttled at the end of World War 1 by their skeleton crew when their commander heard the Brits planned to use the ships against the Homeland.

The islands have become linked thanks to the creation of the Churchill Barriers. Initially, old merchant ships were sunk between the islands to prevent German U boats from sneaking in to attack the British Fleet massing here in World War 2. Despite the obstacles, one German sub managed to get in, sink a cruiser and get out again. After that, Italian POWs were shipped here to create concrete barriers that now form bridges between the islands. You can make out a couple of the wrecks in the water.

The Churchill Barriers created a strange phenomenem. The sea on one side is several meters higher than the other on a regular basis. It is all to do with the \North Sea meeting the Atlantic ocean. Apparently when the tides run against each other, it is amazingly spectacular and dangerous.

The Orkneys were a poor cousin in financial terms until the discovery of oil in the North Sea. Now the harbour is used by supertankers who fill up from an oil line from the fields. Oil money pays for education, roads and a great deal of employment on the island. Unemployment is below 1%.