| Orkney Islands Wild in Scotland Tour - August 2003 |
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| Going to the Orkney Islands was part of our 7 day Scotland tour but gains a special page here as it is the place where my family name comes from. Everyone fell in love with Orkney, even its bleakness, and with the terrible windy weather in mind (we got freakishly great weather there). There are no trees of great size on Orkney because of the wind, just shrubs, cows, salmon, cows, sheep and... well, cows (oh yes, and quite a few historical arhaeological sites from the stone ages.. and the best wreck diving in Britain thanks to its Scapa Flow being the major harbour during the wars). The people do not consider themselves Scottish - they are Orcadian, with strong Norwegian influences and indeed the name Laughton can only be found as coming from Orkney, never from Scotland. |
| The entrance tunnel to the Tomb of the Eagles |
| Me at the remains of a Stone Age village - Scara Brae |
| The guys from the tour at standing stones while 2 dodgy characters scoped out the salmon farms (we think in order to rob them - scandal on Orkney!) |
| The interior of a church built by Italian prisoners of war, using basically a corrugated iron hut and anything they could salvage off wrecked ships etc - stunning! |
| Leaving Orkney... |
| Below are blasts from the past - a grave I found in the main city, Kirkwall - with our family name, and names commonly found in our families (David and William). Also two streets where my great great great uncle lived (Victoria St) and my great great great great grandmother lived (Union St) |
| Victoria St, Kirkwall |
| Union St, Kirkwall |
| St Margaret's Hope |