We went to Orkney, and it was good.

[wellinghall]

I am trying to post some pictures, but LJ doesn't seem to be playing. I used to think that I had LJ quite well trained; maybe I don't spend enough time with it these days. ETA: Ooh, they seem to be working!

Comments

[timetiger]

I’m so pleased you got to go to Orkney. About ten years ago I watched the beginning of Simon Schama’s History of Britain, and heard him talking about Skara Brae and how the inhabitants arranged their homes so the first thing a visitor saw was a stone dresser with their prized possessions displayed. I was instantly charmed by such long ago people having something you could call a “dresser,” and I thought to myself “I have to go and meet these people.” Lacking a time machine I did the next best thing and finally made it there in 2019 and again last year.

What a nice oyster catcher!

What is the machinery?

[wellinghall]

All of the machinery is at the newly-refurbished Scapa Flow museum at Lyness on Hoy. It is built in and around a former oil pumping station from WW2, when Scapa Flow was the base for the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy.

The first picture is in the pumping station, and shows some of the machinery used to pump oil between the oil tanks, and from the tanks to the ships.

The second picture is a steam crane, on a short length of railway track. It was used for lifting equipment.

The third picture is a close-up of the propellor of HMS Hampshire, which sank off Orkney in 1916, while en route to Russia with Lord Kitchener.

And thank you!

[timetiger]

Thanks - this is fascinating!

[wellinghall]

You are very welcome :-)