MULL HEAD-A CHURCH AND A CASTLE-THIS IS SCOTLAND

WEATHER: Another lucky day for the most part and 21C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Meal delights of bacon and egg roll and chips and gravy

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Not allowed to take photos in the castle

WORD OF THE DAY: Marky Marc is late …again…..

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 250km

Good morning death trap!!!  We shouldn’t be too tough on the hostel from hell.  It was warm, the beds were comfy and after the first night of the Nazi guy behind the counter the lady that worked the last 2 shifts was super nice-but it is pretty cool to call it the death trap anyway.  But I feel great this morning and it is amazing what an alcohol free night and a good 10 hours sleep does for one’s body.  I feel like a new woman.  We leave Orkney today and head back to the mainland and also back to Inverness which concludes the first 5 days of the trip and we lose Andy tomorrow, lose 4 of our group and pick up another 12 people.  Yikes 12…. Where the hell will we all fit?  Shaz and I are starting to strategize our new seating arrangements for tomorrow already as it is a full bus I am not sure I could handle the back seat as it is tight, tight, tight.  We think we will take Xavi’s seat as he is in the middle if the bus with no obstructed views-I guess you can see that is the travelers in Shaz and I busting out-you would think we have done this all before!

We left the hostel at 8.20am this morning and I do have to make a note that I think Marky Marc was actually on time.  We seem to be having a time dual and I have to say I haven’t been late once yet and Marc has been late on numerous occasions, well according to my watch which we also seem to have a difference on opinion on what the ‘real’ time is within a 3 minute window.  Its fun as I know I can always be on time where he is on ‘boy o’clock’ and can’t help but be late.    Our first stop of the morning was a place called Mull Head which is a nature reserve and was a 20 minute drive from Kirkwall.    

We were here mainly to see The Gloup - A dramatic collapsed sea-cave separated from the sea by a land bridge about 80 yards wide. It is approximately 40 yards long and 80 feet deep. Gloup comes from the Old Norse "gluppa" -a chasm- the local name for a blow hole. The Gloup is a 200 yard walk from the car park (complete with interpretation center and toilets) though it is unfenced and great care is required. It is possible to navigate and enter the Gloup in a small boat from the sea. From here we walked a few more minutes to the peninsula which was once home to a cliff top settlement that defied the laws of nature.   

The cliff path from The Gloup is very pretty and will take you to the Brough (or broch) of Deerness. Situated on the southern side of Mull Head, the Brough of Deerness is the site of a prehistoric fortification. It is characterized by a large grassy mound with a shallow depression at the top. You may find it difficult to figure out what exactly it is you are looking at but then you will notice small signs of the settlement that once existed here.  Many feel that the Brough of Deerness was an iron-age cliff top fortification while others believe that it was a pre-Norse Christian settlement. Still others say that the remains found here date back to the First World War as Mull Head was used as a naval gunnery range. Whatever the case is, you will find at least one visible structure which was unearthed in the 1970s. The chapel remains date back to the pre-Norse period and were later again used during the Viking era making both of the first two analogies quite possible. It was later abandoned – likely after the neck of land connecting the cliff top to the mainland collapsed. The other humps and bumps of grass and earth likely cover more treasures and it is hard to tell exactly what this early settlement might have looked like.  Even though it was lot cooler today, the rain has held off and we were able to get some great photos of the peninsular from here as it really is breath taking. 

We drove a further 15 minutes to The Italian Chapel which is a highly ornate Catholic chapel.  It was built by Italian prisoners of war during World War II, who were housed on the previously uninhabited island while they constructed the Churchill Barriers to the east of Scapa Flow. Only the concrete foundations of the other buildings of the prisoner-of-war camp survive. It was not completed until after the end of the war, and was restored in the 1960s and again in the 1990s. 550 Italian prisoners of war, captured in North Africa during World War II, were brought to Orkney in 1942. They constructed the Churchill Barriers, four causeways created to block access to Scapa Flow. 200 were based at Camp 60 on Lamb Holm. In 1943, Major T P Buckland, Camp 60's new commandant, and Father Giacombazzi, the Camp's priest agreed that a place of worship was required.  The chapel was constructed from limited materials by the prisoners. Two Nissen huts were joined end-to-end. The corrugated interior was then covered with plasterboard and the altar and altar rail were constructed from concrete left over from work on the barriers. Most of the interior decoration was done by Domenico Chiocchetti, a POW from Moena. He painted the sanctuary end of the chapel and fellow-prisoners decorated the entire interior. They created a front facade out of concrete, concealing the shape of the hut and making the building look like a church.  Chiocchetti remained on the island to finish the chapel, even when his fellow prisoners were released shortly before the end of the war.  Today the tin tabernacle is still used as a chapel and remains a popular tourist attraction, receiving over 100,000 visitors every year. It has become one of the best-known and moving symbols of reconciliation in the British Isles.  Most of us purchases a brochure for 1GBP that goes towards the upkeep of this pretty little church in the middle of nowhere in the British Isles.  I wonder what those 200 men first thought when they were bought here with absolutely nothing else on the island at that time?  I am sure it would have looked very desolate and lonely that is for sure.  Even now with it populated I think it still feels like that within sections of the island.  Living here would definitely not be for the faint hearted. 

Hand in hand with the Italian Church are the Churchill Barriers and why the men were bought here in the first place.  The Churchill Barriers are a series of four causeways with a total length of 2.3 km. They link the Orkney Mainland in the north to the island of South Ronaldsay via Burray and the two smaller islands of Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm.  The barriers were built in the 1940s primarily as naval defenses to protect the anchorage at Scapa Flow, but now serve as road links from Kirkwall to Burwick.  On 14 October 1939, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak was sunk at her moorings within the natural harbour of Scapa Flow in a nighttime attack by the German U-boat U-47 under the command of Günther Prien. Shortly before midnight on the 13 October the U-47 had entered Scapa Flow through Kirk Sound between Lamb Holm and the Orkney Mainland. Although the shallow eastern passages had been secured with measures including sunken block ships, booms and anti-submarine nets, Prien was able to navigate the U-47 around the obstructions at high tide. He then launched a surprise torpedo attack on the unsuspecting Royal Navy battleship while it was at anchor in Scapa Flow. The U-47 then escaped seaward using the same channel by navigating between the block ships.  In response, First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill ordered the construction of several permanent barriers to prevent any further attacks. Work began in May 1940 and was completed by September 1944. However the barriers were not officially opened until 12 May 1945, four days after the end of World War II in Europe.

The bases of the barriers were built from gabions enclosing 250,000 tons of broken rock, from quarries on Orkney. The gabions were dropped into place from overhead cableways into waters up to 59 feet deep. The bases were then covered with 66,000 locally cast concrete blocks in five-tonne and ten-tonne sizes.  A project of this size required a substantial labour force, which peaked in 1943 at over 2,000.  Much of the labour was provided by over 1300 Italian prisoners of war who had been captured in the desert war in North Africa, and were transported to Orkney from early 1942 onwards. As the use of POW labour for War Effort works is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions, the works were justified as 'improvements to communications' to the southern Orkney Islands.  The prisoners were accommodated in three camps, 600 at Camp 60 on Little Holm and the remaining 700 at two camps on Burray. We could see the tops of the sunken ships in this area as well and spent around 30 minutes at 2 stops getting some photos and then it was into St Margaret’s. 

St Margaret’s is the small village near the port and we had time to stop and get some breakfast before catching our ferry back to the mainland on the 12 noon service.  I am sure when the small business owners see a bus of 28 people show up they freak out as they generally know we are on some form of timeline and it does take them a long time to get all the orders together, but they do their best and we all leave happy so it is a win win at the end of the day.  I had the best bacon and egg roll here and if I knew we didn’t have to leave straight away I would have ordered another one to go.  It was SO GOOD.  While we were here waiting on Kim’s suggestion we bought a card for Andy so that we could all write in it and also pop our tips in there as well.  It was a great idea as he has done a great job with us all and kept us all pumped, safe and laughing-even if he did tell mum and pop jokes at times he was a typical Scot and I would like to thank him for a great trip so far and also to a great group so far as well.  As I have mentioned on numerous times a good group/ bad group can impact also on your travel experience and so far I am with a great bunch, with a great guide seeing a great country.

The ferry left on time and we had the usual 45 minute wait and again we were last on.  This ferry was more busy than the one coming over as it was Bank Holiday weekend and the staff that direct the traffic on the ships do so with such a precision that we fit into the last spot with not more than 40cm to spare and when we arrived on the other side some of the people had to wait for cars to move before they could open their doors to get into their vehicles.  There were the same staff that we had on the crossing over 2 days ago, so there must be just the one ferry that runs back and forth each day for the 1.15 hours for each journey.  We arrived back into John O’Groats at 1.15pm and given 45 minutes to get something to eat as once we were back in the bus we were going to haul some arse for an unscheduled stop at Dunrobin Castle before arriving into Inverness for the last time with Andy late afternoon.  I got some chips and gravy from a caravan seller and had time to eat it out of the cold wind that was coming off the ocean at some benches tucked behind one of the buildings. Dang they were good and just about up there with the chips and gravy that you find at home. 

2pm we were back on the road again for just short of 2 hours which was actually nice to be able to kick back and get some rest time and some time to enjoy the passing scenery and listen to some IPod tunes.  It really has been a busy tour with short driving distances to which I am not complaining but every single one of my drive tours had been long travel days Europe, Spain, Morocco, Africa, South America so it makes a nice change but I do like the longer drives I have to say.              

First view of Dunrobin Castle was WOW-cool a real castle that was still in use by the family and not in ruins like the ones that we had seen so far.  It was 8GBP for the entry and given an hour to tour this very stately place.  The only downside was that you were not allowed to take photos inside the castle.  The current owner The Countess of Sutherland (the niece of the last Duke) is now 94 years old and doesn’t want people taking pictures of her things and they also mentioned something about insurance purposes as well but if you open your home to the public they are going to want to take photos and secondly she is 94, really why would she care now?  Once she passes on the house will be inherited by her 2 twin sons who are currently in their 60’s and after that?  Who knows?  It is a pretty big deal for a home like this to be still personally owned with no funding what so ever from the government and I think it makes everything you look at that much more special as it is looked after with love and care as they are still personal items as such from past family members.  Dunrobin Castle has been called home to the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland since the 13th century and was first mentioned as a stronghold of the family in 1401.  The Earldom of Sutherland is one of the seven ancient earldoms of Scotland and the Sutherlands were one of the most powerful families in Britain with many important matrimonial and territorial alliances.  The Earldom of Sutherland was created in 1235 and a castle appears to have stood on this site since then, possibly on the site of an early medieval fort. The name Dun Robin means Robin's Hill or Fort in Gaelic and may have come from Robert, the 6th Earl of Sutherland who died in 1427.

The early castle was actually a fortified, square keep, with walls six feet thick and a vaulted ceiling, looking out from a cliff-top position. The keep stood isolated for some 200 years until a staircase and a high house were added.  It was encased by a series of additions from the 16th century onwards. In 1785 a large extension was constructed. Remarkably this early keep still survives, much altered, within the complex of these later extensions, making Dunrobin one of the oldest inhabited houses in Scotland.

Sir Charles Barry was retained in 1845 to completely re-model the castle, to change it from a fort to a house in the Scottish Baronial style that had become popular among the aristocracy, who were inspired by Queen Victoria's new residence at Balmoral.  Barry had been the architect for the Houses of Parliament in London and was much in demand. There is very much a French influence with conical spires to the whole project, including the gardens, based on Versailles, which he laid out in the 1850s.
In 1915 the building was in use as a naval hospital when fire damaged much of the interior. Scottish architect Sir Robert Lorimer was engaged to renovate the house following the First World War.  Following the death of the 5th Duke in 1963, the Earldom and Dukedom were separated.  The Earldom and the house went to his niece, the current Countess of Sutherland, while the Dukedom had to pass to a male heir and went to John Egerton, Earl of Ellesmere. Between 1965 and 1972, the house became a boarding school for boys. Since 1973 the house and grounds have been open to the public, with private accommodation retained for the use of the Sutherland family.  There are 189 rooms within the house, making it the largest house in the northern Highlands with only 20 odd of them actually open for the public. 

There was a set way we had to see the house as we entered each room there certainly still was a WOW factor.   Starting at the main entrance through the grand front door just as the Duke would have done after debarking from his yacht in 1850 and coming up the steep hill in a coach and four. The Duke and Duchess wanted to create a great first impression, and it still impresses today. Wonderful flower arrangements throughout the Castle add to the grandeur. The sweeping Main Staircase boasts a collection of hunting trophies, proving that this Castle was one of the largest hunting lodges in Scotland.  Next was the dining room.  The room has a Khorassan carpet and the table is set for dinner with Georgian silver.  The oak chairs are of Stuart period design and covered in needlework by Duchess Eileen, wife of the 5th Duke.  The room is still used for functions and by the actual Sutherland family today.  The music room was massive and had a Grand Piano near the bay windows and also some cabinets full of personal items from hand mirrors, boxes, trinkets etc…….  The breakfast room was only for the gentlemen where they had breakfast, while the ladies were served in their rooms upstairs. 

As with the other principle rooms in the Castle, the Drawing Room was redesigned by Sir Robert Lorimer in 1915 after the fire that very nearly destroyed the Castle altogether.  The fire was put out by the lucky arrival of hundreds of sailors from Royal Navy ships that were lying off the coast.  At the time the Castle was a naval hospital, so they were keen to make sure nothing untoward happened to their shipmates.

The day nursery was a charming room where the children used to play and to me it looked like a 1950’s version of FAO Schwarz.  The toys on display include a rocking horse and a doll's house, which was made for the present Countess of Sutherland's daughter, Lady Annabel.  The night nursery where all the furniture is Sicilian and was brought to the Castle at the end of the 19th century by the 4th Duke.  He spent the winter in Sicily in a rented monastery recovering from a bout of bronchitis.  This room demonstrates that you get a better class of souvenir if you have a very large yacht!  The Duke's Study was of note along with the military room where there were a collection of uniforms, weapons, medals, and most importantly, the flags of the 93rd Highlanders, The Sutherland Highlanders, who formed the Thin Red Line at Balaclava.  It is hard to imagine just what all this was worth and I guess I can see now why they don’t want people taking photos but I have to admit I let a few photos off in some of the rooms that had the keepers backs turned.  There was a castle representative in each of the rooms we walked through and again I could see the reason why to keep an eye on people, not just for the stealing but for touching the stuff as well. 

The tour ended downstairs with the gift shop of course and then Shaz and I had 15 minutes to see the castle grounds before having to get back to the bus.  There are Falconry displays held in the castle's gardens, but only during certain time-which we were out of and there also is a museum displaying the trophy heads of numerous animals shot by family members on safari; ethnographic items collected from around the world (particularly Africa); and an important collection of archaeological artifacts, collected from the enormous Sutherland estates which we didn’t have time to see.  The gardens were laid out in 1850 by the architect Sir Charles Barry, who was responsible for the Victorian extension to the Castle and who designed the Houses of Parliament.  Inspiration came from the Palace of Versailles in Paris, and they have changed little in the 150 years since they were planted, although new plants are constantly being introduced. Despite its northerly location, the sheltered gardens are able to support a surprising range of plants, including at the foot of the steps leading to the garden a huge clump of Gunnera manicata, a native rhubarb of South America that has eight foot leaves!  The gardens provide the cut flowers for the displays throughout the Castle.  It was a shame that we didn’t have more time here, but for a stop that wasn’t on the itinerary we will take what we were given.  We were to meet back at the bus at 4.35pm and what would you know Marc and Alex weren’t back yet.  There time keeping skills really suck but are improving being only 10 minutes late and we were back on the road again at 4.45pm heading straight back to Inverness. 

After a quick stop at the supermarket to by some grog we were back at the hostel at 6.15pm for a quick turn around and with us all meeting at 7.30pm to walk into town for dinner and a few drinks.  There were 2 options that worked out quite well and one was a pub dinner at Johnny Foxes and then upstairs was a buffet Chinese restaurant.  So with the group pretty much split in half (which is actually a good thing for time and service) we all ate and then the Chinese eaters came back down for a few drinks.  The pub food was very good the only downside was the rude service at the bar that Candice received and the sticky floor-the whole place had it-so I am not sure what they wash their floors with but it was literally like walking on sticky tape-I have never felt anything like it and it was like that when we arrived at 8pm.  Ughhhhhhhh.  We then headed off at midnight for the 15 minute walk home and hitting the hay it had been yet another big day.

So we say goodbye to Andy, Xavi, Kim, Song and Dell tomorrow.  We will miss you guys and thank you for a wonderful trip so far.  Tomorrow brings for us a new driver/guide and 10 new people, so this is always interesting as we have formed friendships already, but to be honest we are a pretty easy going group and if I was joining us I would be pretty happy about the fact.  Just ask me.