Water Therapy: the Wonderful Orkney Islands

 

“For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),
It’s always our self we find in the sea.”
― E.E. Cummings, 100 Selected Poems

To close the circle opened by my last post about our trip to Orkney, I wanted to share with you just a few photos from our visit.  To prove, if indeed it was necessary, that our gorgeous Scottish islands are just the best!

The Orkney Isles archipelago consists of around 70 islands, of which around 20 are inhabited, to a greater or lesser extent.  We were visiting only for a very short trip this time, so we stayed on Orkney itself, in Kirkwall, the largest settlement and administrative centre.

We had glorious weather, as you can see.  This is a view from Kirkwall Harbour across the Bay of Weyland.

And this is the view looking back from the Harbour to the town.

And I can’t resist an Orkney sunset photo.  Those of you who follow me on instagram (@lizziehumphreys101) will know that I am always posting photos of Scottish sunsets!

One of my favourite aspects of being on a small island is that you are never very far from the sea.  This probably sounds very obvious and, as such, a daft thing to say.  But it goes to the heart of why the islands have such a strong pull.  The symbiotic relationship between sea and island shore is akin to that of our inner and outer selves – separate and yet utterly joined.  There is something truly magical in sitting quietly by the shore, watching the waves, enjoying the birds and just breathing.

“The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too”
― Vincent van Gogh, The Letters of Vincent van Gogh

Short though our visit was, it nevertheless provided a welcome recharging of batteries.  We’ll be back for a longer trip very soon, I hope.  In the meantime, let me close with another sea-related marvel.  On our ferry crossing back to the mainland, Hub spotted a pair of dorsal fins in the water….

Yes, there were two orca whales happily swimming around.  They did not surface very much, but I managed to capture one of them before they went out of sight.  Not the best ever wildlife photo in the world, but a very happy memory for us! 🙂

“It is life, I think, to watch the water. A man can learn so many things.”
― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook