Day 9 - Skara Brae (60 km's) - " A history lesson on the Orkneys " !

Buildings with furniture and shelves to show off family collectables, an  organized family commune that contained not only providers but also craftsman who fashioned jewellery and fashion items and all of this over 500 years before the pyramids were built - this was Skara Brae over 5,000 years ago !

I knew Monika was back into the "rhythm" after our days rest as the "mutter meter" was in the red zone quickly into our days cycle. She had a good reason i guess as her seat post kept sliding down making her look like she was auditioning for the role of a circus clown on a bike !

We made our way across country in the cold breezy conditions with rain showers ever threatening. The first noticeable difference about cycling the Orkneys was a) the scenery was much greener and b) the hills were no where near as severe as on Shetland.

Cutting inland we arrived at the amazing Stones of Stenness with its 6 meter high monolith's and the nearby Ring of Brodgar a beautiful circle of standing stones both UNESCO listed and over 5,000 years old, hundreds of years older than Stonehenge and a few years older than my good mate Kev !

A further 10kms on through lovely farm scenery though was the amazing highlight of Skara Brae one of the Neolithic gems of Europe and only discovered in 1850 after a storm exposed its stone buildings.

Situated perched overlooking windswept Skaill bay this village of 10 stone houses is not only famous for its age (again some 5,000 years) but also for its amazingly preserved evidence of a structured society with orderly buildings that provided for comfort as well as day to day living.

With Monika taking a breather I quickly also took on the nearby Estate building of Skaill House built in 1620 and like the all UK estates with its own fascinating history this one even containing a dining set straight from Captain Cooks fleet after they returned to the UK after Cooks death stopping first in Stromness in the Orkneys.

Overdosed on history we returned to Kirkwall blessed with sun and for the first time on trip some beautiful tail winds !

As luck would have it though we crossed Orkneys only hill on our return just to get Monika's "muttering" going once more before a terrific 5 km descent into Kirkwall to finish a great cycling day and our time in Shetland and the Orkneys

Tomorrow, with more sun on its way, it's time to jump to the Sottish mainland as we cycle our way over to the West coast of Scotland.