Day 7 Cottiscarth, Burgar, Twatt and Stenness

It was our first morning on Orkney and I suppose we were spoilt for choice as to what would be our first destination and we plumped for the RSPB reserve at Cottiscarth which is situated some miles to the north of Kirkwall and adjacent to the moorland. That was after some brief shopping in Kirkwall to buy some woollen wear to keep us warm!
The reserve at Cottiscarth is somewhat off the beaten track but the building is quite substantial and pretty weatherproof with only three of the windows able to be opened. It has been built up from the remains of an old croft.

Birdwise, it is pretty slow, and the most frequent species seen are meadow pipits who periodically occupy the grassy area not to far away from you. Other birds you see are greylag geese and curlews, and these are generally quite distant but the prize here is sight of hen harriers, who also like to keep their distance from the hide, but once in a while fly closer to you and so you have a chance of a photo.

After a while, we decided it was time for some lunch, but where to obtain some was less obvious, although that problem was solved by heading over the moors to the village of Dounby which has an excellent cafe attached to a small hotel.

From Dounby, we drove past two disused wartime airfields, the second of which was Twatt and besides having a somewhat humorous name, also boasts a number of discarded buildings including the control tower. As luck would have it, we bumped into a guide who took us inside the tower which is in the care of the Birsay Heritage Trust. Their aim is to turn it into a visitor centre to tell the story of the airfield, but so far there is just an interesting selection of photographs, plus a teleprinter, which actually dates from 1960! Incidentally, in line with Royal Navy practice, this station was given a 'ship-style' name and was known as HMS Tern.

Our next port of call was another RSPB reserve, this being the one at Burgar. Certainly from a photography point of view, this was somewhat disappointing as any birds were quite distant and into sun. But for many birdwatchers, the sight of a pair of Red-Throated Divers was positive.

We finished the day with a visit to the renowned standing stones at the Ring of Brodgar. This is neolithic stone circle which was probably erected about 4,000 years ago and is today a UNESCO World Heritage site. It comprises 27 tall stones, but it is believed there were originally 60. Here, we just about avoided a coach party from the 'Ocean Diamond' cruise ship, and with the late afternoon sun we did well. What is more, we passed the site a few days later and some temporary fencing had been erected which would have not helped photography!

And just to finish the day, we called in at a similar, but smaller site nearby which goes by the name of the Stones of Stenness. Want to see another standing stone photo? OK, I'll oblige. 

Day 6 Avoch to Kirkwall

Today was a significant day as not only would we eventually arrive in the Orkneys but I'd be travelling on roads new to me for all of the journey. Well, almost. I had travelled up to North-East Scotland by train in 1987. That included a bus journey between Thurso and Wick and I think this time we may have travelled along about three miles of that old bus route!

After a nature walk along Fairy Glen not far from our hotel, we took the back lanes across Black Isle joining the A9 where it crosses the Cromaty Firth on a bridge completed in 1979. Soon we fuelled the car up at Tain, realising that future opportunities were going to be limited and probably more expensive. The scenery around here is fairly average when you consider the Scottish Highlands in general, including the terrain a bit further on. I would say it gets more interesting north of Dornoch and passing through the small coastal towns of Golspie and Brora. In between these two places, I briefly took some photos of the railway station at Dunrobin Castle. This was once a 'private' station, but has featured as a public station since its 1985 re-opening. Included in the station building is a small museum housing many railway artefacts.

We decided to have a lunch stop in Helmsdale, an important fishing harbour for the area. After strolling around amongst the small boats, we found the local museum that served up a snack for us, accompanied by the customary latte.

Reluctantly, we left Helmsdale and travelled north yet again, and soon reached Berriedale, a place we had been told about at Helmsdale as the road here is certainly 'interesting' as it attempts to cross the deep gorge that houses Langwell and Berriedale Waters. Of course, the road is fine for a modern car, but it must get challenging for large trucks and coaches. Further on, at Latheron, we had to make a decision to go left on the A9 or right on the A99, as ideally, we needed a non-existant road that is halfway between!
The A9 is basically the inland route that heads to the north coast town of Thurso whilst the A99 follows the coast to Wick and John O'Groats. We took the Thurso route and then went 'cross country'. The terrain here is flat and bleak and probably not somewhere you'd want to pitch a tent on most days of the year!

We took a turn off the main road to get in the general direction we wanted, and after  following our 1987 bus route for a short distance, we made a pause at Castletown on the north coast. This is just a small village that has an attractive beach and a tiny harbour.

We still had enough time before the ferry check-in to visit mainland Britain's northernmost point, Dunnet Head. I should say at this juncture that John O'Groats is further south but its fame is related to its north-easterly position on the road network - it is not even the most north-easterly point so its status is rather spurious.

I loved visiting Dunnet Head in as much we were at a landmark, it had a lighthouse and there was lots of fresh air. The only problem was that fresh air was moving fast and was not very warm!

Then we went to catch our ferry from Gills Bay, the 'Pentalina' which took us to St Margaret's Hope on the Orkneys. The crossing takes about an hour, and soon we were driving off the vessel under skies that varied from grey to blue. One thing that surprised me was being overtaken by cars who were obviously in a hurry - I didn't expect this up in these parts, and sure enough, we didn't witness any hasty driving on the island subsequently. After about 20 minutes, we were in Kirkwall and checking in at St Ola's Hotel opposite the harbour. We had arrived.

Day 5 Lossiemouth to Avoch

It wasn't far from our guest house to 'the spot' at RAF Lossiemouth - that being the one for when they are on westerlies. One or two other enthusiasts joined us here but activity was very slow, and upon our return after a lunch the very same airframes were launched. This is certainly not Coningsby! But at least you can get some decent photos here, although they are best soon after they start the morning's flying.

Later in the day, we quit here and headed beside the Moray Firth, over the Kessock Bridge to our next small hotel which was situated in the village of Avoch on the Black Isle. We chose this location as it is very near Chanonry Point which is a hot spot for dolphins. Whilst being aware that the dolphins are best seen on a rising tide, we did not expect to see any on this occasion and we were proved right. However, we would be here again after a few days. The point at least has a lighthouse to admire whatever is in the sea.

Day 4 Linlithgow to Lossiemouth

After another great stay at 'Strawberry Bank House' and we set forth, but only a few miles on as far as The Kelpies on the edge of Falkirk. The Kelpies is a fabulous piece of public art created by Andy Scott, depicting two horses, and was opened in 2014. The sculptures form part of a parkland adjacent to the extension of the Forth and Clyde Canal. We got there fairly early, so there were few people present and we just avoided a coach party.

We had a lengthy journey to make so it was now largely a case of motoring with few extended stops, but we did stop off at Dunblane to photograph the first of our gold post boxes on the trip - each British gold medallist at the 2012 Olympics has a post box painted gold in recognition. The one at Dunblane is in honour of Andy Murray, who comes from the town and was a survivor of the school massacre there in 1996.

We turned off the main A9 at Aviemore and headed off to Loch Garten and the RSPB reserve there. This was a follow up to my visit from 41 years ago - my Dad really wanted to pay a visit back then as after all, this was then the only place you could see ospreys in Britain. Now, almost 300 pairs summer in Britain and that nest, first established in 1954, is still in use by the current generation.

From Loch Garten, we headed out on the road towards Grantown-on-Spey and then on to Forres before ending up at Lossiemouth, but on the way we discovered this preserved AA box at the A939/A940 junction at Dava, serving as a reminder when there were few ways to contact a mechanic to fix your car when deep in the countryside.

Day 3 Green Hammerton to Linlithgow

Our stay at Green Hammerton was deliberate, as yes, we were near to another RAF airfield! This time though, it was a little sentimental as I last visited Linton-on-Ouse back as a young teen back in 1967. Then, it was a Jet Provost trainer base, but now that role is undertaken by Shorts Tucano aircraft, a modification of a successful Brazilian design. They'll be withdrawn fairly soon, so we thought a visit was in order. Six aircraft were out on the flight line and we saw four get airborne before we left, via the local toll bridge, to Northumberland and beyond.

To give Martin a break from driving and at the same time give him a train fix, we left the car at Corbridge and caught he train to Hexham for lunch. Hexham is an attractive and seemingly well-heeled town boasting an artisan bakery next door to a rather quirky photographic studio. Returning to Corbidge and continuing northbound, I was taken in by the remoteness and beauty of the countryside - I have a soft spot for that, but was also surprised that this sparsely populated moorland does get a skeleton bus service. Later, we passed the last cafe in England and had reached the border. 

Once in Scotland, the road began to descend down to greener more fertile land and once in Jedburgh we met up with some typical Scottish architecture not far away from our desired coffee shop. This charming establishment, which also sold a few books, was run by a young  woman from Maryland who had come here to study, but then met a man. We only wanted a coffee, but the menu contained Black Eyed Peas as a nod to her home country. 

Then it was one more leg to Linlithgow with its distinctive building in the main street. Is it a blot on the landscape or simply quirky? You decide. 

Day 2 Woodhall Spa to Green Hammerton

Not too much driving today, as most of our time was spent at the active RAF base at Coningsby, just a few miles south of our hotel. However, between breakfast and our arrival we had to make a quick pitstop at the Thorpe Camp museum which has a superbly restored Lightning F.1A displayed outside. I cannot tell you about the rest of this small museum as it was closed at the time of our visit.

On to Coningsby, which is one of the most popular air bases in the country with aviation enthusiasts. Why? Because it houses several Typhoon fighters and one of the squadrons specialises in operational training for the type, so there is always something happening. We actually chose a pretty good day, as besides it being sunny and warm, the base received visitors in the shape of two Xingus from France, a C-130 from Sweden, but the most surprising movement was a Fokker 100 from a small contract airline called Avantiair. This had apparently come from Manching in southern Germany so no doubt was full of technical people to do with the Typhoon.

I should add that Coningsby is home to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, famous for operating the Lancaster, Hurricanes and Spitfires. In addition, they have a Dakota and a 1950s Chipmunk trainer, so to conserve airframe hours on the more prized possessions, the latter are also used. The day we went, the Chipmunk was being flown, but it is quite possible something like a Spitfire went up later after the fast jet activity had reduced. 

So by mid afternoon, we had to be on our way again, but at my request we popped into the little museum at nearby Metheringham as last time their Jet Provost was all covered up so I thought I could give it another try. But upon arrival, we saw the Dakota, which I suddenly remembered they received last winter. This machine is finished in typical wartime camouflage and looks fairly decent even though it has a couple of external parts missing. Again, the museum building itself was closed at the time.

So soon we were on the road again with a pretty uneventful journey (and that includes the Little Chef coffee) before we checked into our accommodation at Green Hammerton, a few miles west of York. 

Day 1 Woking to Woodhall Spa

Driving over to Martin's, we loaded up his VW Golf with three weeks luggage and set off pretty much on time. The weather was fine and today's main destination was to be Rutland Water, named after what was once England's smallest county. But the water itself is, by surface area, the largest reservoir in England, but the bird reserve area takes up one little corner. It's main attraction for us was the presence of ospreys and we set off for the Dunlin hide, which gives the best view of them. Having said that, their nests were pretty distant but it was a joy to see them fly. Photography was mainly focussed on the more regular species like greylag geese, egyptian geese [below], little egrets and the like. Pretty bog-standard stuff, but the light was nice on them. Eventually, it was time to make tracks, but I'm aware that we only visited a small part of the reserve, so maybe a future visit is in order?

Martin had booked up tonight's accommodation - the White Bull in the Lincolnshire village of Coningsby, but when we arrived the place was firmly locked with the promised note on the door showing a phone number to ring for the guy to open the place up was totally absent. So I was soon on the phone to a nearby hotel of superior standing - the Petwood in Woodhall Spa is one that is surely used for Royal Air Force squadron reunions with the panelled corridor walls full of paintings of aircraft such as the wartime Avro Lancaster. Not surprising really, when you consider that the local, now disuded,  airfield was the home to 617 'Dambusters'  squadron and that the hotel itself was used as an officers' mess in the war years.

That's an idea

I remember it was a long long time ago, back in the seventies, when a girl at work called Heather spoke of her holiday in the Orkney islands off the coast of Scotland. Hmmm, I thought who'd want to go there - what could you do in such a remote place? But then I was probably about 19 and didn't know any better. When you get to a certain age, it's totally different.

Fast forward to last winter and my brother Martin comes up with the idea of going there and this time I didn't hesitate and the planning started. After all, during the past five years, we have both been gradually getting into birds, especially photography-wise, following on from our Dad although in his day the optics weren't readily available.

The planning got a bit complicated as May or June seems to be the optimum time with the birds breeding, but then we wanted to avoid bank holidays, but at the same time we wanted to attend an air show in Morocco that only takes place every other year. This was to be a holiday of almost three weeks with the first and last weeks ambling up there in the car stopping off at various places to suit our mutual interests.

So on Sunday May 8th, we were ready to set off with plenty of clean clothes, outdoor wear and a motley selection of hotels and bed and breakfasts booked. We were on our way!