Chas and Katrina "Never stop exploring": Some images from the Orkney Islands

After travelling down from the Shetlands to Orkney, we wondered if the weather would improve a little. Well it did but still remained overcast and showerey. Actually this gave the islands and mountains quite a surreal appearance and seemed to suit the surroundings.
Orkney is very different to Shetland. There are trees, lush farm land, distinct mountains and valleys and a general feeling of a more affluent lifestyle. It is a very pleasant area to spend time on bicycles.
Our trip included a really good exploration of mainland Orkney, and we travelled by ferry over to the island of Hoy.
A stunning ride through a narrow road with high sided hills that had not been grazed for 40 years. Our camp was at the Bay of Rackwick near a bothy. We did a 3 hour walk over the sea cliffs to have a look at the Old Man of Hoy, a remarkable sea stack of some 137mtrs. It was first climbed in 1966 by Chris Bonnington and co in a televised broadcast (Chas remembers it well!!)
Other places of interest included the Scapa Flow museum where they had brilliantly displayed artifacts from WW1 and WW2. Tomorrow we plan to ferry over to John O Groats and the mainland.