Jarlshof, Shetland, Scotland

 

After our ship anchored at Lewick, Shetland, we got bus 6 south to the Jarlshof settlements at Sumburgh Head by the southern end of Mainland Shetland.

With an audio guide, we wend our way through Neolithic houses, to a Bronze age village, an Iron broch and wheelhouse, a Norse longhouse, a medieval farm, and a laird's house from the 1500s.

Stone Age house site

Bronze Age Smithy

Iron Age Broch

Broch Signboard

Iron Age Wheelhouse- named for the spoke-like wall structures.

Wheel House Signboard

The size of the settlement is not obvious from the road. A person helps appreciate the size of the dwellings.

The Norse Settlement reveals a preference for rectangular houses. The Vikings may have arrived about 850. 

Remains of a Medieval Farmhouse

The Laird's House is what was visible when Sir Walter Scott visited in 1814.

There are some fantastic views of the site from the tower at the east end of the Laird's House.

Notes from our visit August 2022

We took bus 6 from Lerwick to Sumburgh.

The entrance to Jarlshof is marked by a sign and is only a short walk past some Shetland ponies.

We paid a small fee at the visitor's centre, which accepted our English Heritage pass.

The audio guides are excellent. You enter a number corresponding to the sign board along the trail from the oldest settlements to the more recent Laird's house.

Sir Walter Scott is the person who named Jarlshof, which he saw when on a cruise in 1814. At the time he only saw the Laird's house. Jarlshof is the setting for Scott's novel, The Pirate.

A broch is a stone structure that dates from the Iron Age, which in Scotland dates from about 300 to 900 (historic-uk). There are many brochs in the Scottish isles.

A Scottish Laird was an owner of a large Scottish estate. A Laird is not exactly the same as an English Lord--Lords, but not Lairds, are members of nobility.

Bus and bus stop

Entry signs

The welcome

Posing with ponies

Irresistible

Shetland ponies/Sutton/2022

The coastline by Jarlshof

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Invergordon, Scotland

 

Invergordon is a small town in Eastern Scotland on the Cromarty Firth.

It is a deep water port used by cruise ships visiting the Scottish Highlands.

There is a train station nearby. A trip to Inverness takes about an hour.

Others might visit Dunrobin Castle.

See VISIT SCOTLAND for more places to see.

Orkney Islands, Scotland UK

 

We began our visit to the Orkney Islands of Scotland with a cool and rainy drive to the windy Point of Buckquoy, which is northwest of where we landed at Kirkwall. From the point you can see across the Brough Sound to the Brough of Birsay--about 262 yards away--a site of early Pictish and Norse settlements. There's a Brough of Birsay lighthouse on the hill in the distance. If you have time, there are some interesting trails.

Watch this video to get a feel for the stark beauty of this point.

Nearby is the town of Stromness. A few photos of our wandering about the town.

I couldn't resist- What's your fave?

Stromness Hotel

They have it all

Another amazing site is the stone circle known as the Ring of Brodgar, which gives you a feel of being in a fantasy adventure film somewhere in the grey mists of time--especially since it was pouring with rain during our visit.

Watch the video as I move around the ancient stones.

Across from the Ring is the beautiful Loch of Harray where a fisherman in bright yellow and a blue boat stood out against the somber landscape.

Watch a short video of the Loch of Harray where the man is fishing.

In Kirkwall, I wandered about the scenic Tankerness Gardens 

...and browsed through the collection of artefacts in the museum, which includes examples of the distinctive Orkney Chair.

Orkney Chair

About the Orkney Chair

A few other scenes from Kirkwall.

St Magnus Cathedral/ Church of Scotland

Watch and listen to the bagpiper playing outside St Magnus Cathedral.

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