Campervan Trip To Orkney On A Neolithic & Historical Trail

Walking in the footsteps of our ancestors has always been something which has fascinated my brain, who has stood where I stood, what thoughts occurred to someone else whilst looking at this view, and whose footsteps do I follow.

I've spent a significant portion of my time watching, reading, and learning about prehistory and the people, structures, and lives they led.

Therefore, naturally, visiting a place with such rich history and majestic megaliths would be high on the cards.

I set off with my Partner and my Dog for what would become an epic adventure from Wales to Scotland via Edinburgh and via Ferry in my Campervan in October for 10 days in total.

We departed the Ferry, which was a smooth sail for around 1.5 hours, and we headed straight to the nearest Beach to give Lino a run and for us to pick our route for the day.

For those who don't know, Orkney isn't just one Island its a group of Islands which in recent history, some have been connected via barriers like permanent causeways.

Source - scotlandgift.com

Our first night was on the Mainland, we stayed in Scapa, which is a place of historical interest if there are any WW2 buffs reading this. Scapa is where a German Uboat snuck into UK waters and attacked the British Navy Ship HMS Royal Oak. When looking out to see, you can see the Green Light, which shows where HMS Royal Oak was sank.

The barriers between the Islands were solidified due to this,s and what once were rudimentary causeways were now complete roads. Which helped the locals get about more, however, some were against this as it was new and not like old times.

We didn't know this history when we parked up, and were glad we got to hear more about it later on in the trip. You can read more here

The first Neolithic site we first visited was the Standing Stones of Stenness, an impressive Megalith with huge standing stones in a circle formation. With huge singular rocks with pointed tips on one side.

The second main Neolithic site we visited was The Ring of Brodgar - As the name suggests, this is a massive Stone Circle which is older than Stonehenge. It originally had 60 stones, but only 36 remain. It contains over 13 burial grounds and was a ceremonial site.

The last and favourite part of the Neolithic tour was Skara Brae. This site is infamous for us prehistory nerds - this is the oldest settlement we have ever found in the UK. It was discovered because a Storm blew away the covering grass and sandy soil, uncovering one of the best, if not the best examples of a prehistoric home on the British Isles.

Scara Brae was home to early homo sapian hunter gathers who lives in a communal stone home with a grass mound for protection from the biting sea winds. They ate a diet of local food such as limpets, shellfish and deer, which possibly showed that Deer swam between the Islands or if not we had boats to bring them.

Due to the nature of the Island, trees are not plentiful, and Whale bones were found which archaeologists believe they used to hold up roofs and doorways.

It is remarkable to think that as you walk around, you have an almost bird's eye view on someone's home, with seating, beds, storage and a fire. The connection to our past there is so strong that you can almost still feel how our early relatives roamed around looking for a snack they left in another room or for a cuddle for the evening.

The effect on me was profound, and tears were flowing as I tried desperately to keep the connection, albeit 5000 years apart, alive still.

What was the cherry on the cake as well was I ended up parking up and sleeping for the night on the very beach Scara Brae faces, unknown to me. So maybe I swam in the seas our ancestors walked, and maybe just maybe our footsteps were once similar in the sand.

Here are some bonus photos of the Island- If you do wish to come, bring Binoculars and the wildlife is as rich as the Megaliths. A truly magical island.

Edit - added to worldmappin [//]:# (!worldmappin 59.04879 lat -3.34174 long Skara Brae Neolithic Settlement d3scr)