The only way out and the road was closed.

 Thursday 11th July

 Oh dear, the night was long and very noisy. As exposed as we were, all the roof furniture (satellite, solar panel, TV aerial) rattled and banged and the skylight above the cooker kept trying to take off. Sleep was intermittent, although I think Ian slept better than me. My plan was to wake early and do another hunt for those shells. I was too grumpy through lack of sleep to even drum up enough enthusiasm for such a task. Anyway we had a late breakfast, Ian phoned a Peugeot dealer in Kirkwall because we have a horrible rattle from the engine and even my man that can has no idea what it is. It is getting worse, so the last thing we want is to be recovered on an Island if we break down to go back to the UK mainland!

 I'm glad we didn't leave early today. We were watching as the tide started coming in, high tide was at 1 pm. A car turned up, 4 people got out and walked across the causeway. Looking at the clock, it was 10.10 am. This was the causeway then. 

At 10.20 am, water had already started lapping over the top. Where were those people? 10.29 am, suddenly they could be seen running down the hill from the lighthouse. Gosh, they left it late. The only way back across was to remove shoes and socks and wade. It states very plainly on a notice board to check the tide times before crossing. They obviously hadn't!

Following the lane back to the main road, we came across this. 

OMG, now what! This was the only way out, would we have to turn around and spend another day at the Brough of Birsay? Ian parked and walked up to see the chap. He was gone ages, and left me waiting on tenterhooks to what was happening. 

It was a good 20 minutes before he returned to say the road would be open again shortly. Resurfacing was why it had been closed.

Few, at least we would be able to continue to Skara Brae.

Advised to book, we chose Thursday as the best day to go. Cruise ships usually dock at Kirkwall every day, but not today. Our booking was for midday, we were early but were waved on and told to park. Skara Brae is unique as one of the most perfectly preserved Stone Age villages in Europe. It lay covered for hundreds of years by a sand dune, and in 1850 a storm uncovered part of the 5000-year-old village. Before entering the main site, a replica house had been built. It gave a good opportunity to enter and get a feel for what it must have been like to live in one.

A 5-minute walk took us to the village. Amazing and the £11 pp was well worth it. In fact, this price also got us into Skaill House.

From the village a short walk took us to Skaill House The house was originally built in 1620 by Bishop George Graham (Bishop of Orkney 1615-1638) and has been added to by successive generations over the centuries. Skaill comes from the Norse word for Hall and indicates that there would have been a feasting hall here in the Bay of Skaill during the Viking period. This is a fine example of a 17th-century mansion and in 1850 William Graham Watt, 7th Laird of Breckness, was the one to unearth the World famous neolithic village of Skara Brae. 

 We did a self-guided tour and for once we could take as many photos as we wanted.

On display in the drawing room was a visitor book signed by our late Queen.

We took our time looking around, and before we knew it, 2 hours had passed. Ian decided to head back to Kirkwall to find the Peugeot dealer. All we wanted was for one of the mechanics to have a listen to the engine and give an opinion. Well, forget ever going to this garage. The man was rude, said he had no time and wouldn't have any for the next few weeks! So Ian tried two more garages. They all said the same thing but without the rudeness. Ian was beginning to wonder if no one wanted to look at a motor home. Maybe the islanders object to these big beasts being on their narrow, lanes. So we are none the wiser as to what is wrong. If things start to go pear shaped, we may have to consider forgoing the Hebrides and head back to the main land instead.  

A proper camp site was found not far from Kirkwall. I needed a shower. Stand up washes are okay for a short while, but it's been a good 5 days since I have felt running water all over me. (discount the rain!) 

At this site, sheep shearing was taking place. Fascinating watching the men doing it. We arrived at the site by 3.30 pm. The last sheep was shorn at 7.45 pm, that's a lot of bending over and strain on the back. Hats off to these men for the strenuous job they do.