The GCW Tour, the Frozen Cruise: The Scottish Coast

After spending the morning in Kirkwall, we took an excursion in the afternoon to the "sea caves."
Actually, it was just a walk along the Scottish coastline at the Mull Head Nature Reserve, but it was still a lovely spot. Of course, it helped that the weather was amazing. Along with pointing out the various species of birds and flowers -- apparently, the people of the Orkney Islands have been very good about not bringing non-native animals to the islands, so there wasn't much beyond birds and flowers to identify -- the guides had some pretty good stories about the area, but the best was this...

There are a number of small islands off the coast -- close enough that you could throw a rock and hit them -- and a few years back some archaeologists were excited to find evidence of a some sort of Viking settlement. They found some kind of building, along with various tools and whatnot, but the exciting part was a bunch of big circular holes they found in the ground at same spot. So the scholars started theorizing: sweat lodges, food storage, and the like were all put forth as the explanation for these big circles in the ground.

All good theories, but none were correct. The correct answer came from a local military historian: it seems the island in question had been used for target practice by the British artillery during World War I, and the big circles were the result of the shells exploding.

As the guide noted, the Orkney Islands were of significant military value during both World Wars, but you'd never be able to tell just by looking. And apparently, a lot of people have forgotten. 

Anyway, here are a few pictures...