I had taken today and tomorrow off work hoping to finally get away in some decent weather and take Caleb over to Orkney on the trucker. Due to it all being a bit last minute and this being the school holidays it seemed everywhere on the islands were booked out for accomodation. That is with the exception of the two only, hotels that were £159 and £180 respectively for 1 twin room for tonight only! (Thursday). With this in mind we were up at 6 and off to get the first ferry across to Stromness. The intention was for a day trip looping round the north of the islands taking in Skara Brae and Ring of Brodgar etc. We also had a flexi booking and the panniers loaded with enough for an overnighter if we could blag a room. (Look sad boy! look sad!) Alas it was not to be, not a vacancy, last minute or not, and so it was back on the last ferry this evening and home for about 8pm.
It seems like it was blessing really as the forecast for tomorrow has worsened as the day went on, despite us having it well above 20 degrees today and glorious. The search ended early on when the lady at Skara Brae mentioned that it was a good thing we came today as all their talks and groups at Skara and Ring of Brodgar are cancelled for tomorrow due to the wild weather expected.
Our ride started with a bit of a rolling ferry ride which was surprising as it looked calm enough, but once out the swell coming in from the west is a good indication that the forecast may be right. It was sunny with a slight breeze, so not looking too bad for today. We rode from Stromness across to Skara Brae with a few stops and detours on the way.
With Caleb only being four, the ride is very different than usual in that, I don't rush anything, we stop frequently to drink, snack, play, explore, basically whatever makes it enjoyable and happy, an adventure type thing. He is sitting in a seat behind me and there's no fun in head down just putting in miles, he wouldn't want to get back on if I did that. So with that in mind our mileage is not the priority.
Once at Skara Brae we did the usual stuff of seeing the excavated 'houses' and playing in the recreated ones with underground passages but we also played on the beach and snacked whilst just sitting about enjoying the lovely sunshine. We then went into the large information centre and decided to get some lunch there with three coach load of tourists and a lot of others having the same idea, it was not the best idea I've had for a while. So after a quick ish lunch we headed south towards the Ring of Brodgar. It was a really nice ride along the single farm roads that were real rollers, nice bits of downhill with some short sharp uphills but with the sunshine and the 20+ degree heat, it was no problem.
Ring of Brodgar had a few people as well but being such a big site it still doesn't seem like as much. We wandered about and took some pictures and Caleb took my camera and snapped a few decent pics himself. He played about, hiding and then jumping out 'suprising' me. This certainly charmed a bus load of Italian ladies as they were oohing and aahhhing all about him.
From there we then had to head south to hook up to the main road and head back to Stromness for the ferry home. Along the way we stopped at a couple of other places, rocks, lochs etc but not for any time, just stop the bike and look from there. The only exception being the ice cream shop in the middle of nowhere. For that we did a swift U turn once I realised what it was and we cooled down in style with Orkney ice cream cones. From there it was a quick run to Stromness and onto the ferry. A fish and chip dinner on the ferry to top the day off nicely. Once in Caleb had a bath and then bed, with sleep coming almost instantly.
A great day out for many reasons but a great adventure for Caleb as he has been wanting to go for so long and he has never been on a ferry either.
It was not too expensive either as Caleb is under 5 so the ferry is free, and while it is more expensive for me as its peak season, its still pretty reasonable at £19, (£15 off season) and the bike is free as well. Skara Brae is free for Caleb and from memory it was £6 for me, everything else was free to enter. So a bit of food on top and its not a bad day out really.
Tomorrow isn't meant to be good at all but the weekend looks decent so I/we may get a few more miles in.
Once again I hope everyone has had a good day, midweek or not.
A bit long winded but thought I'd share
Jamie
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