Having visited a small chapel yesterday, our first call today was St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall. It is our most northerly cathedral and dates from the 12th century. Nearby are the ruins of the Earl’s and Bishop’s palaces.

After wandering around town, a couple of art exhibitions and a quick lunch, it was time to head out of town for the last beach walk of this trip. Waulkmill Bay is near to the RSPB reserve on Hobbister Hill we visited a couple of days ago. It is a Site of Special Interest and has some unusual plants which attract insects and many bird visitors. The tide was out and after walking down the cliff-side steps, we were able to wander across the huge expanse of sand. Several oystercatchers were feeding, a family were having a picnic and another couple were walking their dogs. On the way back to the cottage we saw that one farmer had set up a fake raptor as a scarecrow.