This is where Orkney is- an archipelago six miles off the north of Scotland. A lot more accessible than the Shetlands, which are the islands to the north-east of Orkney.
We got there by a ferry from the town of Scrabster- here's our first sight of Orkney.
Calvin enjoying the sea breeze.
The west coast of Hoy, the second-largest island in the group.
The Old Man of Hoy, 137 meters tall and Britain's largest sea stack. There's a popular hike to go see it, but that was too much for Calvin on this trip so this is most we saw of it.
St John's head, where the cliffs reach 345 meters. Again, the tallest in Britain. This is pretty dramatic scenery.
Our first full day was devoted to stone-age monuments, which are littered around the island. This is the Ring of Brodgar, over 100 meters across and one of the largest in Britain.
It was put up around 2500-2000 BC, and is pretty impressive.
There are 27 stones left, but there were probably 60 or so when it was new.
Next was Skara Brae, a 5000 year old stone-age settlement.
It didn't used to be so close to the sea, but these days it's on an idyllic bay and the sun is always shining.
One of the better-preserved houses in the settlement. The thing on the left was a cupboard, and the structures on the right were beds.
Finally we went to Maeshowe, also about 5000 years old. It looks like a hill, but is really a very well preserved tomb.
Reading about it on the signs- vikings broke in in the 12th century and covered the inside with graffiti, so as a bonus it's the largest collection of runic carvings in the world.
Calvin and Nick are excited about crawling through the 3 foot high, 30 foot long entrance.
No photography allowed inside, but here's Calvin telling this friendly bull all about the amazing craftsmanship and the 30-ton slabs used to construct the tomb.
We're all a little frazzled after a busy day.
The next day we went for a coastal walk.
Spectacular cliffs and more blue skies.
This sea stack is called Yesnaby Castle. It's only about a tenth as high as the Old Man of Hoy, but it's a shorter walk for Cal.
As you walk around it, you start to see that it has two legs.
There were some guys getting ready to climb it, which sounds pretty fun. To Nick and Calvin, at least.
Sea birds were nesting and swooping all over the place.
That afternoon we checked out St Magnus cathedral. St Magnus became a saint by being a pacifist (rare for a viking) and getting his head chopped off.
It's refreshingly intact for a medieval Scottish church, and curiously it's owned by the city and not a church, so it's used for secular as well as religious purposes.
On our last morning we stopped by the Stenness stones, another circle. There are only three left but they're all over 5 meters tall.
Saying goodbye to the town of Stromness as the ferry pulls away.
Calvin: very angry about leaving Orkney.
