Old Merchant Houses

Yesterday we drove north to Birsay following part of the Craft Trail and visited the ruined Earl's Palace built in the 16th century by Robert Stewart, the illegitimate son of James V of Scotland, and whose own son Patrick, built a Palace at Scalloway in Shetland.
I gather they were both a bad lot, but I imagine that was par for the course amongst the Scottish noblemen of the time.

On the way home, we called into the Woolshed at Evie which may become the source for me of beautifully soft North Ronaldsay wool. It also provided us both, thanks to His Lordship's beneficence, with two cosy jumpers.

This morning's early morning foray was dull and breezy. The Jubilee plastic bunting strung between the houses was being blown in to high chattering arcs of red white and blue, while the seagulls soared over the harbour having fun in the wind.
The rooks in the trees In the lane down to the Street, were noisy in their calling, but no human was about, just me.

This blip is of the old merchants's houses beside the harbour with the slipways to the water. In Shetland these are called lodberries, but I don't know the Orcadian name.

Today we're off to Kirkwall to meet up with blipper, Poppy, and have some quality blipchat before heading south over the Churchill barriers to St Margarets Hope and perhaps pay a visit to the new Fossil and Heritage Centre at Burray.