Shapinsay at Egilsay, one of three Orkney Ferries’ vessels that has been lengthened to increase capacity
Part Five: Some More North Isles, and Home
In this final part, Rob Beale has two more days visiting Orkney’s North Isles before he and his family return home. Previous parts of his adventures can be found in the list at the foot of this page.
Friday was another boaty day, but the sailings were short, so no word-smithery was needed to persuade my family! I planned a day visiting Rousay and Egilsay. On my previous visit, I had camped, which afforded a lot more flexibility, but on this trip, having to return to our accommodation each night meant I had to choose between Egilsay and Wyre. As we would have three hours ashore, I chose the slightly larger Egilsay.
And so we found ourselves at Tingwall slipway at 08:00, in the ferry queue, but facing away from the slipway. Shapinsay is a bow-loading vessel that requires vehicles to be reversed aboard, and so the ferry queue faces the wrong way! A busy load was waiting to board, and once Shapinsay had landed and unloaded, we started to creep backwards to the slipway. A van for Egilsay went first, then the Wyre vehicle, and finally the Rousay-bound cars were loaded last. One poor crew member had to reverse numerous vehicles aboard for passengers who were not the most confident in their reversing abilities – not mine, I might add!
Shapinsay at the slipway at Tingwall
At Rousay a yacht lies alongside Eynhallow as Shapinsay sets off for Wyre
We landed at Rousay and explored the ‘Egypt of the North’, finding cairns, tombs, brochs, seals, and even a clifftop walk to pass the time. From the cliff top walk, Earl Sigurd was spied beyond Egilsay making her way back from Westray to Kirkwall. As is always the case, we could have spent the full day there, but Egilsay called. I drove back to the Rousay slip and parked my car nearby. We were going to Egilsay as foot passengers. I had booked the request sailing at 13:15 and, much to my relief, we weren’t the only passengers who had done so. There were two couples as well as my family. One couple brought their car, the only car on the boat, and still got the crew to reverse it on board!
During the 20-minute crossing to Egilsay, the weather forecast proved correct. The rain came down and the winds rose. When we got off at Egilsay we made straight for the ferry waiting room to wait out the shower. It soon became apparent that the waiting game would take most of the afternoon, so we braced ourselves and headed out to see St Magnus Church. We spent an hour pottering about in the drizzle, but as the rain came down harder we headed back to the terminal. One of my sons, my dog and I headed out again to cross the island to Onziebust beach, and we kept telling ourselves that we wouldn’t be back for many years and would only regret it if we just sat in the waiting room. While those thoughts ring true now, at the time, sodden to the bone and freezing, it took some mettle to keep going! Back at the ferry terminal, my wife and the other two children had the heating turned up ready for our return. We ended up sitting in the waiting room for an hour, through the worst of the rain. The visibility had deteriorated so much that I nearly didn’t see Shapinsay making for the slipway again. She was due out at 16:55. We boarded at 16:45 and were well away from the pier at 16:50. We headed over to Wyre to make a quick call before landing back at Rousay.
So near, yet so far – Shapinsay noses in towards Wyre where, disappointingly for Rob, nobody was waiting to board
At Rousay I ran off the pier to fetch the car and reversed back aboard for the 17:30 crossing back to Tingwall. By now the wind and rain were making it difficult – even for me – to stay outside. I did persevere until a couple of waves soaked me, and then I got back into the car, steaming up the windows. As I was in pole position I had to open a window to demist the windscreen – and promptly got soaked again! That was it for my family: no more boat trips were planned, apart from the homeward trip on Hamnavoe.
I, on the other hand, had one more trip planned. On Saturday mornings in summer, Varagen carries out a three-isles sailing at 07:00 and calls at Stronsay, Sanday and Eday. This is the only sailing of the week that calls at three islands – most call at just one or two – and is always operated by Varagen. At the same time one of the ‘Earls’ leaves Kirkwall for Westray, while the other carries out the North Ronaldsay freight sailing. My original plan had been to catch Nordic Sea from Kirkwall at 06:15 to Eday, Sanday and Stronsay, where I would disembark at 08:20 and then join Varagen at 08:40 to retrace those steps to Kirkwall. However, a week before my visit Orkney Ferries informed me that Nordic Sea would not be back in time from her overhaul to operate the sailing, and so I amended it to a 4-hour 20-minute round-trip sailing on Varagen. To my surprise, one of my sons opted to join me for the trip.
Accompanied by him, we parked in Kirkwall at 06:30 and headed to board. “Which island are you for?” asked the check-in lady at the ramp. “Umm, I’m on for the whole trip back to here”, I replied. “Oh yes, I did see that booking and wondered what it was all about.” Slightly embarrassed, we boarded Varagen for the first time this holiday.
Thorsvoe and Varagen at Kirkwall
Varagen at Whitehall Pier, Stronsay
The upper deck on Varagen
At Sanday the Stronsay vehicles drove off and waited at the head of the linkspan. The Sanday-bound vehicles disembarked, then the cars from Stronsay were driven back on, followed by those from Sanday. Another 20 minutes saw us cross the Eday Sound to Eday where another, well-rehearsed round of ‘musical cars’ allowed the Eday vehicles off. We left Eday astern at 10:05, and Varagen powered back towards Kirkwall. Off the southern tip of Eday, Earl Thorfinn passed us heading for North Ronaldsay. Her route took her south of Sanday and around its eastern tip before heading up to the remote outpost she was destined for.
Back in Kirkwall, we headed back to our accommodation and had a family day out which involved watching Hamnavoe enter Stromness through the Hoy Sound. I thought that was it for my Orkney Ferries adventures, but later in the day I was pleasantly surprised when my wife shooed my eldest son and I out of the door so that she could start packing for the journey home. We didn’t have many options open to us, but on a Saturday the Shapinsay ferry has a late connection to the island at 19:45 from Kirkwall. Taking advantage of this, we decided to take a trip. As this was not the same son who had joined me when we visited Shapinsay earlier in the week, it was enough of an excuse for me to go again. When we arrived in Kirkwall I noticed Nordic Sea had returned from overhaul and was lying alongside Toplander in the inner harbour.
Thorsvoe chasing Earl Sigurd into Kirkwall
The Old Man of Hoy comes into view as Hamnavoe heads south
I wolfed down my full cooked breakfast in order to rush outside for our departure. Rain was coming down, but the views were still good. A crowd gathered on the rear deck in anticipation, trying to get the best spot for a view of the Old Man of Hoy. I explored the vessel and found a side deck with no one on it at all, which offered superb views of the cliffs of Hoy. Once Hoy was left behind, Dunnet Head hove into view, looking more like an island than part of the Scottish Mainland. Eventually Hoy and Orkney receded, and Holborn Head grew larger. Soon Scrabster Pier was discernible, west of the town of Thurso. We were alongside on time at 10:30, and then it was the long drive back to Kendal, which we reached at 19:30.
NorthLink’s Hamnavoe lying alongside at Scrabster
The recently acquired Toplander at Kirkwall
Back from refit, Nordic Sea lies alongside Toplander in Kirkwall Harbour
Earl Sigurd prepares to move to the linkspan at Kirkwall – will she or her sister be retained to serve North Ronaldsay and Papa Westray in the future?