03.07.2024 Stromness

 Well we were all a bit late up today and Master and Missus said we needed some shopping. A shopping list was made and they Hummed and Haard deciding whether to go to Ness of Brodgar today or not. Morgan and I were getting a little frustrated, we wanted to be up and out IT WASN'T RAINING! There was no wind either. Rain was promised a bit later on this morning. They eventually decided to go to Stromness and walk the High Street. Stromness has a very Unique High Street, only wide enough for a Horse and Cart it has paving slabs each side and a cobbled path down the centre. the horses would walk along it, and it gave them better grip.

 Stromness High Street

Jettys behind houses

One of the Junctions

Shiny wet Flagstones

It is the narrowest High Street Master, Missus, Morgan and I have ever seen. It is lined with houses and shops selling a lot of Arts and Crafts these days, but beneath the streets are said to be Smugglers Tunnels, these are said to be blocked up now. Beyond the Museum there is 'Logins Well', this was the last watering place for ships that were going to cross the Atlantic. It was walled up in the 1930s. There is also  'The Royal Hotel' still there. Many small lanes led off each side and the building on one side led down to the sea and many houses had their own Jetties. the other side of the street the land rose steeply and the narrow lanes had steps. One lane was called 'Khyber Pass', this amused us all. Another road was called 'Hellihole Road', if you looked at it quickly you could mistake it for 'Hellhole'. There were also a few Blue Plaques on some of the buildings, Missus took photos of them. Apparently Stromness has quite a few. By the time we had started walking the High Street it was raining, so Morgan and I stayed tucked in our pockets to keep dry. We had coffee and cake at the Pierhead Café and then resumed our walk. Master wanted to go to the RNLI shop and get a Teddy, so we now have Billy to introduce to the family when we get home.

Morgan and I getting to know Billy (Bill to his Friends).

Missus purchased a little wooden RNLI Ducky from there too. Missus and Master have quite a collection of these strange birds from DCUK. The RNLI has celebrated its 200th anniversary. Quite an achievement. Missus says they are an organisation well worth supporting.

We also went to the Baker and bought some bread and a pack of 4 Plate Muffins (English Muffins which are Bread!). The rain was still falling very persistent. Made everything very wet. Missus spotted a nice wool shop and went in. It was nice to be out of the rain, Master however said he would take what had been bought so far back to the car, so he and Morgan were even wetter. Missus bought a wool and cashmere jumper in the sale. We also went back to the Souvenir shop as Master always buys a cap on Holiday. He bought one with the Orkney Flag on. Missus bought a plain cap to wear under her hood, to stop the hood falling down in front of her eyes. It worked for a little while, but I think that the cap started to grow as well and that was falling down over her eyes too. Tee Hee! 

Missuses' plan today is to  Photograph the high street and as many Blue Plaques they can find. When we had got nearly as far as the museum we turned round and walked back to the car. We had found a space today in the long stay carpark. We drove to the Co-op and got the shopping we needed. Master bought 'The Orcadian News Paper which had a free telephone Directory with it. 

When we got home we had a cuppa and some lunch. 

Time now is 18.30 and the sun has come out!