The final in this Orkney Series after my visit the autumn of 2020. In the heart of Viking medieval Kirkwall is the Earl's Palace with a dark and grim history. The remains are set within a serene woodland square but still permeates a sense of this brooding story.
Orkney
Orkney Stories 7 - The Pier Art Centre
The combination of artworks from Orkney to St Ives in this extraordinary collection at the Pier Art Centre, Stromness inspired my 7th Orkney poem in this video series. All housed in this dramatic location at a crossing point of seas and a starting point for arctic explorations.
Orkney Stories 6 Stones of Stenness
This is the sixth of my series on Orkney visited last year for the first time in over 10 years. The sense of time and our relationship with the world is deeply felt at these Neolithic standing stones. Even the presence of absence of those stones that are missing.
Orkney Stories 5 - Towards Hoy
Continuing my series from my visit to Orkney in October 2020. The ever present brooding skyline of Hoy is a dramatic contrast to the soft rolling emerald hills of the mainland agricultural land. Chambered cairns are numerous and in their own way the ancient equivalent of the burial ground of traditional farming practices.
Orkney Series
I was delighted to revisit Orkney in October last year after a ten year absence. Its ancient self connected with its landscape struck me powerfully again and I decided to a do a series based on my reflections. This is my first one about a beautiful yet distinctly separate island.
Skaill
Another in my Orkney series capturing the mystery of the Neolithic village of Skara Brae that was buried by a storm and later exposed by another storm.
Pier Art Centre, Stromness
This is a wonderful piece of architecture - an insertion into the old harbour buildings of Stromness. The original building now converted once used by the Hudson Bay Company. Takes me back to Barbara Rae work from the arctic following in the footsteps of the Orcadian John Rae and his search for the North West passage. The collections is a wonderful modernist palette connecting two ancient cultures.
