Orkney Island Roots

On Tuesday 9th May Margaret Dockrill gave us a fascinating talk about an area unfamiliar to most of us - the Orkney Islands, an archipelago situated to the north of Scotland.

 

Margaret’s father was one of thirteen children brought up on a croft on the small northwest orkney island of Westray. What a beautiful windswept place it was with the greenest grass and the fattest cattle. These islands have a temperate climate, influenced by the Gulf Stream drift, and fertile soils, with the inhabitants being mostly farmers and fishermen. Oil has brought wealth to the Orkneys today.

 

These islands share a Norse and Pictish history and were absorbed into Scotland in the 15^th century. Tourism is important today with distinctive prehistoric ruins such as the ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness.  The Scandinavian influence remains strong with Norse place names, their language today is known as Norn and the islands have a rich folklore