Tag: road trip

  • Garry Bridge -the bridge to nowhere

    A bridge in Lewis leading to nowhere - Garry Bridge near Tolsta.

    Following up the road behind the beach you will soon see a bridge – but it is a bridge to nowhere, the road ends there. A story of a failed project by the soap manufacturer Lord Leverhulme, founder of the Lever Brothers (Or Unilever, like we know it today).

    A bridge in Lewis leading to nowhere - Garry Bridge near Tolsta.

    IN 1918 BUSINESSMAN, LORD LEVERHULME, took a boat trip and fell in love with the islands. So much so that he decided to purchase the land. Reports vary, but it’s believed he purchased the land for £150,000. (Atlas Obscura)

    Leverhulme wanted to bring new jobs and business to Lewis & Harris and to support the fishing industries he wanted to build a road from Tolsta to Ness. But when the road reached Garry beach the plan was finally abandoned, the land was just too hard & boggy to construct a road.

    A bridge in Lewis leading to nowhere - Garry Bridge near Tolsta.

    the unofficial road to nowhere meets the officially titled Bridge to Nowhere, an exquisite 30m traverse whose nine arches rise 15m above the Stone River. (The Independent)

    A bridge in Lewis leading to nowhere - Garry Bridge near Tolsta.

    The road splutters on for a few metres the other side, where it whittles to a narrow, stony track accessible only to local peat cutters. The track contours thrillingly, as though stitching the moors and cliffs together. (The Independent)

    A bridge in Lewis leading to nowhere - Garry Bridge near Tolsta.

    Hiking path towards Ness.

    A bridge in Lewis leading to nowhere - Garry Bridge near Tolsta.

    A bridge in Lewis leading to nowhere - Garry Bridge near Tolsta.

    A bridge in Lewis leading to nowhere - Garry Bridge near Tolsta.

  • Lochinver

    Takaing a walk through Lochinver, Assynt.

    On this day I drove by one of my local beaches, Stoer beach, to get to Lochinver for a little grocery run. Lochinver was the closest village with a shop and this lovely fishing village is perfect for a little walk along the Main Stree.

    Takaing a walk through Lochinver, Assynt.

    Follow along!

    Takaing a walk through Lochinver, Assynt.

    There is a restaurant famous for its pies, but the lines were just too long to wait, I preferred a little visit to the Highland Stoneware Pottery just a short walk outside the centre of the village.

    Takaing a walk through Lochinver, Assynt.Takaing a walk through Lochinver, Assynt.

    Lochinver is a busy fishing village, it´s fun to get a coffee and just sit and watch the boats go by.

    Takaing a walk through Lochinver, Assynt.

    Takaing a walk through Lochinver, Assynt.

    View of Lochinver Main Street.

    Takaing a walk through Lochinver, Assynt.

    Just a view of Assynt while going back to my lovely house.

    Takaing a walk through Lochinver, Assynt.

  • Ness of Brodgar

    It´s been a dreich day when I came back to the Ness of Brodgar, again – but I still wanted to take a closer look at the ongoing excavations of the Ness.

    Ring of Brodgar

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    I parked the car at the Ring of Brodgar and started my walk along the Ness from there, how different it felt from the sunshine last time.

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    Path and view towards the Ness – it is just a short walk between the two lochs to the excavation site.

    Lying at the centre of a massive natural “cauldron” ringed by hills, the Ness of Brodgar runs north-west to south-east and is therefore naturally (and roughly) aligned to the midwinter rising sun at midwinter and midsummer sunset. There is no better place than the Ness to view both. (Ness of Brodgar .co.uk)

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    Passing the Comet Stone on the edge of the Ring of Brodgar.

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    View towards the other side of Loch Harray.

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    And looking back towards the Ring of Brodgar, all across the meadow.

    Ness of brodgar

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    The Ness of Brodgar is a thin strip of land between the lochs of Harray and Stenness.

    The Ness is covered in, and surrounded by, archaeology. Until the beginning of this century, it was best known as the site of the Ring of Brodgar and the nearby Standing Stones of Stenness, both part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. In 2002 all that changed when a geophysical survey revealed a huge prehistoric complex, indicating many buildings beneath the Ness. The dense concentration of structures astonished the worldwide archaeological community. (orkney.com)

    In 2003 the owners of one of the nearby houses on the Ness of Brodgar wanted to prepare a field for a wildflower meadow.

    The ploughman uncovered what looked like the slab of a Bronze Age burial kist, and on inspection, a vast complex of buildings dating as far back as 3300 BC were discovered. (Northlinkferries.com)

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    Every summer it is possible to see archaeologists at work at the Ness, revealing a large complex of monumental Neolithic buildings along with decorated masonry, pottery, stone tools, evidence of stone tiled roofing and much more. 2021 a small group was back at work and parts of the excavations were open to taking a peek inside.

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    So far a number of buildings, some of them on top of each other have been excavated and all the finds are changing the knowledge about the Neolithic time.

    Get to know the structures on the Ness of Brodgar website.

    Signs on the site are telling us about the finds and about the history of the place. The Information Panels.

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    The site was surrounded by a vast boundary wall, sometimes referred to as the Great Wall of Brodgar, wider than Hadrian’s Wall.

    Why the Ness of Brodgar was abandoned is unknown. Perhaps a new religion took over or a new power ruled over the islands. However in 2200 BC the Ness of Brodgar was robbed of stone, and then somehow, this vast complex of buildings became lost, covered by dirt and plants, and forgotten in the landscape. (Northlinkferries.com)

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    Another view of the Ness is seen from the Watch Stone, near the Stones of Stenness. Before I turned around and walked back to that parking place at the Ring of Brodgar.

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    Kirkbuster Museum

    On my way back to may little cottage near Skaill I stopped at the Kirkbuster Museum, which was unfortunately closed that day, so I could only take a peek from the outside onto the last “firehoose” in Northern Europe.

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.

    The house has a central hearth, complete with peat fire, and a stone neuk bed reminiscent of the Neolithic interiors that can be seen at sites such as Skara Brae, Orkney. Kirbuster was occupied up until the 1960s (Orkney.gov.uk)

    A dreich day on the Ness of Brodgar, the Neolithic Heart of Orkney.