Island 115 - Eday, Orkney

Eday has been inhabited for at least 5,000 years.   We didn’t see the island at its best as it rained for most of the day.  We were glad to have the car to shelter in.  We spent several hours in the Heritage and Visitor Centre, which is housed in the old Baptist Chapel.  This does have a café but it wasn’t open on the day we were there. However DIY tea and coffee was available for a donation.    We didn’t stay on Eday but there is a youth hostel, several B&Bs and some self-catering properties available

The most famous landmark on the island is the Stone of Setter, which at 4.5 metres high is the largest standing stone in Orkney.   There is a Heritage Walk on Eday, which takes in the main historic and prehistoric sites on the island.  It stopped raining long enough for us to complete part of it, which took in the Stone of Setter, 3 chambered tombs, the small lighthouse built in 1909 by David Stevenson and Carrick House, which is the largest house on the island and was built in 1633 by John Stewart.  The pirate John Gow was held there for a while in 1725 before he was taken to London to be hanged.  More information about his life and exploits can be found here: http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/historicalfigures/pirategow/

The north end of the island at Red Head is a good place to see a variety of seabirds.  Mill Loch near the Stone of Setter has one of the densest concentrations of breeding red-throated divers in the UK.    A hide has been provided for you to observe them from, although we didn’t see any.

We visited on a day when most things seemed to be closed, including the shop and the museum in the Old North School Classroom.  The tearoom at the Red House Croft was open and we enjoyed a lunch of homemade soup and a chat with the owner.

Eday can be accessed by roll-on roll-off ferry from Kirkwall to Backaland at the south end of the island.    Alternatively there is an airport, known as London Airport, as it is located at the Bay of London.  However there is no similarity with Heathrow or Gatwick – the terminal is a 2 room building just like the one on Papa Westray.

Quarrying was once an important industry on Eday.  Much of the stone used to build St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall was quarried at Fersness.

Stone of Setter

 

Backaland Pier, Eday