Island 118 - Flotta, Orkney

Flotta is never going to win any prizes in a beautiful island competition.  However it does have an interesting recent history, some very picturesque sea stacks and some unusual penguin sculptures.  Flotta is served by the same vehicle ferry that also calls at Lyness on Hoy and comes from Houton on Orkney Mainland.  Flotta is thought to be the only place on Orkney where you can see Kirkwall and Stromness at the same time.  In 2011 the population was 80, down from a peak of 425 in 1881.

I don't think Flotta gets many visitors compared to the other Orkney Islands, as there are only a couple of self-catering properties and no guesthouses on the island and when we arrived at the ferry terminal at Lyness the main selling the tickets asked us if we were sure we wanted to go to Flotta, as there wasn't much to do there!  We had 4 hours on Flotta, which was too long really on a sunny but cold and very windy day.  However there wasn't an earlier ferry back to Mainland Orkney.  The only shop on the island was shut, as was the Peerie Museum but we did have a look around the church.

Nothing much is recorded about Flotta's history until the 20th Century.  The first European to be buried in Australia is reputed to have been from Flotta.  Forbie Sutherland was a member of Captain Cook's Endeavour expedition.  The Flotta Stone, an 8th Century sculptured slab, which was found in the site of a ruin is now in the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh. 

The island was heavily fortified during the First and Second World Wars to protect the entrance to Scapa Flow and ruins from this period can be seen all over the island, notably the Buchanan and NEB Batteries and the Signal Station at Stanger Head.  King George V visited Flotta to inspect the troops at Stanger Head in 1915.  We had a look round the Buchanan Battery and the Signal Station.  Also at Stanger Head is an old quarry.  Most of the stone used in the construction of the oil terminal came from here.

The main feature on the island today is the oil terminal, which became operational in 1976 when crude oil arrived from the Piper Platform.    However the rest of the island is quite tranquil.  We obtained permission from the terminal security to visit the north east peninsula, which is called Golta.  The road was very rough and potholed with large puddles in places, so we didn't drive that far but we did drive right passed the Flotta Flare Stack, which can be seen all over Orkney.

After 3 hours we ran out of things to do, so we drove back to the harbour to wait for the ferry.  This proved to be more interesting than it sounds, as there were dozens of seals hauled out on the beach next to the ferry jetty.    The other interesting things on the island were the sculptures of various things made by an islander out of recycled metal.
On the ferry back to Houton it was so windy that waves kept breaking over the boat and my car got a comprehensive seawater bath.

Three penguins but I'm not sure what the 4th object is supposed to be

They are located near Rotten Gutter, which wasn't as unpleasant as it sounds!

Tractor Sculpture

Stanger Head with the signal station in the background

The Cletts, Stanger Head

 Flotta from the Hoxa Battery on South Ronaldsay

Stanger Head is on the left of the photo and the oil terminal is on the right of the photo