KIRKWALL, ORKNEY ISLANDS, SCOTLAND

Kirkwall is the capital and largest city in the Orkney Islands, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. 

 

Kirkwall was founded in 1035 by Earl Rognvald Brusason and then quickly became an important part of the Orkney's. 

 

The Orkney Islands consist of a group of more than 70 islands and islets—only about 20 of which are inhabited.  It lies about 20 miles north of the Scottish mainland, across the strait known as the Pentland Firth. 

 

Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's population live on the largest island, the Mainland, which is the most densely populated of all the islands of the archipelago.

 

The largest island, the Mainland, is the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in theBritish Isles.  The islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts.  Orkney was colonized and later annexed by the Kingdom of Norway in 875 and settled by the Norsemen.  In 1472, the Parliament of Scotland absorbed the Earldom of Orkney into the Kingdom of Scotland, following failure to pay a dowry promised to James III of Scotland by the family of his bride, Margaret of Denmark.

 

 

Kirkwall was a tender port for the Norwegian Star.  We dropped anchor around 7am on Saturday June 3, 2023.  

 

The city of Kirkwall provided a complimentary shuttle bus service from the Hatston dock to the Kirkwall Travel Center which is located about a 2 minute walk from the main shopping area of downtown Kirkwall. 

The service operates from 08:30am with the last shuttle returning from town 60 minutes prior to the scheduled cruise ship departure time.

 

 

From the shuttle bus drop off I walked to St Magnus Cathedral, 

touring through the facility using the audio guide 'ST MAGNUS CATHEDRAL' downloaded from the App store to my cellphone. 

St Magnus Cathedral was founded in 1137 and built from local red and yellow sandstone, the cathedral is mostly Romanesque in style. 

 

The St. Magnus Cathedral is said to have been built by the Vikings during the 12th century. It is dedicated to St Magnus, Earl of Orkney in the 12th century, at a time when Orkney was part of the Kingdom of Norway. He was killed on the orders of his cousin and rival Hakon, and numerous miracles were reported after this death. In 1137 Magnus’s nephew Rognvald began construction of the ‘fine minster’ in honor of his saintly uncle; Magnus’s relics remain interred in a pillar of the choir. The cathedral has stood firm against Reformers, Cromwellian troops and wartime danger, and is the most complete medieval cathedral in Scotland. 

Graveyard at St Magnus Cathedral

Inside the St Magnus Cathedral

Inside the St Magnus Cathedral

Graveyard outside St Magnus Cathedral

 

Inside St Magnus Cathedral

Inside St Magnus Cathedral

Admission to St Magnus Cathedral is FREE.  Opening times are Monday-Saturday 9am-5pm and on Sunday from 1pm-5pm

 

Next stop was to view the Bishops and Earls Palace.  

The Earl’s Palace was built around 1606 by Patrick, Earl of Orkney. Known as ‘Black Patie’, the tyrannical Patrick ruled the Northern Isles with an iron fist from 1592 until his execution 23 years later. It was declared at his trial that he used slave labor to build his residences.

 

The Bishop’s Palace was built around the same time as St Magnus’s Cathedral, in the early 12th century. The builder may well have been Bishop William ‘the Old’ (d.1168), crusader and friend of Earl Rognvald, St Magnus’s nephew and patron of the new cathedral.

 

 

From here it was a short walk to the Post Office.  Here you can find an ATM if you need to obtain local currency. 

 

Then, another short walk back to the Travel Center where I boarded the complimentary shuttle service back to the pier.  I found myself back onboard the Norwegian Star by 4:00pm.   My step meter registered 8,550 steps for 3.6 miles.