Monthly Archives: December 2010

Seals

Common Seal The Westray population is of unknown size but this animal is by no means scarce, possibly 500-1000 individuals. Several small colonies exist around the coast with greatest numbers occurring at Sponess and on the Holm of Aikerness. The Bay of Swartmill is a common summer haul-out. Pups are born in June to mid-July […]

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St Boniface Kirk

Two Pictish cross-slabs that were found in the kirkyard at St Boniface are evidence that there has been a kirk on this site since at least the late 7th century – probably originally founded as a base for missionary campaigns among the pagan Picts. The present building dates from the 12th century, and was enlarged […]

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Knap of Howar

The Knap of Howar is not only one of the most significant archaeological sites in Orkney, but the site of the oldest standing houses in northern Europe.  These two buildings are significantly older than the village at Skara Brae, and were inhabited from about 3800 BC by neolithic farmers who grew crops on the fertile […]

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