Orkney – more walking around the Mainland – Yesnaby

After the Neolithic treasures, a walking tour on Hoy, the Churchill Barriers in the South, and Kirkwall, I had a feeling that I had seen all of Orkney. But far from it. Orkney still had some treasures left to share. Like Yesnaby, an amazing coast line not far from the Ring of Brodnar on the west side of Mainland. There we learned about the story of these rocks: 400 million years ago Orkney was south of the equator and lay in a lake. Anyway the rocks are all part of a long history, so let’s just enjoy this magic coastline.

along the coast of Yesnaby @Orkney

see how tall the cliffs are compared to us humans @Yesnaby

The plan was to walk to the Yesnaby Castle, another sea stack, not as high as the Old Man of Hoy though.

the coastline along Yesnaby @Orkney

The was a really strong wind going, plus I was stopping every couple of meters to take another picture. The coast was just too impressive to dash to the Yesnaby Castle without documenting the rest.

rock formations @Yesnaby

further along the coast @Yesnaby

Even the sun came out for a bit. That’s the advantage of a lot of wind. The weather can change within minutes, sometimes even for the better.

the sun comes out for a while @Yesnaby

Although we had walked already for a bit the parking with the gun battery is clearly visible on the picture below.

looking back to the gun battery next to parking @Yesnaby

But also in the other direction the coast looked spectacular.

still walking in the direction of the Yesnaby Castle @Orkney

Eventually we came to a stretch of coast where there was no water for a moment. Doesn’t it look very peaceful?

where has the water gone @Yesnaby

Honestly the landscape is so scenic there that I couldn’t stop taking pictures all the time. But it’s so beautiful.

rugged coast @Yesnbay

some water inland @Yesnaby

The sun was leaving and the cliffs were getting higher. There is so much water pressure that sea rushes up on the foot path in a spray.

higher cliffs again @Yesnaby

spray coming up from the sea @Yesnaby

The sun was really gone when I finally arrived a the Yesnaby Castle, still it looked amazing. The ‘Castle’ is as high as the cliffs around it. It’s also much stockier than the ‘Old Man’.

Yesnaby Castle @Orkney

Upon turning around to head back to the parking the coast was again breathtaking.

heading back to the parking @Yesnaby

Already heading back the sun suddenly decided to come out again. I took my chance and turned around again to get a shot at the ‘Castle’ in color.

Yesnaby Castle in sunshine @Orkney

the Yesnaby Castle is definitely higher that the cliffs around @Orkney

Of course the coastal walk is way longer than just going to Yesnaby Castle. But the wind made the going though and it was actually quite cold. Still, sometimes I wish there was no time limit to traveling and one can walk forever. Yours, Pollybert

Let me know what you think

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