Tour of Kirkwall

As part of our Kirkwall topic we went on a tour of parts of Kirkwall to discover more about the history of some of the buildings that are no longer there.
First stop was the remains of the old sea wall at the library. It's hard to imagine that the Peedie sea used to come all the way up here!

The next stop was to have a look at the Girnell - now the Sailing Club but in the past was a grain store for the Earl. The grain was taken ashore at the Corn Slip across the road.

St. Olaf's kirk used to stand in St Olaf's Wynd and we had a look at the arched doorway which is all that is left.

Some of us thought that this was a face at first but then we realised that it is a cross carved into the stonework.

Next stop was Castle Street where we found the plaque that marks where Kirkwall Castle once stood. It was interesting to find out in our research that there are still cellars under the bank from the time of the Castle. 

We were reading about the Orkney pirate John Gow so it was interesting to see the Groatie House that was constructed from the ballast of his ship after it went ashore off Eday. He came to a sad end along with some of his crew when he was executed in London for his crimes.

Finally a quick play and a photo on the rockery!