I am going, I am going, where streams of whiskey are flowing…..’ – The Pogues

By theorkneynews on January 3, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

By Bernie Bell

Pics by B&M Bell

Well, not exactly, but we do cross a bridge over a stream which flows by the Scapa distillery, and it’s nice to think it has something of the water of life in it! The title is from this song………….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4jy15s0N-c

I should mention that this path isn’t for the feint-hearted. If you don’t like steep cliffs dropping down by your side, or you’re not comfortable with sections of steep, slippy path – maybe best not. I managed it and am glad I did, but I have to admit that I won’t be doing it again! However, for the more soople among us – it’s fiiiiine, and an enjoyable walk.

We drove to Scapa Beach and parked in the car park by the OIC Marine Services building. Then walked along the beach towards the Scapa distillery…..

Just before the waterfall which comes down the cliff, we turned up onto the cliff path…

…which is part of the https://www.stmagnusway.com/route/orphir-to-kirkwall section of the St. Magnus Way, except – going in the opposite direction!

Admiring the sun on the water…

And crossing the ‘streams of whiskey’ by a little bridge….

At this point on the path, looking back, it’s possible to see the two most northern whiskey distilleries in Scotland – Scapa –

And……..just about……….in the distance…..zooming in with a good camera…….. Highland Park with its distinctive ‘pagoda’ shaped chimneys….

By the Scapa distillery, there’s a lovely smell – more like brewing than distilling, but distilling whiskey also starts with a ‘mash’, as I learnt from my Dad. https://theorkneynews.scot/2018/02/12/memories-of-the-craetur-comfort/

So, singing ‘Gather up yer pots and yer awld tin can, the malt, the mash, the barley and the bran – run like the divil from the excise man in the hills of Connemara’, we carried on along the path, passing some interesting rock formations on the way…