By Bernie Bell

The Gloup in Deerness, that is…. https://theorkneynews.scot/2019/09/15/two-go-glouping-in-deerness/ .  We parked in the car park and walked up to the nearby Visitor Centre which is now open again – more to the point, the toilets are accessible again – Hurrah!  We met a family there who had parked in the car park meaning to go to the Gloup, seen this sign…

….and thought they weren’t supposed to go along the path, so had come up to look at the Visitor Centre instead.   Seeing us there they asked about getting to the Gloup. I explained that the path to the Brough of Deerness is blocked off, but that the walk is otherwise safe. They thanked us and headed off for the walk they had planned to do.

By the Gloup we met a group of people who had also seen the sign, looked along the path, thought it was nonsense, so went for it anyway and were wondering where the dangerous path – or ‘Cliff of Doom’ as one man called it – was.  Again – I explained.

The point I’m making is….there are plenty of signs at the Brough warning folk not to use the actual way down to the Bay and the Brough as there has been some cliff-fall…. https://theorkneynews.scot/2021/03/10/unstable-cliffs/

The sign at the car park isn’t needed and can mis-lead people into thinking they can’t go along there at all. 

Orkney Islands Council  please take note.

At one of the wooden platforms for viewing the Gloup we saw this little painted stone…

….and they can be…..sometimes….. https://theorkneynews.scot/2020/02/21/the-people-of-the-sea/

Finally – a stoat trap par excellence…..

We were talking with a man who had seen these little wooden boxes and wondered what they were for, so I explained and suggested that he might like to read this in TON….  https://theorkneynews.scot/2018/01/28/be-ware-of-stoats/

It started to pour down – back to the car – good to get out of the wind and drink hot tea.