There’s an on-line site which lists all the Core Paths in Orkney.
Now and then we choose a new one to try, and this time we went for a walk to the Loch of Vastray.
We drove North towards Evie, turning off at the sign for Arwick, and parked tucked in just before the gates to a small quarry – taking care not to block the gates!
We walked down the road until we came to a sign
Proceeding down the track, to our right we could see the outline of a Broch which is marked on the OS map.
The people living in that Broch will have known the folk at the Broch of Gurness, and the Broch at Tingwall, the Knowe O’ Dishero and the un-named broch in between – possibly had links with folk at the whole string of Brochs along that coast-line.
The Broch & Gairsay
The track was muddy in places, with pleasing patterns of goose-prints
Looking to the left, our first sighting of the Loch
Then, looking across….. Loch/sea/Rousay/Aikerness
Looking back down the loch
I very much like the Loch. We don’t know how deep it is, but it’s one of those places that feels like it’s deep and dark and cold with pale, webby creatures living in it. Cue Tom Muir to tell a tale!
The shore, the Loch and Gairsay in the distance
We sat and ate our sandwiches, seeing Aikerness from a different perspective. We often walk from the Broch of Gurness, round the path to where the way is blocked – directly across from where we were sitting…
A little bit further along there are the remains of what looks like it might have been a winch mechanism, presumably for hauling boats up the shore. I couldn’t manage the rough ground, but Mike has been there previously and taken pics
Turning back as the light faded
Sunset over the Loch
A lovely walk on a fine day at a peaceful place – next time, we’ll turn right along the shore and head for the Broch.
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