A trip to Orkney

Despite Orkney’s mesmerising isolation, you can’t quite escape modern madness.

I’ve longed to go to Orkney for years. This chilly, green and brown archipelago is the ultimate liminal place, offering a time-travelling glimpse at our own ancient history.

While driving through the empty landscape of Orkney you can spot a number of little standing stones, signposts of a vibrant neolithic culture. But it was visiting Skara Brae, the Stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar, Maeshowe Cairn and Wideford Hill Cairn — places which emanate heritage, wisdom and mystery — that took me back in time in exactly the way I wanted.

To travel this sceptred isle is to love it. And it is important to know your own country. I was fortunate to have a German father who delighted in taking his children to Stone Age sights, seaside resorts and steam trains the length and breadth of Britain. My love of British holidays must have been taught to me, but it feels as deep as my DNA. I want to pass this on to my children. Son number two had some pointed comments about my choice of holiday, but in the end he enjoyed it and counted Skara Brae as his highlight.

The 5,000 year old clever houses at Skara Brae with their watertight tanks, drainage system, mantelpieces, primitive ‘runic’ writing and covered walkways are marvels of human ingenuity. The neolithic revolution and birth of agriculture led to the flourishing of human culture and more comfortable lives. It’s incredible to think that contemporary politicians and cultish environmentalists attack farming, an industry without which we would revert to prehistoric misery, not to mention starvation. As Scottish farmer Gwen Chalmers felt obliged to point out when asked about Veganuary, ‘Farmers are needed to produce food.’ Thank you, Gwen.