Great Orkney Tours

Places to see in ( Kirkwall - UK )

Places to see in ( Kirkwall - UK )

Kirkwall is the largest town and capital of the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The town is first mentioned in Orkneyinga saga in the year 1046 when it is recorded as the residence of Rögnvald Brusason the Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his uncle Thorfinn the Mighty. In 1486, King James III of Scotland elevated Kirkwall to the status of a royal burgh; modern roadsigns still indicate The City and Royal Burgh of Kirkwall. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name Kirkjuvagr (Church Bay), which later changed to Kirkvoe, Kirkwaa and Kirkwall.

Kirkwall is a port with ferry services to Aberdeen and Lerwick, as well as the principal north islands in the group. At the heart of the town stands St. Magnus Cathedral, which was founded in memory of Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney 1108–1117 by Earl (later Saint) Rögnvald Kali. Next to the Cathedral are the ruins of the former Bishop's Palace and Earl's Palace. The town has two museums, the larger being Tankerness House Museum, which contains items of local historical interest within one of Scotland's best-preserved sixteenth-century town-houses. The prehistoric, Pictish and Viking collections are of international importance. The other museum is the Orkney Wireless Museum, dealing with the history of radio and recorded sound.

Apart from the main historical buildings mentioned above, Kirkwall has many 17th–18th-century houses and other structures in the local vernacular style. The 'Kirk' of Kirkwall was not the Cathedral (which was originally at Birsay), but the 11th-century church of Saint Olaf of Norway. One late medieval doorway survives from this church, and an aumbry from the original church survives within the late 19th-century structure of the present-day Saint Olaf's Church (Episcopal) in the town's Dundas Crescent. Kirkwall also once had a medieval castle, which was destroyed in the 17th century.

On the west edge of the town, surrounded by Hatston Industrial Estate, is a prehistoric ancient monument, Grain Earth House (Historic Scotland), a short low stone-walled passage deep underground leading to a small pillared chamber. One of the major annual events in the town is the Ba Game, held each Christmas Day and New Year's Day between the Uppies and the Doonies, each team representing one half of the town. Kirkwall also has the most northerly of the world's Carnegie libraries, which was opened by Andrew Carnegie and his wife in 1909.

( Kirkwall - UK ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting the city of Kirkwall . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Kirkwall - UK

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ScotIndyPod 64 - Baron Wallace (made with Spreaker)

Source:


For the 64th episode of the Scottish Independence Podcast I spoke with Baron Wallace of Tankerness and I could not have hoped for a more distinguised guest.

As his wikipedia page says about him...

...a British politician, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords and the Advocate General for Scotland. He was formerly Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Member of Parliament (MP) for Orkney and Shetland, Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Orkney and the first Deputy First Minister of Scotland in the Scottish Executive.

I managed to catch Jim briefly on the first night of his new speaking tour.

Hope you enjoy...

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Trampolining with added FAIL

Just putting FAIL into Trampolining.