August is a very busy time for Orkney, not just thanks to summer visitors. This month is a peak time for another very important Orkney industry – farming.

The Importance of farming 

Farming is deeply significant to the Orcadian culture and has been for millenia. The most famous site on Orkney, Skara Brae, represents the beginning of agriculture on these isles over 5000 years ago.  

Today, of the 99,000 hectares which make up Orkney, 90% of the land is used for some form of agriculture. The main use is grazing for livestock. There are 100,000 more sheep than people on Orkney! Why? Because grass grows so well in the Orkney climate with its frequent rain and long daylight hours in the summer. 

County shows 

August is the final summer month. Before the busy harvest time begins there is a chance to celebrate. The shows are a hive of activity including animal competitions, games, tractor and equipment displays and stalls from charities and businesses. Sanday, East Mainland, Shapinsay, South Ronaldsay and Burray, Dounby had their own shows. The month of events ends with the Orkney County Show which is one of the biggest events of the year. 

I was lucky enough to go along to the Dounby show. I couldn’t believe how busy it was! I’ve never seen so many Orcadians in one place. Amongst the hustle and bustle of stalls was a performance arena. Here I enjoyed seeing the parade of prize winning horses, cows and even a lone goat. My highlight was seeing the young horse riders compete in high speed games. Very impressive. 

Horses and ploughing 

Down in St. Margaret’s Hope one day a year you can hear the jingling of bells. This merry noise signals the beginning of the Festival of the Horse. For over 200 years the children of this village and the surrounding farms have dressed up as show horses. These elaborate costumes are black suits decorated with ribbons, charms, pom-poms, rosettes and wool. The “ploughing harnesses” are often family heirlooms. Bagpipes accompany the children’s costume parade. Then the costumes are judged by local experts. 

Unfortunately photos don’t do them justice. Seeing the “horses” as they are called march out was truly  a sight to behold. Each costume was incredibly detailed and creative. I was really impressed with the craftsmanship. 

The Festival of the Horse is followed by the boys ploughing match. The adorable little ploughs are also handed down over generations. The boys are around 9 years old when they compete on the beach. 

Both traditions celebrate the agricultural heritage of the region. I was glad to see how popular the parade was. It’s great to see the tradition thriving after all this time.

The post Agricultural August appeared first on Orkney Heritage Tours.

The story began after the horrors of the first world war. As the allies met to write the Treaty of Versailles, the German High Seas Fleet had to be securely interred. The natural harbour of Scapa Flow was chosen and in November 1918 the 74 massive warships arrived.

Surrounded by the low hills of Orkney, the angular warships looked alien. The ships stayed there for months, the seamen were basically prisoners on board.

As the time dragged on the Admiral Ludwig von Reuter grew impatient. He sent away troublesome seamen. His worst fear was to have the British seize control of the warships. The German High Seas warships were the most hi-tech in the world at the time. 

21st June 1919

On the morning of the fateful day, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter couldn’t believe his luck. The British guard warships sailed out on an exercise. Seizing the chance, Von Reuter sent out the signal “paragraph 11” a coded reference to scuttle the ships. Instantly the seamen opened the windows, torpedo valves, smashed pipes and whatever else they could to allow the most water to flood in (scuttling). By the time the British realised what had happened, most of the ships were on their way to the seabed.

Another group who decided to sail into Scapa Flow that day came from the local school. The teachers must have thought it would be a good excuse to get out the classroom. Little did they know how the day would turn out. 

21st June 2019

Today, the Scapa 100 has been arranged to commemorate the anniversary of the scuttling. The commonwealth war graves royal naval cemetery on Hoy is the site of the official ceremony.

This week is also an opportunity to educate about this history. There have been many talks and exhibitions. I enjoyed the Stromness museum one where I learned about the importance of salvaging the fleet to the Orkney economy during the time of a global economic depression. The Orkney Museum exhibit in Kirkwall was also fascinating and showed more of the experiences of the German seamen.

The events have always sparked the local imagination. This is especially true for the festival in which there is everything from plays to scientific research projects.

Community Artwork

One event I participated in was to design a community tapestry inspired by the events. The Loom Room Orkney is a workshop space that is part of the Orkney Creative Hub. India who is a fellow Scotgrader has done wonders to engage the public with weaving and tapestry. You may remember from previous blogs that I began learning to weave tapestries here.

My design was chosen and woven by local people into a huge artwork! Its an honour to be able to take part in this historic commemoration. The creation itself took two months, hundreds of meters of wool and the work of many, many community members.  Don’t worry, it’s not just my design on display. There are over 30 mini tapestries inspired by the events made by local people. You can see the tapestries exhibited at For Arts Sake from Thursday 20th June until Saturday 30th of June.

This poster shows a small section of the finished tapestry!

Experience Scapa Flow for yourself

The turbulent history of Scapa Flow is featured in our Stones & Shores, Undiscovered Past  and West Orkney Beauty Spots Tours.

The post Scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow – a century later appeared first on Orkney Heritage Tours.