Orkney Family Road Trip – Part 3: The Orkney Motor Show, St. Magnus Cathedral and The Ring of Brodgar

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The Orkney Motor Show, 2019.

Large load!

The main event for us on this trip was to attend the Orkney Motor Show. My husband had driven up in his pride and joy, and my parents had come up in one of Mum’s quirky rarities. We love everything automotive in our family, so we knew this day would be a highlight of our trip!

A collage of 16 classic and modern cars that were on display at the Orkney motor show in 2019
A collage of some of the cars we saw at the 2019 Orkney Motor Show.

There were various local groups and charities in attendance too, and on behalf of the archaeological team, a chap was teaching children about water divination! He let us keep the divination rods, but we have yet to find any water with them! Perhaps that should be an activity for this summer holiday?!

Water divination training with the Orkney Archaeological experts!
The boys were invited to sit on this tank! One of many in attendance.

We had a great day, so much so that we planned to come back for the next show. A worldwide pandemic delayed that return, but we did come back, and that’ll be a post for another day!

St. Magnus Cathedral

After the motor show, as we drove back to our accommodation, we took 2 little detours, and the first was to visit St. Magnus Cathedral. This beautiful and very impressive building sits in Kirkwall, and whether you’re religious or not, I always enjoy visiting places of worship. The building was founded in the 1100s and took 300 years to complete! No, that’s not a typo! It is the only complete medieval cathedral in the whole of Scotland, AND the only church in the country known to hold the bones of its original saint!

A dramatic view of the front of St Magnus Cathedral

Unfortunately, I hadn’t bought my tripod, and as you’ll probably guess, it was pretty dark inside, but I did my best using what was around me to get some interesting photos!

An ornate stained glass window inside the cathedral with the sunshine shining through
A beautiful stained glass window inside the Cathedral. I loved the way the sun was shining through.
A dramatic view down the central aisle of the Cathedral toward the alter.

The Ring of Brodgar

Our final brief trip was to the Ring of Brodgar, a stone circle dating back to the 3rd millennium BC! Today, 36 of the original 60 stones remain, and it’s an impressive walk around, with beautiful views at every angle. Orkney has several of these stone circles; The Ring of Brodgar and several others are all part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site.

A walk around The Ring of Brodgar – beautiful views from every angle!
A walk late in the day meant a nice, tourist free, experience!

Time for tea

We finished the day with fish and chips in the car on the harbour.

Not your usual harbour view!

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Published by EJ Blogs

A creative wanderer, always looking for my next outdoors adventure ❤️ Photography, Outdoor Adventures and Drawing.

6 thoughts on “Orkney Family Road Trip – Part 3: The Orkney Motor Show, St. Magnus Cathedral and The Ring of Brodgar”

    1. Thank you! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed reading it. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading yours too, the theme is right up my street, I’ve sat here all morning with my brew reading so many posts! If you haven’t already, I would highly recommend a trip to Orkney, not only is it rich in ancient history, but I’m confident you’d dig around and uncover some fascinating myths and legends for your own blog!

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