Orkney Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Annie Wright Photography

Fisherman’s Hut and Nousts at Skibo Geo

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January 9, 2017
Ancient heritage / Landscape / Monuments / Orkney / Scotland

Fisherman’s hut and nousts at Skibo Geo. Location: Birsay, Mainland, Orkney (Scotland).

Skiba Geo has been in use since Viking times. It is a sheltered beach allowing easy access for landing fishing boats. In the winter, the boats were pulled up to the nousts at the top of the beach for protection. Moreover, the 19th century fisherman’s hut next to the nousts provided a safe space for storing equipment.

Ultimately, the site fell into disrepair through lack of use in the 1960s. However, it was renovated by the pupils, friends and parents of Class Six of Dounby Primary School in 1989

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Birsay Cairn Built by Fairy Folk?

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December 19, 2016
Landscape / Orkney / Scotland

Cairn, Birsay, Fairy Folk, Mainland, Orkney, Scotland — © www.anniewrightphotography.com

Birsay cairn built by fairy folk? These mysterious constructions can be found throughout the island of Mainland, and I would love to photograph them all! Location: Orkney, Scotland (more…)

Inside the Broch of Gurness

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December 12, 2016
Ancient heritage / beauty / history / Monuments / Orkney

Broch of Gurness, Mainland, Orkney, monuments, staircases — © www.anniewrightphotography.com

Inside the Broch of Gurness is an elegantly curved staircase dating from somewhere between 500 BC and 100 AD. People lived here and fought off attacks on the remote island of Mainland (Orkney), where the known world mainly comprised Norway to the north and Scotland and England to the south. (more…)

Ring of Brodgar, the Modern Version

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November 13, 2016
Monuments / Orkney

Ring of Brodgar, Stones of Stenness, Mainland, Orkney — © www.anniewrightphotography.com

Ring of Brodgar, the modern version. The real thing is about five minutes walk over to the right.

Location: Mainland, Orkney, Scotland (more…)

Cairns

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October 24, 2016
Monuments / Orkney

cairn, Isbister, monuments, Mainland, Orkney, Scotland — © www.anniewrightphotography.com

Cairns are traditionally markers to define distance or warn foolhardy sailors of the rocks beneath the ocean’s waves. This one – near the neolithic Tomb of the Eagles in Orkney – is quite possible modern. Its anonymous maker has sought a balance between order and the chaos of broken shards of stone, much like the work of the artists Andy Goldworthy and Richard Long. For me photographically, chaos is all around; order is how I try to make it sing.

Location: Isbister, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, Scotland

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Hoy Youth Hostel

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October 10, 2016
Bad weather photography / Orkney

Youth Hostel, Hoy, Orkney, Scotland — © www.anniewrightphotography.com

Hoy Youth Hostel has a mud floor and no gas or electricity. On the upside, it’s free of charge, has great views and a magnificent dry stone wall in front of it.

I was so entranced with this place – its mists and melancholy beauty – that I was in a kind of photographic daze, where everywhere I turned there was something magic.

Location: the island of Hoy, Orkney, Scotland. Camera: iPhone. (more…)

Betty Corrigall’s Grave

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October 3, 2016
history / Hoy / Orkney

Betty Corrigall’s grave is possibly the loneliest place in the world. As a young woman in the late 18th century, she was abandoned by her lover when he discovered she was pregnant.

Shunned by the local community and with no way out, Betty killed both herself and her unborn child. Their grave is located on wild and unconsecrated moorland on the Orcadian island of Hoy. (more…)

The Dwarfie Stane

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September 27, 2016
Ancient heritage / Magic / Orkney

Dwarfie Stane, bad weather, photography, monument, Hoy, Orkney, Scotland — © Annie Wright Photography

The Dwarfie Stane is 5,000 years old and located in a lonely valley on the island of Hoy in Orkney. The tiny entrance leads to an inner chamber, which contains a stone structure that looks like a bed. For me, it was a unexpectedly serene experience, and I wish I could have slept there.
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Tomb of the Eagles Shelter

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September 19, 2016
Ancient heritage / beauty / Glamour / Orkney

Tomb of the Eagles shelter that was once a German WWII ambulance before being used as a mobile home for crossing the Sahara. But for me, this photo is not…

Scapa Flow Shipwreak

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September 12, 2016
beauty / Orkney

Scapa Flow shipwreck. Part of the German fleet that was scuttled during WWI and used as a blocking ship in WWII to prevent the entry of Nazi U-boats. It’s weird…