AROUND the top of Scotland

In the second part of his round-Britain adventure series, Jonathan Winter sails Nova from Dundee to Belfast via Orkney and the Hebrides, sampling the delights of Scottish whisky and discovering close-knit coastal communities on the way

- Jonathan Winter

Stromness

For a sailor from the Solent, Orkney is in the far north. But far from being off the beaten track, for millennia Orkney was the beaten track, and even in the 20th century this archipelago had central significance as a naval centre. In his article written for this project, Nick Isbister writes about the way Stromness – and the Orkney Islands – has found its way into people’s stories, including his own. He reflects on how people and groups through history have formed their identity, told their stories, and made their mark: bit.ly/12ports-stromness

Dundee to Stromness

If this journey were an ascent, the mountaintop would naturally be the Orkney Islands, and the last camp on the route would be Wick. We arrived there ahead of strong easterly winds, which might have prevented us from entering the harbour and sent us scuttling all the way back across the Moray Firth. The lifeboat crew were preparing for their Harbour Day. There’s a good reason for lifeboats around here – the Pentland Firth has a fearsome reputation. The Admiralty Sailing Directions from 1935 says “when a swell is opposed to the tidal stream, a sea is raised which can scarcely be imagined by those who have never experienced it”.