Orkney and Shetland

The illustrations on pp. 3, 7, 9, 12, 27, 38, 46, 54, 62, 80, 81 are reproduced from photographs by Mr T. Kent, Kirkwall; that on p. 32 from a photograph by the Author; that on...

The Orcadian or Middle Old Red Sandstone is known to be a fresh water deposit, laid down by a large system of lakes which once extended over the north-eastern Highlands as far s...

The coasts and sounds of Orkney are studded with innumerable skerries and sunken reefs. Few of these call for any special notice, but the reader should know that in a few cases—...

Let us pause here, however, to outline the polity and state of society which had now become established in the Islands. The Orkney Jarls were not autocratic rulers. The Odallers...

A consideration of the geographical position of the main area of their distribution leaves one with little doubt that they were erected as the best and most economical means tha...

Among explorers two Orcadians stand high, John Rae and William Balfour Baikie, both explorers of the highest scientific type, while Baikie was in addition a good naturalist and...

In the larger islands the land is generally lower on the east side than on the west; and in many cases the hills are steeper on the west than on the east. Most of the smaller is...

Winter in Shetland is dark and stormy; but this is to a certain extent compensated for by the long days of summer, from the middle of May to the end of July, when darkness is un...

Of men who have risen to distinction in the Government service, the best known is Sir Robert G. C. Hamilton (1836-1895), a son of Dr Hamilton of Bressay. He was at various times...