Nicola here. I’m just back from a cruise around the islands of Orkney and Shetland on a small ship. I was a little apprehensive before I set out as, although I’ve done quite a few cruises now, I’m not what you’d call a “natural” sailor. I love being by the ocean but being on it can be a different matter. Sometimes my sea legs go missing and I feel rather queasy, and there were parts of this trip where the sea is famously rough… Anyway, whilst England was sweltering in a heatwave, Scotland was delightfully cool and those sea breezes were just want I needed. It’s about twenty years since I last visited the islands and so this trip was a wonderful reminder of how stunning they are and how rich in history.
Our first port of call was Kirkwall in the Isles of Orkney. In the early medieval period, both
Orkney and Shetland were ruled by Norway and governed by a Norwegian Jarl or earl. In 1468 they were promised as collateral against the payment of the dowry of Margaret, daughter of King Christian I, on her marriage to King James III of Scotland. After a few years, it became clear that the dowry was unlikely ever to be paid, so in 1472, James declared the islands forfeit and all the rights to the Earldom of Orkney were annexed to the Scottish crown by act of parliament.
Back in the 11th century, a cathedral was built in Kirkwall, dedicated to St Magnus, and a Bishop’s Palace was constructed at the same time. By the mid fifteenth century, after the Scottish Reformation, this fell into the hands of Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney, who incorporated it into a magnificent Renaissance-style palace that he was building for himself next door.
Patrick was an interesting character, or perhaps that should be “notorious.” He was the son of an illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland and had a very good opinion of himself! Patrick’s father Robert had at least nineteen children, ten outside of wedlock, and his eldest son followed in his footsteps, producing his first illegitimate son in 1594. That same year he was attempting to marry very well, to Countess Emilia, the sister of Prince Maurice of Nassau, a prominent leader of the Dutch Republic. Emilia wasn’t keen (I can’t imagine why) so Patrick settled for a rich widow, Margaret Livingston.
Patrick became known as “Black Patie” because of his reputation for treating the people of Orkney
with cruelty and disdain. He also had a taste for luxury that he simply could not afford. By the time his beautiful palace was nearing completion in 1607 he was drowning in debt despite apparently using slave labour to build it. He only had two years to enjoy the place because by 1609 he was forced to hand it over to the Bishop, James Law. This was ironic since he had taken the Bishop’s Palace as part of his own estate in the first place. All credit to Patrick’s wife Margaret, who successfully took him to court for ruining her financially! The court found in her favour and she was granted the sum of 1000 marks a year, which doubled after Patrick’s death.
Patrick was imprisoned in 1610 and charged with treason: “The said earl, leaving no sort of extraordinary oppression and treasonable violence unpractised against the inhabitants of Orkney and Shetland… has compelled the most part of the gentlemen tenants to… all manner of work and labour…working in the stone quarry… building his park dykes, and all sorts of other servile and painful labour without either meat, drink, or hire.” He was executed in 1615 for his “godless nature and tyrannical rule.”
He had however, left behind a remarkably beautiful palace, the ruins of which are still there to admire today. The centrepiece was the Great Hall on the first floor, where Patrick would entertain lavishly. His servants wore royal livery and when he served a feast, trumpeters would announce each course with a fanfare. The Hall was also where Patrick dispensed his personal brand of “justice.” He also had a very fine suite of rooms with towers and oriel windows. Nearby were the guest chambers, close to Patrick’s own apparently because he was so paranoid he wanted to keep an eye on his visitors!
The palace fell into ruins in the 18th century. In his 1821 novel “The Pirate,” Sir Walter Scott wrote of the palace that: “even in its ruins
(it has) the air of an elegant but massive structure, uniting… the character of a palace and a castle.” Indeed. For all its well-appointed rooms, big windows and grand fireplaces, there were also a lot of gun holes since Patrick had made a lot of enemies.
I had a wonderful wander around the remains of this beautiful place, taking in the view of the cathedral from the turrets, and soaking up the atmosphere. Patrick’s death brought a calmer and less cruel regime to the governing of Orkney and now his palace stands in grounds that are an oasis of green looking out to the sea.
Speaking of the sea, after Kirkwall we took a diversion around to the Western Isles and, in particular, to the Isle of Staffa and to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. Now, this is the bit of the ocean that can be rough, and that part of the voyage was a little more challenging for my sense of balance!
Do you enjoy sailing? Do you have a good sense of balance and can you find your sea legs, or are you happier on dry land?
Highly interesting, Nicola! I’ve never visited that part if the UK but now, maybe, I’ll consider it! I’ve just returned from a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords – such truky magnificent scenery!
That sounds fabulous, Brenda. It’s another trip that’s on my wishlist.
Would love to go Nicola. Guess who is a great x many granddaughter of the first earl of Orkney, Mary Queen of Scot’s half brother. Best Cathleen Ross
LOL, Cathleen, the number of castles and palaces you could lay claim to! You would love Orkney – there’s so much history to explore and with your connections to it, it would be fascinating.
What a fabulous trio, Nicola. The islands sound amazing and I would love to visit them. But like you, I am not good on rough seas—I get terribly seasick. So I would have been miserable in parts of it. Sigh. I will will enjoy you pics and commentary instead!
Sorry for the typo—that should read ‘trip” not trio”!
Sympathies, Andrea. There is very little worse than seasickness and it can really spoil a trip. At least is goes away quickly when the boat stops moving up and down!
Thanks so much for sharing your Orkney adventures with us, Nicola! Patrick sounds like a good man…to avoid!
I was horribly seasick as a child when we traveled by ship from Australia to Guam. At some point, I adjusted. I wonder how I would fare on a ship some x years later?!
It’s interesting that you adjusted to being on the ship after a while, Kareni, but you had to go through a lot of unpleasantness first by the sound of it.
Yes, Patrick certainly wouldn’t be on my list of “historical figures I’d like to meet!”
I’m so envious of your trip, Nicola — though I’m probably no great sailor also. But John o’Groats is the furthest north I’ve been in Scotland. I’d love to travel the various isles. Also Scandinavia. One day, perhaps.
Thanks, Anne! There are parts of Scandinavia I haven’t see that I would love to visit too. A Wench trip, perhaps?
The only cruise I’ve taken that lasted about eleven days was a cruise to Alaska. The first day out, there was a terrible squall, and I was seasick for nine hours. Nothing worked. I had patches around the wrists against the pulse points. Dramamine didn’t stay in my stomach long enough to help.
The tour director put me in a lower deck in the women’s bathroom that had a big enough padded bench for me to lie down. She said the lower decks pitch less, so I might feel less ill. That was no good, either. She brought me ginger pieces from the bar that were juicy to help with nausea. Green apples and lots of water helped somewhat.
Everyone who came into the bathroom gave me advice. Take Bonine. It’s the same as Dramamine, which is tetracycline. It did nothing. Look directly at the horizon for the brain to recalibrate. It will stop the dizziness. There was no horizon to focus on. It was all a washout. Two cleaning ladies told me to sit at the desk just outside the bathroom, so they could clean it. They said I would feel better. What a lie to get me out of there. As soon as they finished, I took my place, again, to try to rest.
The only thing that ended this for me and others was getting passed the storm to calmer waters. I made up for it by eating a three-course meal and felt great.
I loved the rest of the cruise and the ports of call, especially Scagway with the 1898 train hugging the mountain and hearing all about the history of the area. The best part was pausing to see the fjord from which the Pacific Ocean originated.
I would still go on another cruise and take my chances. The views on calm seas is breathtakingly beautiful.
Oh Patricia, what a horrible experience! Thank goodness the sea settled down and you were able to enjoy the rest of your Alaska trip. It’s very brave of you to consider another cruise after that!
Nicola, we loved visiting Orkney, but I’m glad I didn’t learn about the horrible Patrick Stewart! So very unlike our much loved Star Trek Captain Picard (played by a much nicer Patrick Stewart. )
LOL, Mary Jo, the Star Trek Patrick is indeed much nicer than the earlier one!
What an intereting post, Nicola! Who knew the Orkney’s were originally Norwegian?
And that fellow Patrick! Not someone one would want to ge involved with!
The idea of flying or sailing over oceans has always made me nervous, but i managed to deal with it in my many trios to Europe(no ships, just planes) My only “cruise” so far was a steamboat trip up the Mississippi River which was both fascinating and delightful.talk about getting lost in the past! While I have gone on my brother’s sailboat and w as fine, I got very seasick on a rough crossing to Nantucket island which surpised me as I had been in ferries before with no problem. Maybe it was the very rough waters which made the ferry pitch and toss. I love watching the sails on Long Island Sound, not far from my home and I loved watching the tall ships go up the Hudson River this past July Fourth. How majestic and beautiful they were under sail. Just amazing.
Ooh, I like the sound of a Mississippi River steamboat trip, Jane. That sounds fascinating.
I imagine one of the problems with sea sickness is that lot of the time we are all fine but then it only takes one rough trip to cause mayhem.
Watching sailing ships is a lovely mindful activity. They always look so elegant!
Patrick must have really impoverished the locals in financing such a lavish palace. I imagine the soil and climate is not ideal for farming, so they probably relied on grazing sheep and fishing. And considering the era, it’s surprising he was brought to justice.
I have no problem at all on larger ships, although I’ve never been through a storm. I have gotten a bit queasy on a a small fishing boat, but that may have been more due to the smell of fish combined with diesel fumes, rather than the ocean!
Yes, I think he treated the locals as slave labour and simply took whatever he wanted. I suspect he was only brought to justice because the King felt he was a threat – as it proved!
Fish and diesel fumes! Urk!!
This was fascinating Nicola! I love Scottish history. It’s as tumultuous as Irish history. I also adore old castles and would love to visit these islands. However, I’m a very bad traveller. Terrified of flying and the few times I was on a boat, I was awfully seasick. I wish I was better as I know I’m missing out on a lot. My husband has always wanted to do the Norwegian cruise and it’s one I think I’d manage. Maybe one day.
Thanks for the wonderful history lesson!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Teresa. Thank you! Yes, the Irish and Scots have marvellously rich histories, don’t they.
The Norwegian cruise would be wonderful. I hope you can make the trip one day.