The Edible Egilsay Farm Adventure in Orkney, Scotland

A view from the bunkhouse of the Edible Egilsay farm.

This far north, the sun doesn’t set in summer, it moves elliptically out to sea and hums under the horizon. The night I arrive,  an enormous full moon is setting off the inky blue.

Tingwall is where I’m to meet the Egilsay (pronounced Eagle-see), ferry at 8 am.

I elect to walk, but fail to account for the maps distortion. The distances north and south on the map are actually two times the East/West distances!

Your's Truly on mainland Orkney, the gateway to Egilsay.

Running up empty roads at 7:45 am,  I’m at least two miles from the pier. Luckily for me, a local handyman named Roger, the first car I’ve seen since 3 am, picks me up as I hitchhike. I arrive before the ferry docks.

At the other side, Alice is present to greet me.

She’s already been in the bunkhouse for a month. Already, the peas are coming up!

Alice stands guard on the road to the Maeness farm.

For the next few days, I too will be growing food as part of the Edible Egilsay project, a permaculture farm.  The farm provides food for attendees of the like-located Orkney Solstice celebration.

Alice says they are hoping to make 200 meals for festival goers from the farm's produce. We plant beet root and dig up rocks. We water everything carefully.

Harvey, the island’s pet llama, lopes around the premises, inspecting our work.

Harvey wandering the grounds.

The Orkney Solstice Festival began when Bazil Sansom decided the disused part of his family's farm would make an idea locale for a small summer event.

Mainland Orkney already had history minded endeavors scheduled at Maeshowe and other Neolithic sites. The Orkney Folk Festival, while a change from typical summer festival genres, had a staid, predictable feel.

Also, with Brits saving up hundreds of pounds each year to be deafened for days on end at music industry engines like Glastonbury and Rockness, there was demand for non-corporate options.

Orkney Solstice channels the spirit of Burning Man – filled with D.I.Y. entertainment and a homey feel. "No one pays and no one gets paid but everybody shares something."

History marks Egilsay as the location for the legend of St. Magnus. This church commemorates the spot where he was martyred.

His partners in the continuing effort to provide this space are the indefatigable Roz Corbett and Alice Warren. Throughout the year, the raise awareness for the festival and their permaculture project with a series of fundraisers. 

The duo also keeps the world abreast of their movements with a zine and a Wordpress blog. 

Most of the contributors/attendees/interested parties are young people from Glasgow and Edinburg. Though "nearby" they are still a distance from Egilsay as far as the distance between Chicago to Washington D.C. It can take a full day to reach this outpost via public transit. 

(clockwise from above left:) A polytunnel habitat. Reclaimed windows make a shelter for beans. The backseat of an abandoned vehicle becomes a bed for lettuce.

The bookshelf at the Edible Eglisay reflects the tenants interests. I read a pamphlet on why restaurants should be abolished and browse several books on growing one’s own produce.

When the sun is rising, rain begins to fall.  Rain and wind are near constants on these islands.

It is a myth that there are no trees in the Orkneys, but there are mostly grasses and brush. 

Where there are trees, they are low to the ground, swept back dramatically by the fierce winds. Only the cliffs and hills blunt the elements.

But the views are lovely. There is nothing quite like wandering the seaweed strewn shoreline with sandfleas nipping at your feet collecting shells in the full daylight of 4 am. 

Even in May, it is very cold, so we have a coal fire in the bunkhouse.

Alice fixes the coal fire!

The food is delicious. We take turns making meals. On the morning I'm preparing to leave, Alice makes up a huge steaming plate of wildcrafted mushrooms, potatoes and red cabbage as I write her a testimonial.

Your's Truly enjoying breakfast at Edible Egilsay.

Gardening starts every year around April 1, continues steadily until July, and then occurs periodically through the end of November. 

If you are looking for a place to hide out for a while and work hard, this is an unbelievable location with a supportive, "pitch-in" crew.

A 5 pound per night donation is advised. You can write the gang at edibleegilsay@hotmail.co.uk. 

Neolithic Stone Henge Adventure

I caught the sun rising on the Standing Stones.

Mainland Orkney is so far flung a part of Scotland that most Scots don't ever visit.

My journey began with a six hour bus ride from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, a wealthy oil town with buildings made of glittering granite. 

The public gardens in Aberdeen include an enormous granite statue of Robert the Bruce.

From there, I caught a ferry to mainland Orkney. The crossing takes about 8 hours. 

There are quite a few Neolithic sites on Orkney. One can spend a couple hundred dollars just trying to navigate the island and visit them all. 

Two of the most impressive, however, are absolutely no cost at all to visit and are open 24 hours a day.

The Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar are among the oldest manmade things on earth. 

They are stone henge monuments. That's the proper name for any stone circle. And they are Neolithic ruins, which means they predate the familiar stone henge monument that the world knows simply as Stonehenge. 

It was not sunny for my visit. Thanks Wikipedia!

Though The Standing Stones were once part of  a complete circle, only 12 remain.

The most significant stone, the Odin Stone, was used by locals to solemnize love relationships as recently as 1810 until the landowner, bothered by a steady stream of trespassers, broke it down. 

Though there is no record of what the Vikings, who built the circles, used the henges for, the thwarted local courtship tradition may point to one purpose.

At the time of my visit, it was late May and there was almost 24 hr sun. 

Still I figured there would be some photographic drama to dawn at the Standing Stones. 

The only drama was high wind and a downpour of rain, however!

The Standing Stones are located on the southern part of an isthmus, a strip of land between two lakes. In the middle of the strip, a single stone stands alone. This is known as the Watch Stone.

I'm 6'5", so you can get a feel for the height of the Watch Stone.

Just like it's partners in either ring, the Watch Stone is spotted with lichens and moss in red, green, grey, and yellow tufts like tiny dried up fireworks.

You can walk right up to these monuments. Touch them. Hug them. There are no guards.

To the north is the Ring of Brodgnar, a complete stone circle, surrounded by a peat bog.

Wikipedia photo of the ring of Brodgar. I tried to touch them all!

The sulphurous bog might have made torches burn brighter. The smell would certainly have overwhelmed the senses. 

The ancient Vikings might not have understood basic chemistry, but they certainly understood theatrics.