Around Stromness Harbour

These were taken at the beginning of March.  The weather has deteriorated since then with heavy showers of hail or rain, and very blustery winds, bordering on gale force (only we don't name them here, we just say it's windy!).

Anyway here is a potter around the Stromness harbour. Very much a working harbour with creel boats that go out for crab and lobster, work boats that service the renewable industry, dive boats and small "pleasure craft" and of course the all important lifeboat! Our Graemsay ferry departs from one pier, and from the larger linkspan pier the Hamnavoe ferry that sails to Scrabster in the North of Scotland arrives and departs during the day.

Here are a few of the smaller boats....

The old stone building on the pier is the Pier Arts Centre, and behind it is the "Nav School" where students young and old learn about navigation on the sea.

Houses stride out into the inner harbour on old stone piers, as well as another working pier further along where the Northern Lighthouse Board has workshops and space for the lighthouse board vessel "The Pole Star" to tie up.

And along the main street there are glimpses of the harbour.  This is the Pier Arts Centre mentioned above, with a sculpture by Barbara Hepworth

I always try and remember to look UP and not just at street level!

No longer a coffee saloon! Hasn't been for many years, but one of my favourite shops, the Quernstone, run by Elaine Bentley.  Gorgeous knitwear and lots of colourful goodies to be had a either of her shops (other one across the road).

Looking up Church Road - there's a church at the top (now a community centre), one on the left (called the Town Hall but is actually a venue for concerts and performances as well as being used by the Baptist Kirk) and one on the right (an Episcopalian church).  The Church of Scotland is further along the street.  Multi-denominational in a small town reflecting various splits over the centuries.

In a window along the street a "witches cat"!  Ha love it!

Some of the buildings in "Graham Place". I love the different level of the roof lines and chimneys.

This is a two-way street for traffic.  And no I don't often drive along it!!  The centre line of stones is where the town drains used to run...

More colourful buildings.  You can see where buildings have bits "shaved off" the walls - this is to allow space to get a hand-cart down the lanes at the time of building!

And another more obvious bit!  Love this one!

If you come out of this door in the new Library you can have one foot in John Street and one in Victoria Street! Just mind your toes as there is no pavement and you are standing on that two way narrow road again!

Ha! Someone has a sense of humour.  This is/was Bank Lane next door to the Royal Bank of Scotland building.  A bank that has stood there for many a year until being closed a couple of years ago as part of the "rationalisation" of rural branches.  You can now go to the bank in the Library on a Friday morning for simple transactions!!