Around the Parish - Part 2

 There are a number of beaches in Orkney called Sandside.  Of course my favourite is the Graemsay one!  However there is a lovely Sandside beach in Deerness too.  

The gate above looks out from the kirkyard St Ninian's, which has a fascinating history (click here for info)

It's on the edge of Sandside bay with beautiful views too as you can see.

At the far end are a group of buildings for the former fish farm.  Locals worked here and talk of grading halibut to move from one tank to another.  The site closed many years ago and is under new ownership but nothing much seems to be going on at the moment.  

Looking over to Copinsay.  As you can see it's a lovely sandy beach.  It has lots of shells, including the much sought after groatie buckies. 

Looking back to St Ninian's kirk. 

Click on the picture below to enlarge.  The white blob is the lighthouse on the tiny island of Auskerry.  

One family have lived on the island for 35 years.  They have a family business selling sheep fleeces and wool.  Do take a look at their website and browse the blog (not updated recently but still fascinating). Link here

Rory Auskerry (surname from the island) is a journalist and broadcaster and has made several videos of the island.  Take a look at this YouTube one of a summer on the island.

And Rory has other videos on his youtube page here