"Take A Little Extra Time - Orkney Life" Top 5 Page for this destination Orkney Off The Beaten Path Tip by scotlandscotour

Try to slow down a bit and enjoy the gentler pace of island life - instead of a mad rush around the historical sites.

I was whizzing past this phone box - only when I stopped did I appreciate the wild flowers and the sky larks twittering above. Suddenly I was back in my childhood summers, running through flower meadows. I was smiling, and happy and care free.

And while there - phone a friend - send a smile around the world!

The Orkney Islands are one of those rare places left on Earth, where life is easy, people are not rushed and the air is clean. There is no crime (maybe a stolen bike "borrowed" for a day) and no unemployment. There is beauty, wilderness and historic sites a plenty - but there is uniquely also good shops, great bars, nightclub, theatre and cinema, a new airport and the best short plane flight I have ever encountered - just 12 pounds for a return flight to Papa Westray (one of the islands) ... also excellent new ferry services ... all in all, people are surprised when they come to Orkney.

Here is a part of Scotland that is touched by the Vikings and they left not only their mystical Runes scratched in the rock, but a Scandinavian culture, place names, a language and folk lore - quite unlike the rest of Britain.

The best of Scotland is Edinburgh and Orkney

othercontact: www.allfivesenses.com