My Dear Fiona - Chapter 25 Cathedrals of Stone

Orkney takes great care to protect her ancient treasures and history: they are revealed, not discovered, and usually only when she allows it.

Violent storms have uncovered many of the old sites, stripping away the topsoil and vegetation to expose millennium-old constructions that had been sleeping beneath the ground.

I wanted to show mom and dad the enchanting beauty of the islands and figured going to Sanday together to explore its wild nature would be the perfect way to do it. 

Protests emerged immediately and subsided just as quickly when I explained the island was part of my research, since it is the site of an important Viking burial site.

In truth, it was the incredible beauty of nature, rather than the workings of man, that called me there.

Concealed by the rocky hills near the ferry dock, Doun Helzie is a place that time seems to have forgotten, with its lengthy stretches of beach hugged by pristine waters, a mesmerizingly blue color, almost glowing against the snow-white sands.