Day 36 – Hoxa Hill & St Margaret’s Hope

There was just the occasional visitor to the beach at Sands of Wright all day. The wind dropped in the middle of the day which allowed the mist to come and go slowly. The dog made friends with a pair of Italian Greyhounds, which I don’t think I’ve seen before. They were sister and brother, but with a mother and daughter from Edinburgh on a short break. They had arrived on the ferry that runs less frequently from John O’Groats to St Margaret’s Hope across the Pentland Firth.

I walked the circuit around the fishing village of St Margaret’s back over Hoxa Hill, which despite its rather paltry elevation of 70 metres gives a good view of the surrounding area.

Note the Orkney flag. It’s a combination of the Scottish and Norwegian flags, displaying the island’s dual heritage.

The track also passes a fully renovated Viking Longhouse.