Orkney: A Special Place

by Richard Clubley

Spending seven months in Orkney during 2015 and 2016 in order to delve into the secrets of the islands, Richard Clubley was keen to get as many local views as possible.

He gathered interviews with lighthouse keepers, farmers, archaeologists and climbers – and many others! On dreich afternoons during the short days of winter, Richard ate home bakes with locals and recorded their memories. It was at one such hearth that someone said, ‘You know about so-and-so of course, you come to Orkney all the time, so how could you not know?’. Richard didn’t know.

While there are still a lot of unearthed stories hidden in Orkney, Richard has collected a fair few in this beautifully illustrated book.

Richard Clubley loves Scotland’s islands, but it is Orkney that has stolen his heart. In this book, he portrays the northern Scottish islands fairly and honestly, with stories that even Orkney locals may not have heard before. Travellers from elsewhere will be charmed by Richard’s descriptions of the Orkney landscape and way of life.

317 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 31, 2017

Reviews

[Peggy Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book on the ferry coming off Orkney. It turned out to be a blessing and a curse. I liked reading about the places I had seen but was disappointed reading about the places I'd missed.
Richard gives a very nice view of Orkney and I am more than a little jealous that he has since made his home there.
I have plans (well dreams really) to go back and spend more time there and when I do I'll revisit this book to make sure I cover what I missed.
Of course everywhere I go in Scotland, I have dreams of returning for longer periods of time.
Overall a nice read about "a special place" that gave me a deeper look at a place I only spent three and a half days in.

[Rob McClintock · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant book about a beautiful, relatively isolated group of islands located off the northern coast of Scotland. We visited there in June of this year and found the place enchanting. This book gives a lot more of a feel of both the length of time the islands have been settled, going back to the Neolithic Age, as well as what it is like to live there on a full-time basis. The author conducted a host of interviews with the locals and gave a deeper sense of the beauty, charm, sporadic desolation, and spirit of its citizens. I came away thinking this would be a nice place to hang out for a 2-3 week period, just hiking and taking it slow.

[Simon Dobson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of anecdotes about life in Orkney, from an outsider who's decided it's the place for him. A little too glowing to be taken entirely at face value, but nonetheless full of human and historical detail.

[Anne McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Special place indeed

I wish I had read this before we spent a week in Orkney last month! But I did enjoy being able to recognise the places that Richard describes so vividly.

[Lilian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A personal reflection makes this a very readable tourist guide.