Judy - Tomb of the Eagles is in South Ronaldsay but is accessible via a road causeway so you can drive there without needing to go by ferry (you can stop off at the Italian Chapel on the way). You might try Wildabout tours : http://www.wildaboutorkney.com/ Tel: 01856 851011. Or you could hire a car yourself and drive around. There are buses running to some of the sites, but on a winter timetable which can be a bit of a challenge if you only have a short time to see everything! Ferries are on the winter schedule too. The Tourist Office in Stromness is shut for the winter, but the one in Kirkwall is open during the winter. Sian Graemsay Judy Lujan wrote: > OK, so I'm sitting in a Starbucks in Edinburgh as I write this. Tomorrow morning I travel by Megabus to Aberdeen. I will spend the night in Aberdeen and then the next morning will travel by local bus from Aberdeen to Inverness and then from Inverness to Scrabster. I will catch the 7:00 pm ferry to Stromness and have booked 2 nights at a hostel in Stromness. This answers the question of cheap travel to Orkney. Now, my next question is: is there a tour company that will take me to "all" the archaeological sites? (I know I can't really do all, but at least all the "big" ones). I definitely want to do Skara Brae, Maes Howe and the Tomb of Eagles (and yes, I know it's on another island, but I'm REALLY hoping I can get there!) > > Thank you, > > Judy, mom to Josh, Eli and ^i^Kerry > > http://kerry-lujan.virtual-memorials.com > > http://cerridwyn-lujan-1989-2008.gonetoosoon.org/ > > > > "We tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and what a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization." > > Gaius Petrionius Arbiter > > Roman General, First Century A.D. > > > > > > _______________________________________ > Orcadia Group Photo Album > http://tinyurl.com/28bx9x > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ORCADIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 9.0.709 / Virus Database: 270.14.96/2549 - Release Date: 12/06/09 19:37:00 > >

I don't know how restricted the winter bus schedule is, but I found the summer bus schedule nearly useless in getting from site to site and back to Stromness. Taxis were very expensive for an American, but our British friends thought the prices were normal. The bus schedule isn't designed with tourists in mind; it's for people going about their daily business. The archaeological sites are a distance from schools and shops. I presume there are wonderful prehistoric things to discover underneath the houses and streets of Stromness, but I can't imagine anyone digging in our life times. There's too much out in the countryside they want to explore without disturbing functioning towns. The wonderful Viking digs were discovered in York because a bank was digging a new foundation, not because they were looking for anything. I think this is the allure of Orkney, well, one of them, the fact that history goes so far back. When I dig in my garden in the middle of America, I find agricultural items from 150 years ago and Indian arrowheads from before that time. Below that, it's just hard earth. I can't get deeper into history. Janice On Dec 7, 2009, at 4:08 PM, Sian Thomas wrote: > Judy - Tomb of the Eagles is in South Ronaldsay but is accessible > via a > road causeway so you can drive there without needing to go by ferry > (you > can stop off at the Italian Chapel on the way). > > You might try Wildabout tours : http://www.wildaboutorkney.com/ > Tel: 01856 851011. > > Or you could hire a car yourself and drive around. There are buses > running to some of the sites, but on a winter timetable which can be a > bit of a challenge if you only have a short time to see everything! > Ferries are on the winter schedule too. > > The Tourist Office in Stromness is shut for the winter, but the one in > Kirkwall is open during the winter. > > Sian > Graemsay > > > > Judy Lujan wrote: >> OK, so I'm sitting in a Starbucks in Edinburgh as I write this. >> Tomorrow morning I travel by Megabus to Aberdeen. I will spend the >> night in Aberdeen and then the next morning will travel by local >> bus from Aberdeen to Inverness and then from Inverness to >> Scrabster. I will catch the 7:00 pm ferry to Stromness and have >> booked 2 nights at a hostel in Stromness. This answers the >> question of cheap travel to Orkney. Now, my next question is: is >> there a tour company that will take me to "all" the archaeological >> sites? (I know I can't really do all, but at least all the "big" >> ones). I definitely want to do Skara Brae, Maes Howe and the Tomb >> of Eagles (and yes, I know it's on another island, but I'm REALLY >> hoping I can get there!) >> >> Thank you, >> >> Judy, mom to Josh, Eli and ^i^Kerry >> >> http://kerry-lujan.virtual-memorials.com >> >> http://cerridwyn-lujan-1989-2008.gonetoosoon.org/ >> >> >> >> "We tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and what a >> wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress >> while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization." >> >> Gaius Petrionius Arbiter >> >> Roman General, First Century A.D. >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________ >> Orcadia Group Photo Album >> http://tinyurl.com/28bx9x >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ORCADIA-request@rootsweb.com >> with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and >> the body of the message >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >> No virus found in this incoming message. >> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >> Version: 9.0.709 / Virus Database: 270.14.96/2549 - Release Date: >> 12/06/09 19:37:00 >> >> > _______________________________________ > Orcadia Group Photo Album > http://tinyurl.com/28bx9x > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ORCADIA-request@rootsweb.com > with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and > the body of the message