To read ...

Inspired by the estimable philmophlegm, I am going to put up my current "to read" list. Any and all comments welcome!

Fiction
100 poem challenge, Jen Campbell (to finish)
1990, Wilfred Greatorex (re-read)
1990 / Book Two, Wilfred Greatorex (re-read?)
A Clash of Kings, George Martin (re-read; to finish)
American Gods, Neil Gaiman
Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
Siege of Stars, Henry Gee
The Grey Wolf, George MacDonald
The Inimitable Jeeves, PG Wodehouse (re-read; to finish)
The Last Colony, John Scalzi (to finish)
The Long Earth, Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter (to finish)

Non-fiction
A Lost Frontier Revisited, Alan Fox
Amon Hen 235 (to finish)
Later Roman Britain, Stephen Johnson
Mallorn 53 (to finish)
Stirling's Men, Gavin Mortimer
The Third Voyage of Martin Frobisher
The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (to finish)
The English Castle, Hugh Braun (to finish)
Brean Down Fort, Nicholas van der Bijl (to finish)

Going to Orkney

I am often asked ... two or three people have asked me ... someone mentioned it once ... how to get to Orkney.

You need to start from mainland Scotland*. There are then four airports and four ferry ports you can use, making seven** altogether. The airports are Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness; the ferry ports are Aberdeen, Gills Bay, John O'Groats*** and Scrabster.

This means that, unless you are one of the 1% of my FList who live in Scotland, you first need to get to Scotland. If you want to take the car over, that means driving up, either to Aberdeen or to the north coast. But if, like me, you would rather gnaw your own leg off than drive all that way, you will need to find some other way.

This could be bus, train or plane. Bus will take forever. Train will be quicker, and can be fun, but I wouldn't advise going north of Aberdeen that way, otherwise it too will take forever. The flights from mainland Scotland to Orkney are all operated by Flybe for Loganair, under a codeshare-type arrangement with BA. So if you can fly up to Scotland with Flybe or BA, the ticketing should be easier. But whichever way you go, you can expect the flights to be expensive (or, more likely, very expensive).

The ferry from Scrabster takes you to Stromness, Orkney's second town; from Gills Bay to St Margaret's Hope, the largest village in the south isles; from John O'Groats to Burray, and a bus to Kirkwall; from Aberdeen to Hatston ferry terminal, a mile and a half out of Kirkwall, late at night, but with a bus into the centre. Kirkwall airport is a few miles the other side of Kirkwall, with busses and taxis into town.

Next - possibly - what to do while you're there.

*Or Shetland. Or, in the summer, Bergen.

**Yes, that does add up.

***Foot passengers only; also connects with a bus service from Inverness, and with a bus service to Kirkwall at the other end.