Sunset at the Standing Stones of Stenness in Orkney

Today is world photography day and I found myself scrolling through some of my old images and picking out a few favourites. Some of those were what I would consider my "best" photographs, although I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to consider “best” to be anything other than my own personal view. Others reminded me of a particularly enjoyable trip or experience. Finally there were the shots that arose from what I'll call a "memorable creative experience" - I've written previously about ascending through a thunderstorm to catch the sunset.

I thought I'd write a few words about a photograph that ticked all three of those boxes - catching the sunset at the Standing Stones of Stenness in Orkney.

I spent a wonderful five days in Orkney in late August and early September 2021. The weather was well above expectations - I don't recall seeing a single drop of rain for the entire trip. However, with dry came overcast - no rain, but constant high cloud cover. Great hiking weather, but my chances of catching a beautiful Orcadian sunset seemed a little remote.

I spent the week B&B hopping, but on the third night I decided to treat myself to a night in the lovely Lynnfield Hotel on the outskirts of Kirkwall, aided by their relatively generous reduction for single occupancy. I'd started that day up on Westray, one of the northernmost of the Orkney islands, and after a morning stroll to the beach, I'd hopped onto the ferry back to the mainland, arriving at the hotel late in the afternoon. I'd not long checked in when I noticed that the clouds were unexpectedly clearing - operation sunset was go!

Where to go though? I was reliant on my own two feet and the local buses. Kirkwall is to the east of Orkney's mainland, and in the shadow of nearby Wideford Hill to the west. At 225m, the hill is no mountain giant but it was definitely a sunset spoiler, and I didn’t have enough time to hike to the summit.

I was in luck. I just had time to catch the X1 bus towards Stromness, hoping to walk up the shore of the Loch of Stenness towards the Ring of Brodgar. The Ring of Brodgar is an enormous neolithic stone circle and henge, one of four sites that make up the Heart of Neolithic Orkney UNESCO world heritage site.

Hopping off the bus, it became clear that it was touch-and-go whether I would have time to hike the mile or so from the road junction to the Ring of Brodgar. Fortunately, I had a back-up plan. The second of the four UNESCO sites, the Standing Stones of Stenness, were on my route, and much closer - just 500m or so from the road junction where I had alighted from the bus.

The Stones of Stenness are reputedly the earliest henge monument in the British Isles. Four enormous stones remain from a circle that originally held 12 stones. It is a remarkable place to experience the evening golden hour. If the wind stands fair and the night is perfect, you can perch yourself in just the right spot to watch the sun set between two of the stones, with the shimmering Loch of Stenness as the backdrop. I was thrilled to be able to capture it.

Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed reading this, you might like to read about my hike to Noup Head on Westray, another great experience from the same trip.

For those of you wondering, I did make it to the Ring of Brodgar later in the week - although as you can see from the photograph below, the overcast weather had returned.