Stromness, Scotland
Stone Circles are found all over the British Isles. I’ve written about the world-famous but somewhat overrated Stonehenge, the rediscovered and rebuilt Woodhenge, the town of Avebury, and the incomplete but very accessible Clava Cairns. However, the Ring of Brodgar might be the stone circle set in the most iconic location. The Ring of Brogder is surrounded by lochs and hills, providing an almost mythical setting for a stone circle.
The Ring of Brodgar has 36 surviving stones of a once impressive 60, with some reaching up to 4.7 meters high. The ring sits within a natural amphitheater, suggesting it may have been a major gathering place for prehistoric people. The 5,000-year-old circle is an impressive sight for visitors today.
Visiting the Ring of Brodgar is accessible from downtown Kirkwall, as the historic site is only about 20 minutes west of downtown. On our trip to and from Skara Brae, we noticed lots of tour groups visiting the structure. The structure has ample parking and is located directly off the B9055 road midway between Skara Brae and Kirkwall. There is no admission fee, but Historic Environment Scotland protects the Ring of Brodgar, and it is part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site.
The stones receive a two-triangle, Try Hard to See rating from Rick Steves. Uncle Rick points out in his Scotland guidebook that some of the stones have graffiti from the 1800s and 1900s, but a Viking named Bjorn also carved runes around 1150 AD. It’s human nature to add our reflections to historic sites created by our ancestors. I’m glad my reflections have been digital and haven’t caused lasting negative changes to the area being preserved. However, I was curious as to what Bjorn carved, and it was just his name and a cross. Carving is more difficult than electronic writing, so maybe Bjorn had reflections he couldn’t fully share because he ran out of time. Bjorn may have tried to tell future visitors to use the restroom before stopping, since the next nearest one is a couple of miles away. Bjorn could have run out of space talking about how, when you drive to the site, you might need to pull over often for oncoming traffic because the roads are too narrow for two lanes. Bjorn may have mentioned that while the stones are accessible, the site requires preservation, and the allowed walkable paths are farther from the stones than in other circles not named Stonehenge. We will never truly know, other than that Bjorn was here.
But so was I, and if you travel to the Orkney Islands, so should you, too. The stones’ location provides an iconic backdrop for the 5,000-year-old monument. The site is definitely worth a 15-20 minute stop, and I would gladly stop again on a future visit to the islands.
