This sculptured cliff is on the north east of the island
The hut on the end of the pier
This page takes you from Westray to its small nestled companion, Papa Westray. The flight between these islands is a little over a kilometre and boasts the shortest commercial air passenger flight in the world. It is thought that the name was given to the island because it was inhabited by monks at the time that the Norsemen arrived from scandinavia. Being only three miles long, and flat, it is very different from its larger namesake, offering a feeling of peace and space that is profound; the low land emphasises vast skies under which shelter around 90 people. Papa Westray is an island of light and space.
...delivering items such as this horse package
The photographs on this page all come from one visit which was before the days of digital capture - in places the grain is marked, making this photographer wonder if, in time, grain will replace sepia, as a marker of age.
The Orcadia plied from Kirkwall to Westray and Papa Westray...
There is little to be seen of the 'airfield' except these guide marks on the dyke...
...and this sign, coming somewhat unexpectedly, in this faraway place - beware of aircraft
Delightfully in its unexpectedness - a watercourse lined with irises. One of many aspects of non-human life on this small island. Here a very small sample:
One flower chosen from the array to
represent them all
This chap represents the rats that came to this island of ground nesting birds - a taste for eggs brings persecution by humans
A seal tryst
Domestic animals can radiate an air of contentment
A boat with creels: shallow sea beds offer opportunities
Flat rocky shores offer some seabirds nesting sites, but! ...
...the most desirable homes come on...
From those cliffs - the creativity of foam patterns
...these stratified layers of rock...
...safely away from almost all predators
Papa Westray - Flat rock, flat lands and translucent sea -
- with a ruminating ruminant
The corollary of flat lands are big skies
With the abandoned houses and soft clouds a watercolour world emerges...
...that can fill with colour at nightfall
As darkness comes, rat catchers prepare for a night's surveillance
Trailers...
The next page
stays on Papa Westray - and introduces some of its birds.
The next page
of the Mosaic Section is headed 'A Tree Analogy'.
Or go to the contents Go to the contents of the Mosaic Section. of the Mosaic Section.
The last page had pictures from Westray and its cliffs
By way of contrast - to the heart of a mega-city
To another Scottish island - Barra in the Western Hebrides
...guide to this site