Orkney Odyssey

Waves crashing on the beach driven by the force of the Atlantic, sunshine sparking off the water, and the sound of seabirds overhead. A far cry from the Alps but offering just another example of nature in the raw, and providing the same opportunity to commune with the great outdoors. I know spring has arrived when I arrive in Orkney for my annual pilgrimage. A few weeks working at the BBC radio station which serves the Northern Isles, as I stand-in for Robbie who's off to do his lambing. In Orkney no one is in a mad rush, the elements of wind, and water are all around, and I find I generally acquire a slower pace of life - no bad thing it has to be said. Today I made my first trip over the causeway to the famous Brough of Birsay an isolated island off the Orkney mainland. Normally its cut off by the sea but for a few hours each day the tides part and allow passage to an island where there has been settlement since Pictish times. One thing for sure in Orkney is you never escape from a sense of being surrounded by the remains of ancient peoples and their communities. Anyway, a few more days to chill out and deliver the BBC news to the good folk of Orkney, and then its back to the Highlands of Scotland to join clients Scott and Carole in the mountains.