We're finally here in Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands. It wasn't quite the arrival everyone was hoping for. Apparently local interest here has been great and had we got here during the day I'm sure there would have been a crowd of well-wishers here to welcome us. As it was, we eventually arrived at about 2am in the driving rain, so even the most enthusiastic Viking ship spotters had retired to bed. Today, however, there has been a stream of local people and tourists coming to have a look at the ship and meet the crazy sailors who are on it. The ship also had a visit from archaeologist Neil Oliver who is filming a piece for The One Show, to be shown next week. He spent a few hours on board the ship as it sailed toward Orkney and was shocked by what he saw: 'Having seen the condition they're sailing under, it's appalling. Seasickness can strike you on a luxury liner, but to have that mixed in with constant cold and constant wet! I take my metaphorical hat off to anyone who's got the nerve to undertake such a journey.'
The food laid out on the harbour
Today has been a busy day for Solvej and her band of helpers. She needed to do an audit of how much food was left and that meant pulling all the stores out and laying them on the quayside. 'When you look at it all out you can't believe it fits on the ship. But by some miracle it does!' she says.
For the rest of the crew it was a day of rest and for many that meant relaxing in the pub. One of the main grumbles about Norway was the price of beer, so Scottish prices are a relief. Personally, I'm looking forward to a good curry, a newspaper and being able to listen to the radio.
Where the BBC crew work
It's also a sad day because it's the end of the trip for 'Cable One'. This has been our BBC base of operations for the past two and a half weeks and we've grown very attached to it, and its attentive crew. From now on we'll be based on a much smaller vessel that will be accompanying 'Sea Stallion' the rest of the way to Dublin. It also means 'Sea Stallion' will have less backup. Unlike 'Cable One' which could easily tow the 'Sea Stallion', the new vessel will only tow in emergencies. In many ways this is probably a good thing, as the 'Sea Stallion' will now have to be more self reliant.
We're going to stay in Kirkwall for a couple of days before embarking on the next, and possibly most challenging, leg of the journey.
