We did an excursion on the tree bare, windswept, Orkneys to see some striking neolithic sites.

Sadly the excursion doesn't stop any more at the Stones of Stenness, but we did stop at the Ring of Brodgar which is an impressive circle of eroding limestone pillars. What the place was for has faded into supposition and legend, but perhaps that taint of mystery adds a spiritual dimension to the speechless rocks, some of which have fallen asleep. The constant supply of visitors made taking pictures difficult!

The prize of the excursion was Skara Brae, a Neolithic village preserved underneath the sands from 5000 years ago. Unlike anything I had been to see before, yes you only got an impression of what it was like when people lived there, for its preservation us tourists just gaped and snapped from the the path round it rather than crawled through the low igloo style entrances to the stone houses. But you got an impression of how well Neolithic peoples used the technology they had, and how they just did things rather than apply for planning permission.