12 
A TRIP TO ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. 
Jan., 1891. 
foundation for such assertion rests upon accounts furnished 
by fishermen and climbers, who always take delight in the 
wonderful. All I can say,” adds Mr. Chase, “is that it is 
not impossible for the parent to act as stated, but I have 
never seen the operation.” 
Bressay, the island facing Lerwick harbour, is the great 
breeding place of the Shetland ponies, which, by the way, are 
now getting very scarce, being bought up by the Americans 
as fast as they can be reared. 
Scalloway, the ancient capital of Shetland, is picturesquely 
situated; it is principally interesting as containing the ruins 
of the notorious Earl Patrick Stewart’s castle. High up on 
the castle wall an iron ring is shown, from which the earl used 
to suspend his victims; an eminence in the neighbourhood 
bears the suggestive name of “ Gallows Hill.” Scalloway is 
a great fish-curing place, and whole stacks of dried and salted 
fish are seen piled up by the roadside. 
Stromness is perhaps the most picturesque town in 
Orkney, and the best centre for excursions. From this place 
a sailing boat was taken to the “ Old Man of Hoy,” a 
remarkable and unique detached pinnacle of rock, no less 
than 450ft. high, standing up direct from the water’s edge. 
It is a very picturesque object, a jagged obelisk of old red 
sandstone about 70ft. square at the base and reduced to half 
the thickness at the top. This remarkable pinnacle bears a 
close comparison in height with the highest cathedral spires, 
Strasburg 460ft. and Bouen 490ft., and the Great Pyramid 
480ft. high. 
An interesting land excursion from Stromness was to a 
large stone circle, about 800ft. in diameter, supposed by some 
to be Scandinavian, not Druidical; it is called the “ Standing 
Stones of Stennis,” and forms a scene in the “ Pirate.” It 
may be mentioned that nearly all the spots so graphically 
described in the “ Pirate ” were visited, and with a special 
interest, and the wild headland was seen that was held by 
“ Norma of the Fitful Head.” Near Stennis was also seen an 
interesting tumulus, “ Maeshowe,” which contains a stone 
chamber that can be entered, and has some Kunic inscriptions 
on the walls. 
Near Scail, on the west coast, seven miles north of 
Stromness, there occur some singular water-worn rocks that 
are of much interest; these are at the top of a cliff, about 
80ft. in height, rising direct from the sea, and form a portion 
of a thin stratum on the surface of the ground that extends 
nearly a mile along the coast. This stratum is at a slight 
inclination, sloping towards the sea, and shows irregularly 
for a few hundred feet distance inland from the edge of the 
