We left Ireland on April 30 and headed for Scotland. After a couple of days in Edinburgh and an excursion to Vindolanda along Hadrian’s Wall in Northern England we boarded the National Geographic ship, Resolution, and headed for the Orkney and Shetland Islands.
On the way to Vindolanda, we stopped to see this beautiful ruin of Jedburgh Abbey, built in the 1100’s.
Vindolanda, a Roman Fort occupied from 85 to 370 AD, is an active archeological dig with amazing and beautiful artifacts in their museum.
Being a passenger on National Geographic’s Resolution, was a vacation in itself.
The cabins, the dining room, the lounges - all beautifully appointed.
Visiting the Orkney and Shetland Island, we saw a lot of evidence of early life in this cold, windy country. Above is the excavation site of Skara Brae, a 5000 year old stone-slab village on Orkney Island.
One of our favorite day trips was out to Jarlshof Broch on Shetland Island. We had a long walk along the sea to the Jarlshof archeological site with evidence of inhabitants from 2500BC to the 17th century.
These hand-stacked walls are everywhere and have definitely stood the test of time.
We spent our last night in the Shetland Islands docked at Lerwick. The town is the site of the TV series, Shetland, and it looks just like it was portrayed in the series.
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