Please take a photograph of your group "in action." Don't forget to ask for permission from everyone for the photo to be published on the web. Then email it to the address below and we will upload it to the gallery.
Walking Group One 25th April 2024
Five hardy souls collected today at Happy Valley for the first Hill Walk of the year .The temperature was cool with a North Easterly wind blowing and a hint of rain on arrival.
Off we set heading towards Russadale Quarry, spotting a Buzzard on the way.Turning into the footpath we remained sheltered from the wind all the way to the top of the hill.
The sun was out at the Quarry and a Greenshank was feeding at the edge of the Lochan. Then it was up the Peat road to the summit with spectacular views across Stenness and Harray Lochs, plus a view of the Closed Road beyond the Watch Stone. On the other side we looked over the Flow and down towards the Oil Platform and South Ronaldsay
Then it was back down after a stop for a snack and finally a walk around Happy Valley itself. The Daffodils planted by James and others were looking lovely and the Bluebells are days away from opening. Then it was on to a well deserved lunch at the Pier Cafe, having walked 4 miles and gone up 800 feet (and down again )
The next walk will be on Friday 24th May and hopefully more hills and views.
Keep moving.
U3A Photo Group 1 - July 2018
by Steve Henderson - 15:27 on 26 July 2018
On 25th July 2018 eleven members of Photo Group 1 descended on an unsuspecting Honeysgeo. Specially for us, the sun went in, the wind turned cold and a few drops of rain came down, but we scattered to all corners – round Grimness, down the coast to the wreck of the Irene, up and down the shore and in and out of the abandoned house and sheds.
The tide co-operated and laid bare most of the beach and encouraged six or so seals into the bay and onto the rocks for a blether and a sunbathe. Sand Martins were also nearby, but no trace was found of the sea kale, which an authority on these things had told us was the last remaining on Orkney.
Afterwards we did a lot of damage to a generous supply of cakes, biscuits and beverages at the Sands Hotel and reviewed photos from previous outings to Rerwick and Westray and on the theme of ‘reflection’. It’s a very simple idea, unleashing a gang of photographers with their cameras and just one word to guide their efforts, but the results are always full of surprises and imaginative discoveries. Reflections were in every type of shiny material and of a host of different subjects, from humans to seals, flowers to boats, wading birds to Ferris wheels. Rerwick is clearly a good source of photos of rusty things – I wasn’t there so clearly the group is now generally afflicted by my emotional need for decay and dereliction!
Next trip on 22nd August – probably to Eday – is in the safe hands of Sally Hallam. The theme for the month is ‘sunshine’, so expect a deterioration in the weather.
Add your comment