Love your honesty. Too many UA-camrs make everything sound so perfect and wonderful. They are talking about how wonderful something taste before it even hits their tastebuds. Appreciate you keeping it real
Wow, I love that shot at 4:21! Hoy from the sea and the cathedral of St. Magnus (love those doors!) are equally delicious. I love the Scottish apocalypse shot at 12:28! Ha ha! And I did in fact mutter to myself “there can be only one” during the Ring of Brodgar footage.
Just found this channel my name Scottish moody is also ancient greek matrionic surname melodia μελωδία won song honey. Im finding myself. Look forward to seeing other videos I sense a familiar presence in the destinations of your vlogs. I don't know why.
I have lived just outside Thurso for the past 10 years, having come up here from NW England. Bravo! You highlight what most 'incomers' grumble about - the locals just tell you to go home if you don't like it (yes, there is a strong SNP presence here - I know, in 2023!). I think the dire infrastructure and attitude is a tactic to deter people from wanting to move up here. Despite all that, I have a place to call home, I am left to my own devices and there are amazing opportunities for absorbing the spirit of the place both here on the mainland and Orkney - once you know how to negotiate the hurdles and avoid the traps 🙊
I’m sorry you missed your connection on the Northlink Ferry. However, you also missed out on a wonderful part of Scotland. I also took the train from Inverness to Thurso. One of the train conductors arranged for a cab to meet at the station. Thurso Cab is awesome. The driver offered to be my tour guide. I was going to the Castle Mey. Wonderful to see and has a great cafe. We went to the Queen Mother’s church, saw the stacks at Dunnet Head with the stacks and John O’Groates. Stopped at a beach and watched the seals and saw Duncanby’s Head. We also managed to drive to Wick. I even spent a little time in the bar at the North Sands Hotel talking with locals. My B&B was very nice. It’s a wonderful remote part of Scotland with great people. I learned while I was there that you can arrange a rental car in Inverness to meet you. If I ever have a chance to travel there again I’d be tempted to drive. The roads are great. I’m sorry again about the ferry. That was terrible.
Yes! In fact was lucky enough this summer to do [some of] the highland 500 in a mates campervan 🏞 & yes got to see Caithness properly & go Broch hunting - absolutely loved it!
Just fly to Kirkwall, it doesn't cost much more when you factor in breaking your journey in Inverness overnight. Good planning overcomes those niggles. I was going to do that route from North Wales (god love me) but decided to fly just weeks before going. It was end of August 2022 and the weather was amazing. I even got sunburnt.
I must admit i have a bad habbit of getting caught up on a low face value ticket (like a flight into inverness for >£30) but dont consider the total cost when youve added all the steps Probs will just fly to kirkwall next time
One little mistake. The gateway to the highlands is Stirling which sits on the river Forth. I've never been to Orkney but we plan to hear up there this spring. You are right the sun helps you enjoy your trips in Scotland. But I'd say pack for all weather and include wellies.
interesting, there were definitely several shop fronts in Inverness claiming it as 'the gateway to the highlands' guess there's probs a few places vying for that title
Any grocery stores to get something to eat when restaurants are closed? When I visited Scotland (Glasgow, Mull, and Bonnyrigg) in September (15 days), I was happy with getting a sandwich (or something to make one) from a small non-commercial grocery (Mull), as well as Aldi and Lidl on the mainland. I was also able to get wine at these establishments (it's better by the bottle!).
@@pclady95 thanku :) As far as groceries it depends where you are, Kirkwall has everything youd expect, a big tescos on the edge of town, a smaller co-op in the middle & others, Stromness has a modestly-large co-op Outside of those towns its either smaller rural stores or on the smaller islands it can be pretty limited
You missed the most direct route from scottiah mainland to orkney. Should have taken the Aberdeen to Kirkwall ferry. The best way to go as a tourist and local unless you want to take a more scenic route through the highlands.
Damn, bad luck with that pharisee ferry lady, but glad to hear you bumped into a couple of samaritans soon after. I wonder if there’s a commission-scheme between the ferry and the local inns.
Well done for surviving through those trials of the journey to Orkney dude. Hearing the place name Scrabster made your experience very visceral to me. Looking forward to Part 2!!
Your videos are brilliant! Im from Guernsey and you made a video about Guernsey a few years ago - I can confirm practically everything you had to say about it. Spent a lot of time on Greek islands over the years - same applies.
if you mean 19:09 ? (was scanning the distant cliffs of Hoy at 9:09 thinking you must have the eyes of a kestrel to see a furry animal in that wide shot) Freeze frame 19:09 - appears to be a rabbit
The level of stress you were driven to by connections that just don't connect finally brought me to flee Orkney last summer without finishing my bucket list
And its sad because it wouldnt take much just to triangulate the train/bus/ferry and make it just a bit more user-friendly. Its not billion dollar stuff by any means, just a couple shuttle buses, a few more ferry sailings To underline - full sympathy for all the residents who have to navigate this just for the relatively simple goal of: mainland & back
I have friends that live along the north coast (midway between Thurso and Cape Wrath) so have been going up there frequently for decades. I've looked at getting the ferry over to the Orkneys many times but it is prohibitively expensive, so I have never done it. Seeing your experience with the ferry does nothing to change my mind. I bet you get attacked for this video anyway, although it was a very reasonable description of your journey there! I suspect a great many people either work in the oil business so can afford the costs, or are happy to pay to miss out the ground version of the Thurso to Inverness journey. I wonder if many Orcadians fly directly to Aberdeen, Glasgow or Edinburgh? Manchester? London? No, I haven't checked scheduled flights, people, to see if any of that is possible. I'd like to decide on a whim to spend 3 to 5 days over there without having my bank account emptied before I get that short distance across the water. I bet many hundreds of tourists on the North Coast 500 would do the same each week in the summer.
yeah i was surprised that what i assumed was the main thoroughfare to & from the island was a headache to navigate I mean full sympathy for the Orkadians :( its rough on them whichever option you take either in cost or time (or both if you want to take a car on the ferry) the rail lines stopping in Thurso just 2 miles short of the ferry terminal is strange - having it all joined up to the Scottish rail network seems like an open goal
Good video... Yes, travelling in these remote, lower populated areas is very aggravating - you almost have to allow a full days notice to prepare for the slow, tedious buses, trains and ferry's ...
I am still baffled that whoever laid the train tracks to Thurso stopped just a couple of miles short of the ferry just the ability to step off the train onto the ferry would make so much difference, even just a couple of shuttle buses a day? just something
@@ForestArchaicCollective There is a poem that goes: "This bloody town's a bloody cuss No bloody trains, no bloody bus, And no one cares for bloody us, In bloody Orkney." It could be really tourist friendly, but a lot of locals just want it to be kept in solitude, and thanks to oil money and price gouging by airlines - it costs you an arm and a leg to get there - sorry, a bloody arm and leg!!!
😆😆 glad you enjoyed it! no shock - was not fun to experience at the time Maybe - its all that Golden Hour footage from Thurso bay running in the background, feel like i could describe my dental surgery in depth but with that playing in the background everything seems serene 😅
I mean, im never usually adverse to a 45 min walk (or 2hr walk for that matter) its just when youre on the clock & idk its just a weird unforced error that for the sake of 2 miles of track or even a shuttle bus service that 2 major transport networks come so close to linking up ...then stop short
Why haven't I been to Orkney yet?! Looks stunning. Loved your commentary as usual...I sometimes think that the complicated lengths you have to go to to visit these places makes them even more special (or maybe I just tell myself that)!
I have lived in Stromness for the last five years, (emigre from Brighton). I don't recognise your 'meh' description of the fascinating and picturesque place I am now proud to call home. Don't compare it to chocolate box pretty villages in the south of England, they are hundreds of miles apart with a different climate. Orkney has Viking strength and endurance in its bones and the scenery and towns reflect that. Yes, the pebbledash isnt pretty but hey it wasn't put there for tourists but because maintaining stone buildings in a wild climate isn't cheap and Orcadians are used to pragmatic solutions. Think about the whole picture before making shallow judgments.
“Not the best strategy for evangelism”, ha ha! I like the idea of a church district, though perhaps not a brutalist architecture district. I think Inverness looks lovely on the whole.
Love your honesty. Too many UA-camrs make everything sound so perfect and wonderful. They are talking about how wonderful something taste before it even hits their tastebuds. Appreciate you keeping it real
thks!
Dude! Love your sense of humor. You are officially my favorite travel vlogger on youtube now. Subscribed!
appreciate it thks!
Wow, I love that shot at 4:21!
Hoy from the sea and the cathedral of St. Magnus (love those doors!) are equally delicious.
I love the Scottish apocalypse shot at 12:28! Ha ha!
And I did in fact mutter to myself “there can be only one” during the Ring of Brodgar footage.
SO sarcastic!! 😅😅😂😂😂 subscribed
Just found this channel my name Scottish moody is also ancient greek matrionic surname melodia μελωδία won song honey. Im finding myself. Look forward to seeing other videos I sense a familiar presence in the destinations of your vlogs. I don't know why.
I have lived just outside Thurso for the past 10 years, having come up here from NW England. Bravo! You highlight what most 'incomers' grumble about - the locals just tell you to go home if you don't like it (yes, there is a strong SNP presence here - I know, in 2023!). I think the dire infrastructure and attitude is a tactic to deter people from wanting to move up here. Despite all that, I have a place to call home, I am left to my own devices and there are amazing opportunities for absorbing the spirit of the place both here on the mainland and Orkney - once you know how to negotiate the hurdles and avoid the traps 🙊
Your commentary made me laugh. Thanks
I’m sorry you missed your connection on the Northlink Ferry. However, you also missed out on a wonderful part of Scotland. I also took the train from Inverness to Thurso. One of the train conductors arranged for a cab to meet at the station. Thurso Cab is awesome. The driver offered to be my tour guide. I was going to the Castle Mey. Wonderful to see and has a great cafe. We went to the Queen Mother’s church, saw the stacks at Dunnet Head with the stacks and John O’Groates. Stopped at a beach and watched the seals and saw Duncanby’s Head. We also managed to drive to Wick. I even spent a little time in the bar at the North Sands Hotel talking with locals. My B&B was very nice. It’s a wonderful remote part of Scotland with great people. I learned while I was there that you can arrange a rental car in Inverness to meet you. If I ever have a chance to travel there again I’d be tempted to drive. The roads are great. I’m sorry again about the ferry. That was terrible.
Yes! In fact was lucky enough this summer to do [some of] the highland 500 in a mates campervan 🏞
& yes got to see Caithness properly & go Broch hunting - absolutely loved it!
Just fly to Kirkwall, it doesn't cost much more when you factor in breaking your journey in Inverness overnight. Good planning overcomes those niggles. I was going to do that route from North Wales (god love me) but decided to fly just weeks before going. It was end of August 2022 and the weather was amazing. I even got sunburnt.
I must admit i have a bad habbit of getting caught up on a low face value ticket (like a flight into inverness for >£30) but dont consider the total cost when youve added all the steps
Probs will just fly to kirkwall next time
One little mistake. The gateway to the highlands is Stirling which sits on the river Forth. I've never been to Orkney but we plan to hear up there this spring. You are right the sun helps you enjoy your trips in Scotland. But I'd say pack for all weather and include wellies.
interesting, there were definitely several shop fronts in Inverness claiming it as 'the gateway to the highlands'
guess there's probs a few places vying for that title
perth
Can highly recomend Pentland Ferries instead of the Northlink connection
An interesting video - well done.
really love and respect your honesty.... What is your opinion about visiting Orkney in early November this year..... to be precise next week....
do it! Though just be aware that because of how far up the northern hemisphere you are your hours of daylight are going to be limited
@@ForestArchaicCollective thanks for the kind response
Take lots of warm clothes and a substantial waterproof coat!
Thank you for your honesty! I prefer honest when I plan travel.
Any grocery stores to get something to eat when restaurants are closed? When I visited Scotland (Glasgow, Mull, and Bonnyrigg) in September (15 days), I was happy with getting a sandwich (or something to make one) from a small non-commercial grocery (Mull), as well as Aldi and Lidl on the mainland. I was also able to get wine at these establishments (it's better by the bottle!).
@@pclady95 thanku :)
As far as groceries it depends where you are,
Kirkwall has everything youd expect, a big tescos on the edge of town, a smaller co-op in the middle & others,
Stromness has a modestly-large co-op
Outside of those towns its either smaller rural stores or on the smaller islands it can be pretty limited
Orkney is beautiful 😍 great music too!
You missed the most direct route from scottiah mainland to orkney. Should have taken the Aberdeen to Kirkwall ferry. The best way to go as a tourist and local unless you want to take a more scenic route through the highlands.
Funnily enough thats what we're doing this summer when we're heading back
Hitting Shetland as well :)
Damn, bad luck with that pharisee ferry lady, but glad to hear you bumped into a couple of samaritans soon after.
I wonder if there’s a commission-scheme between the ferry and the local inns.
I am not Scottish but I love both Inverness and Orkney.
I go most years.
... "Slug Mardi Gras"....!!! 😃😆 now i must repeat the episode from there, where i lost my mind😁
felt genuinely bad bout the death toll, but i swear, there was scarcely a vacant square foot you could step around them 😣it was grim ❇❇❇
your comments in the first minute got me to subscribe!
awesome! I was worried i sounded a bit defensive - but i will make a note to be even more defensive in the future!!!
@@ForestArchaicCollective 😅
Absolutely Stunning!
Well done for surviving through those trials of the journey to Orkney dude. Hearing the place name Scrabster made your experience very visceral to me. Looking forward to Part 2!!
Great film.. well documented and a story well told
thks! :)
Your videos are brilliant! Im from Guernsey and you made a video about Guernsey a few years ago - I can confirm practically everything you had to say about it. Spent a lot of time on Greek islands over the years - same applies.
Thks mate!
What’s the cute furry animal jumping on the cliff at 9:09?
if you mean 19:09 ?
(was scanning the distant cliffs of Hoy at 9:09 thinking you must have the eyes of a kestrel to see a furry animal in that wide shot)
Freeze frame 19:09 - appears to be a rabbit
Yes! Oops. 19:09. Thanks!
The level of stress you were driven to by connections that just don't connect finally brought me to flee Orkney last summer without finishing my bucket list
And its sad because it wouldnt take much just to triangulate the train/bus/ferry and make it just a bit more user-friendly.
Its not billion dollar stuff by any means, just a couple shuttle buses, a few more ferry sailings
To underline - full sympathy for all the residents who have to navigate this just for the relatively simple goal of: mainland & back
Judith Glue is where to go for coffee in Kirkwall
I have friends that live along the north coast (midway between Thurso and Cape Wrath) so have been going up there frequently for decades. I've looked at getting the ferry over to the Orkneys many times but it is prohibitively expensive, so I have never done it. Seeing your experience with the ferry does nothing to change my mind. I bet you get attacked for this video anyway, although it was a very reasonable description of your journey there!
I suspect a great many people either work in the oil business so can afford the costs, or are happy to pay to miss out the ground version of the Thurso to Inverness journey. I wonder if many Orcadians fly directly to Aberdeen, Glasgow or Edinburgh? Manchester? London? No, I haven't checked scheduled flights, people, to see if any of that is possible.
I'd like to decide on a whim to spend 3 to 5 days over there without having my bank account emptied before I get that short distance across the water. I bet many hundreds of tourists on the North Coast 500 would do the same each week in the summer.
yeah i was surprised that what i assumed was the main thoroughfare to & from the island was a headache to navigate
I mean full sympathy for the Orkadians :( its rough on them whichever option you take either in cost or time (or both if you want to take a car on the ferry)
the rail lines stopping in Thurso just 2 miles short of the ferry terminal is strange - having it all joined up to the Scottish rail network seems like an open goal
Slava Rusă 🇷🇺
💙🔴⚪🔵❤️
Death To Ukraine Nazis.
Good video... Yes, travelling in these remote, lower populated areas is very aggravating - you almost have to allow a full days notice to prepare for the slow, tedious buses, trains and ferry's ...
I am still baffled that whoever laid the train tracks to Thurso stopped just a couple of miles short of the ferry
just the ability to step off the train onto the ferry would make so much difference,
even just a couple of shuttle buses a day? just something
@@ForestArchaicCollective There is a poem that goes:
"This bloody town's a bloody cuss
No bloody trains, no bloody bus,
And no one cares for bloody us,
In bloody Orkney."
It could be really tourist friendly, but a lot of locals just want it to be kept in solitude, and thanks to oil money and price gouging by airlines - it costs you an arm and a leg to get there - sorry, a bloody arm and leg!!!
The way you tell the story of the missed boat is just gorgeous :-)
😆😆 glad you enjoyed it! no shock - was not fun to experience at the time
Maybe - its all that Golden Hour footage from Thurso bay running in the background, feel like i could describe my dental surgery in depth but with that playing in the background everything seems serene
😅
Really great cow content in this video
those cows were in the field just out front of the airbnb & they would huddle towards us everytime we passed like journalists to a filmstar,
What was the name of or the link to the B&B that you stayed at on on Orkney?
whoops - forgot to add that to the description,
it's there now, its called the Leverets - its on Airbnb
If you don't have a car "Jogferry" in the summer will bus you directly from Inverness to Kirlwall via the John O Groats to Burwick ferry..
It's just a very short walk from Thurso to Scrabster. It isn't a problem.
I mean, im never usually adverse to a 45 min walk (or 2hr walk for that matter) its just when youre on the clock
& idk its just a weird unforced error that for the sake of 2 miles of track or even a shuttle bus service that 2 major transport networks come so close to linking up ...then stop short
Why haven't I been to Orkney yet?! Looks stunning. Loved your commentary as usual...I sometimes think that the complicated lengths you have to go to to visit these places makes them even more special (or maybe I just tell myself that)!
ferri sounds cheeky
I have lived in Stromness for the last five years, (emigre from Brighton). I don't recognise your 'meh' description of the fascinating and picturesque place I am now proud to call home. Don't compare it to chocolate box pretty villages in the south of England, they are hundreds of miles apart with a different climate. Orkney has Viking strength and endurance in its bones and the scenery and towns reflect that. Yes, the pebbledash isnt pretty but hey it wasn't put there for tourists but because maintaining stone buildings in a wild climate isn't cheap and Orcadians are used to pragmatic solutions. Think about the whole picture before making shallow judgments.
After working all over the uk everywhere just looks the same
But why do you hate Orkney tho…
probably because i'm a terrible person who you shouldn't trust
interesting name for ur chanel
“Not the best strategy for evangelism”, ha ha! I like the idea of a church district, though perhaps not a brutalist architecture district.
I think Inverness looks lovely on the whole.
Can't believe you hate Orkney
Oh no my mask! it has slipped!
and i woulda got away with it if it wasnt for yous pesky medallin kidz
How can ANYONE hate Orkney???
watch the part 2! 👇👇
ua-cam.com/video/U5rGoIP83Ic/v-deo.html
I live there
If you had pleaded with the ticket office in a Scottish accent you would have been fine.
I found that this youtube extremely sarcastic and suggest you stay home next time if you can’t handle some travel problems!
HEAVENS FORFEND!! surely not sarcasm! how can this be??
Couldnt make it past 2:46 --too much gum flappin
Half your video is not even in Orkney
Too much talking... take a breath, let us see some of the amazing sites.
👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎