As the Puffins and other breeding birds leave the wild flowers come into their own. The rare and dimunitive Primula Scotica a most beautiful tiny lilac jewel can be found on the West coastal maritime clifftops. Less uncommon but of similar stature is the exquisite white flower of the Grass of Parnasuss (My boot is for scale in these pictures).
Grass of Parnassus is common on verge sides, along with over 20 other species of wildflowers. Grasslands and green pastures are filled throughout summer with buttercups far outrivaling anything occurring further south. On certain shorelines you will find the rare Oyster plant, or sea lungwort, a blue green succulent beauty that is also good eating.
Across more boggy ground you will see many drifts of what looks like sheeps wool caught on grass, the bog cotton sedge. Statuesque Meadowsweet is erupting everywhere.
The Tankerness House Museum (Kirkwall) opens a major exhibition at the beginning of July (1st July - 30th Sept). Concentrating on 12th century Viking Orkney, the exhibition will show a detailed picutre of Orkney as it was in the great days of the Norse earldom, using the evidence of archaeology, history and literature. Admission free.
Also during July (9th July to 2nd August) the local Craftsmen's guild hold an exhibition and sale throughout the month. Usually found in the community center (Old Town Hall) opposite St.Magnus Cathedral, and next to Tankerness House. Worth browsing when you have some spare time.
The peak of summertime in Orkney arrives at the end of July with Stromness Shopping Week (20th to 26th July) and culminates in the County Agricultural Show at Bignold Park (August 9th).
It is hard to explain the Stromness Shopping Week on paper. Stromness Shopping Week is the longest running festival in Orkney. The event was started in 1949 by the newly formed Stromness and West Mainland Chamber of Commerce to attract shoppers to the burgh. It is certainly a Community gala week run by local volunteers, with many varied events involving the community and visitors. The daytime emphasis is on family fun, with lots of sporting and novelty competitions, music, sideshows, children’s entertainment,and a fireworks celebration on the last night. Great fun is had by all.
A second possibly less intentional effect has been that together with the County Show, over the years it has become a beacon for Stromnessians and Orcadians in general to return home from all points around the world.
If the weather is kind some evenings become almost Carnival in nature. Regular non-Orcadian visitors, especially Divers, fix their holidays to coincide with the dates. The result can become a huge street party of old friends, newcomers and family. If you are here at this time and want a true taste of Orcadian life then spend an evening in Stromness during Shopping Week.
August heralds the start of the agricultural shows. These build up from the small and delightful like Sanday and Shapinsay to the large and commercial, Dounby, followed by the culmination at the Bignold Park County Show in Kirkwall.
The big shows are the major outdoor social and practical events of the year, where farmers get the chance to show off their hard work and prized beasts while the industry showcases all manner of huge machinery. Most of our local organizations take a stand, with a eclectic range of goods and services available in the tented village. The next day the Vintage Tractor and Car club hold their always interesting annual event at the Orkney Auction Mart in Hatston.
The following weekend sees the annual South Ronaldsay Boys ploughing match and festival of the horse, (16-17th Aug) This spectacular event re-enacts the traditions of the heavy horse ploughing matches. Children dress in beautiful, ornate costumes to replicate the horse in it's finery and the boys plough with minature ploughs in the sand. Any excuse to spend time down on the Southernmost tip of Orkney is worth taking and combining this event with a visit to the Tomb of the Eagles and the coastal walks of South Ronaldsay would make a very good day out.
The month draws to a close with a beer drinkers delight as the Stromness Hotel (22nd-24th Aug) acts as your host for the Orkney Beer Festival. Offering a wide range of guest beers and cask-conditioned ales, together with Orkney’s own premium ales, this small event is highly anticipated by those who love good beer and good company.
Tradtionally the Orcadian saying is that "Summer is over after the county show,". This may seem brutal but it is generally true. The days are now clearly shortening and the optimism of spring and early summer is usually replaced with the hope that next year will be better.
Autumnal plants start appearing, with Crocosmia's sword like leaves harbinging the autumn to come. The first wild storms of autumn can appear before August is out and if they do then more exposed summer gardens can be pretty much blown apart very early indeed.
