Last year, Orkney was voted the most romantic destination by non-other than Mills and Boon. As I see people in a permanent state of boiler suit and everyone hurrying around in anoraks, woolly hats and clothing zipped up to the neck, I sometimes wonder how they reached that decision. But then I look beyond that to the incredible, ever changing skies. The landscapes, history and secret places and I understand. I hope to share with you some of the romance of Orkney through the blog and invite you to share any of your stories with me.
Up here we’ve seen some huge storms and locals are used to finding ways to make sure they stick to the ground along with their roofs, sheds, trampolines, cars and cattle.
In 1850 there was such a storm which combined with a very high tide. This stripped the grass and sand away from a mound near the coast on the West Mainland to reveal the edge of several stone buildings. This was enough to arouse the curiosity of the local laird, who decided to excavate the site. What he discovered was part of a 5000 year old ‘housing estate, ‘fascinating stone houses joined together with tunnels. After discovering four ancient houses, work was abandoned until 1925 when another storm (common theme here!) damaged some of the buildings previously excavated. It is now owned and maintained by Historic Scotland.
People come from all over the world to visit the fascinating discovery, and among them in May 2015 was Kathie and her partner Dinkar. Little did she know at the time, but Dinkar was going to use the trip as an opportunity to propose. It was Skaill, the bay which hosts Skara Brae, where he decided what better place to pop than question than where men and women had lived and loved over 5000 years ago.
Kathie and Dinu met up with a friend while celebrating their new engagement who recommended Alison Moore Designs as a possible choice for engagement ring. After visiting our shop, they settled on a Storybook ring saying, ‘The heart was in Alison’s, and she was also just lovely, so we went back there and couldn’t be happier’.
They both spent time looking through Alison's gemstone collection and settled on a peachy/red coloured rose cut diamond to sit within a gold Storybook ring. Dinkar also asked Alison to engrave a special message on the inside of the ring.
They will be marrying in a few weeks’ time and putting Alison Moore Designs wedding rings on their fingers to complete romantic story. We wish them all the very best in their life together and look forward to seeing them when they visit Orkney again.
