Ring of Brodga, Orkney — Danielle Gallegos

It was just luck that had us arriving at the Ring of Brodga at dawn. The ferry service we had booked on had run aground and we had to rebook - the only one we could get left at 11:30 at night. After a 90 minute trip across the Pentland Firth and with no accommodation booked we rocked up to a car park for a few hours sleep. If you are a wee bit nervous about doing this - don’t be, plenty of others do the same. What it did mean though is that we got out to the Ring of Brodga just before 4 am with not another soul around (at least at the beginning).

Ring of Brogan 17 July 2022 4:04 am — Ring of Brodgar, July 17th 2022, 4:04am

The Ring of Brodgar is a neolithic henge generally thought to have been erected between 2500BC and 2000BC. It’s a full circle of what was originally 60 stones with 27 still standing. It sits on a finger of land between Loch Harray and Loch Stennness. It’s Loch Harray you can see in the photo above. It feels deeply spiritual although its purpose is unknown. It lies in an area littered with standing stones, the Stenness Stones are not more than 200 metres away, there are also four chambered tombs, cairns, barrows and single stones. Its placement and role seem significant.

Time stamp- Left to Right: 4:05am, 4:11am, 4:12am, 4:15am

The speculation is that this was a meeting place, a place that people came for celebrations just like a church. Where the beginning and the ending of life was noted. Others have speculated that it had some connection to the movement of the sun and moon across the sky. We will never know. Unlike other standing circles like Stonehenge you can get close to these stones. Due to increasing traffic you are limited to moving around the outside - for your own “Outlander” moment you need to go to the Stenness Stones which you can touch. Regardless, the stones stand like sentinels greeting the day and you can feel their power. Each stone majestically placed, a spiritual place.

Time stamp - Left to Right: 4:18am, 4:32am, 4:34am, 4:35am

We take the time to stand and stare. The stones stand silent and in the light of a new day we do as well. They stand paying homage to time, steeped in memories, paying homage to the sun. We circle the stones capturing the changing light. Until the sun begins to nudge over the horizon.

We stand with our backs to the sun waiting for it to appear; to bathe the stones in the first morning light. The wind is biting and cold making us feel even more alive. There is no birdsong yet, just the sound of the wind winding its way through the stones. We keep checking the sun, like so many before us. We wait for the moment that the sun causes the stones to create shadows. It really is magical.

Time stamp - Left to Right: 4:40am, 4:42am, 4:44am

The stones made me think about time and its passing. That what we feel is a long time is really a heartbeat and what we think a short time is precious in the moments that we cherish. So in conclusion a quote from the poet Kahil Gibran (1883-1931).

You would measure time the measureless and the immeasureable
You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.
Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.
Yet the timeless in you is aware of life’s timelessness,
And knows that yesterday is but today’s memory and tomorrow is today’s dream.
And that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.
But if in your thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,
And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing. (The Prophet)