Focus on the Battle of Largs and Orkney’s Arctic explorer

This year’s Celebrating Scapa Flow weekend will highlight two important anniversaries in the story of Scapa Flow – the 750th anniversary of the Battle of Largs (1263) and the birth of the explorer John Rae (1813).

It begins tonight, Friday, at the St Magnus Centre, with an evening of lectures.

Victoria Whitworth’s talk, The King Who Died in Kirkwall: Hákon Hákonarson and the Story of Norse Scotland, considers the aftermath of the Battle of Largs.

This year’s Brundle Blether, in memory of Anne Brundle, will be given by Julie Gibson. Her talk, Between The Tides, will look at how Kirkwall developed from that time in relation to its two harbours, Kirkwall and Scapa.

Tomorrow, Saturday, Christopher Gee will lead a tour of Kirkwall, explaining its historical background and development and importance to the story of King Hákon Hákonarson. The walk will start from outside Kirkwall Sheriff Court, at 2pm.

On Sunday, events move to the Cromarty Hall in South Ronaldsay, with an illustrated talk on the restoration of John Rae’s fiddle.

Julian Branscombe’s talk, Avian Links between the Arctic and Orkney…or the Birds John Rae Saw, looks at the migratory birds from the Arctic that visit these shores.