“The heritage of the island runs deeply through every aspect of the island, I would say. And I think, for that reason, I’m interested in it. Even sometimes, you may not think something is heritage, but when you look a little bit deeper it is an essential part of the islands’ fabric. Whether it’s a part of nature, or farming, or fishing… those are activities, or resources, but culture and heritage run very deeply through every aspect of them.”
Tim Dodman, Papa Westray
From harvest homes to story-telling, music to agricultural shows, blackenings to archaeology, the threads of culture and heritage are woven throughout everyday life in the North Isles.
A key aim of the project was to explore the significance and rich variety of culture and heritage across the isles and how they feed into their unique identities.
- 🔊 North Ronaldsay Trust: Alison Barclay, North Ronaldsay.
- 🔊 Building and the past: Alistair Hourston, Papa Westray.
- 🔊 Storytelling: Alison Barclay, North Ronaldsay.
- 🔊 Archaeology: Ingrid Mainland, Rousay.
- 🔊 The Magnus story and archaeology: Brian Alexander, Egilsay.
“…we have a fantastic musical heritage in Orkney, gaun back over a long distance if we look intae it and even things like John Rae the Explorer fae here was a fiddle player. So we have hundreds a years a musical heritage in Orkney and I think it’s vitally important. Especially fiddle play. Orkney has a very distinctive fiddle style. Folk like Jennifer Wrigley have been instrumental in keeping that alive I think and Erica Jolly and ones like that.”
Bruce Mainland, Rousay
“And I suppose even for me even learning things like about the herring fishing times, and them having the… like how many shops was on the island and pubs and just just different? It’s a different world completely. And you just can’t imagine it now. But certainly, for folks that have been here the whole life, I think it’s really important and a huge part of it, especially when you know, the generations. You know, it’s again, it’s stories passed down.”
Alison Hourston, Stronsay