This podcast series from Orkney, Scotland, will take you around the island of Rousay, exploring life in the past and present.
We’ve used the resources of Orkney Library and Archive, Rousay Remembered and the UHI Archaeology Institute, together with contemporary recordings, to bring you this series of themed episodes.
Listen to stories from the archives, islanders and archaeologists woven with discoveries, folklore and places of intrigue. Find out about the houses for the living and the dead, crafts and making, fishing, and farming.
Rousay Tales will transport you to this special island.
Episodes will be added to this page when they go live on the dates shown.
Episode 1: Dwelling
(May 3, 2024)
In this episode the focus is on the houses of the living and the dead. We travel back to Neolithic settlements and meet some of the people involved in digging Rousay’s many tombs. Forward through time to brochs, disappearing Norse sites and the only large-scale clearance in Orkney. Visit Trumland and a house with indelible blood stains and call in on Rousay’s longest living inhabitant.
Episode 2: Travelling
(May 10, 2024)
Travelling, on land, and sea. Walk Rousay’s circular road with a well-travelled postman, a well-known artist and the fastest man on the island. Hear about shipwrecks and bounties of tea. Hide from the press gangs and travel the peat tracks before you step aboard the steamer and marvel at the arrival of the ro-ro ferry.
Episode 3: Fishing
(May 17, 2024)
In this episode we’ll be finding out about fishing in Rousay. Discover the diet of Rousay’s Vikings, meet some whalers and follow the herring boats. We’ll set some creels and drop in on the fish factory and trace the importance of fishing to islanders past and present.
Episode 4: Farming
(May 24, 2024)
In this episode we’ll look at farming in Rousay, from 5,000 years ago until today. Hear about Neolithic granaries, Norse animal husbandry and the demise of the egg industry. Join the seaweed gatherers and celebrate the harvest at the agricultural show.
Episode 5: Believing
(May 31, 2024)
We’ll find out about the superstitions, folklore and religion in Rousay. Hogboons, trows and fairies come alive in this episode to bring us luck or misfortune. A standing stone walks and a hidden island appears. And remember to make sure it’s the dead you are burying.
Episode 6: Making
(June 6, 2024)
Rousay has been a creative place for millennia and we hear about Neolithic Grooved Ware pottery and Bronze Age soapstone carvers. Turn the beautiful Westness brooch-pin over in your hands and discover why Rousay played a part in the opening of the Pier Arts Centre. And be sure to keep rhythm with the music of the island, which we hope remains with you after this, our final episode.