Tour Scotland Video Of Old Photographs Of Stronsay Orkney Islands

Tour Scotland travel Blog video of old photographs of Stronsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland. The main village Whitehall takes its name from a house built in the 1670s by Patrick Fea, a retired privateer, whose descendant John Fea pioneered the kelp burning industry on the island in 1722. The fall of the herring industry came with over fishing, and the outbreak of WWII. At its height, 300 boats were moored in Whitehall harbour, along with fifteen curing stations, and 1500 fishwives. The island of Stronsay itself is now agricultural, but during the 18th and 19th centuries, kelp collection and herring curing employed up to five thousand people. The population, which is high for a Scottish island, was over a thousand for the entire 19th century through the mid 20th century, with the 1891 census recording a population of 1275 people, excluding seasonal itinerants involved in the herring industry. The Stronsay beast was a mysterious, decomposing corpse of a sea creature that was stranded in 1808. The carcass measured 55 feet in length, with the " neck " 15 feet and the circumference of the body 10 feet. The corpse created a great stir, with some proclaiming it a sea serpent, but others have claimed it was a decayed basking shark. Vat of Kirbister on the East coast of the island of Stronsay is the most spectacular rock arch in Orkney.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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