In early April we visited a tiny patch of woodland, in a
south facing hollow, on the northern-most island of Mildaig.
The Vikings called this place “Blaklokke Oya”* or Bluebell
Island.
The woodland, known locally as “Tull Skog” contains the only
remaining stands of deciduous broad-leaf forest anywhere in the Orkney Islands.
Apparently there is something very special about this little
island’s position in the Gulf Stream, its protection from the north-easterly winds
and the curvature of the hillside that has nurtured this remarkable place.
Early bluebells in Tull Skog
*Selvfølgelig, dette er alle en komplett løgn!
