OK, it’s not a bridge and it does go somewhere, but don’t you think it looks as though crossing over might take us into a different world, time or dimension? There must be a story there!

It’s actually one of the ‘Churchill Barriers’ built during WW2 by Italian prisoners, both to link some of the smaller islands onto Mainland Orkney and to protect Scapa Flow – doing a better job than the ‘block ships’ which can still be seen. (Google is sure to be able to provide a more detailed history lesson, should you want it.)

We got across safely, and returned later to swim in the beautifully clear, and breathtakingly cold, sea. We’ll do that again when we get the chance, and hopefully visit the nearby Italian chapel – something else built by the prisoners of war.