We timed our trip to Sanday, Orkney Islands perfectly to coincide with The Adelaide Crows Preliminary Final against Geelong. When we booked our travel to the UK it seemed likely that The Crows would be in the finals and that for the first time in my life I’d be on the other side of the world when my team is playing in the football finals. (Infact its more than just The Crows, my beloved Sturt are playing in the SANFL Grand Final as I put the finishing touches on this post –  thanks 5AA for providing the commentary steam).

With the AFL Watch App loaded we could only hope that the B&Bs we chose had good wifi , but as the finals draw was announced it seemed we would be on a ferry when the Preliminary Final started! Oh well, I thought, our trip to Sanday was important as it was the birth place of my favourite person’s’ ancestors and I’d have to wait until we landed in Sanday to get the scores.

As we arrived at the ferry terminal I got a text message from a friend, a Geelong supporter from a bar near the ground. I responded with a picture of us at the ferry terminal. In our usual style, we had arrived at the ferry terminal early careful to make sure we didn’t miss it.

We drove onto the ferry about 40 minutes later, locked the car (apparently I should have known not to do this as it causes the alarm to go off as the boat rocks) and went upto the deck. Shortly afterwards we set off and the ticket collector asked if we owned the Seat on the car deck as the alarm was going off.

It was calm and the views back to Kirkwall, the main city of the Orkney Islands were excellent as were the views of the coast line and islands. I’d have to say that boats aren’t my favourite means of travel but it was calm and the skies were blue.

About 40 minutes after we left Kirkwall, the Preliminary Final started and to my pleasant surprise we had wifi so we were able to listen to the 5AA commentary team. 5AA’s commentary team are Adelaide based and really quite over the top. Rowey in particular, but it’s fun and 12000 miles away was definitely the best option for hearing the game.

Adelaide got away to great start. My favourite person and I were engrossed while the other ferry passengers wondered why we were so excited. They were even more confused as I regularly punched the air as we cruised along! Adelaide were building a substantial lead and yes, the views of the Orkney Islands as we cruised along on the ferry were delightful.

As quarter time approached our wifi dropped out. When it came on again Adelaide were 40 plus points ahead and we were heading towards our first stop, the Island of Eday. While the views of the coast line and birdlife were great, I have to say my mind was elsewhere, particularly as the Geelong were coming back and the wifi was cutting in and out!

Nearly 2 hours after we left Kirkwall we were about to birth at Sanday. As we drove off it was immediately apparent that we had no wifi or phone coverage. As well as no way to get the football scores it also meant no GPS and we’d have to rely on what I thought was a very high-level map in the excellent Orkney Ferries brochure about the Orkney Islands. Orkney Ferries provide. We quickly came to understand that the map was actually pretty good as there are very few roads and very few cars. It felt very much like we had the roads to ourselves except for the sheep sitting comfortably in the middle of the road and the odd goat, rabbit or chook who seemed to be feel that they owned the road.

The points of interest were all marked on the map. They are pretty much all on Sanday’s picturesque coastline.

It was about lunchtime so we decided we’d head to the local hotel for lunch. There is just one in Sanday, the Kittletoft Hotel. It also had wifi and so we settled down to some soup and listened intently to the radio and chatted away to some other locals who seemed quite bemused by our banter. With our soup consumed and the game now well and truly

in Adelaide’s keeping we started to think about what we’d do during the remainder of the day. The siren went and Adelaide had won, so I thought I’d shout the bar, which by then was just my favourite person and I! We thought better of it and headed off.

Sanday is famous for its beaches, crafts and Neolithic structures. We decided on beaches, stopping for a short visit at  Heritage Centre. I signed the visitors book, with a comment “GO CROWS” and then it was onto the Start Lighthouse.

The lighthouse is unusual in that it has black and white stripes. It’s located on a tidal island just a hundred or so metres off the shore. We’d hoped to walk to it but the tide was in and the water was rushing through the chase between us and the island so we had to pass on that one.

From there it was off to Cata Sand and a walk along a delightful beach. It was stunning and a great way to end our days sightseeing.

To our delight our B&B at Backaskail had excellent wifi – WHoHo! I imagine for others it’s stunning location in a farm setting by a secluded beach would have been the main focus. As soon as we’d checked in we fired up the iPad and watched a replay of the football. The Crows were truly magnificent! I hope they can play as well next week in the Grand Final. With the footy done we settled into a lovely meal at our B&B before an early night. We had the run of the B&B to ourselves as the last visitors of the season.

The beach location provided an ideal way to walk some of our hearty breakfast off. From there it was off to Quoyness Chambered Tomb. It was a fair walk from the carpark in a bracing wind. The views were again stunning and the burial cave interesting. We opted not to crawl in to view its inside as it was wet.

We drove onto Whitemill Beach for a long walk along a beautiful sandy beach where we seemed to provide amusement for a lone seal. The sand is so pure and the water a stunning turquoise. A lone seal followed us along just a few metres off shore, very much keeping an eye on us. We were doing the same!

With a few kilometers walking under our belts we decided on lunch at the hotel before heading back to the ferry terminal and the trip back to Kirkwall.

Sanday is quite stunning. Beautiful beaches, packed with history and lovely people if you can find them, but it really is the beaches that make this a lovely place.

Postscript – congratulations Sturt, The Mighty Blues on a wonderful and thrilling Grand Final win by one point. Go you Mighty Blue Boys!