On to the Broch of Gurness on Orkney, the third part of my brief visit to the islands. Brochs are an Iron Age building that can look a little like a modern power station cooling tower. Large, circular, tall and tapering they are all over the place on Orkney – although mostly as a ring of stone without much structure. The Broch of Gurness has survived better than most in the area and sits in the midst of a whole series of circular buildings. This was the first time I had been at such a well-preserved broch and I was surprised by the construction with an inner wall and stairs to upper levels. I just wonder how warm it all was inside when the fires were on!
