STROMNESS
Stromness, situate at the western extremity of the mainland, is next to Kirkwall in size, and is in many respects the rival of the capital. Its position did not give it the same importance as Kirkwall during the war, although it was a convenient centre for some of the subsidiary activities of the Base. For a considerable period it was the headquarters of the Western Patrol, and the various building operations, including the wharf at Lyness and the Air Stations at Houton and Scapa, were supervised from the office of the Civil Engineer at Stromness. The accessibility of Stromness to the sea through Hoy and Burra Sounds, and the probability of submarine attacks on the Fleet through these channels, rendered defensive measures an imperative necessity, and at the time of the Armistice a triple series of boom defences, with the additional safeguards of sunken ships and minefields, rendered ingress a practical impossibility. One of the most remarkable of these defences was the Clestron Barrier between the island of Graemsay and Clestron. This was constructed of conical frameworks of steel rails, which were placed in position with their bases resting on the bottom of the channel, an operation rendered the more difficult by the tides which sweep around these shores, which give Stromness its name (the ness of the "strom" or current).
Stromness from the Sea.
Stromness is a picturesquely situated little town, with its straggling houses, rising straight from the water's edge, and its rugged coast scenery. The traveller from Kirkwall, after traversing fifteen miles of somewhat monotonous road, is suddenly confronted with the quiet town lying below him in a landlocked bay, with the heights of Hoy rising beyond and adding grandeur to the beauty of the scene.
T. Kent.
Houton Bay Air Station.
Amongst the quaint houses in its zigzag mile-long street is one of noteworthy interest, being the house in which Sir Walter Scott wrote the notes of his Orkney novel, "The Pirate," most of the characters in which are drawn from people who actually lived in Stromness.
The Clestron Barrier, Stromness.
Stromness was a popular "week-end" resort for those who, during the war and afterwards, were fortunate enough to get leave, there being an excellent and modern hotel, with good fishing in the lochs, and a nine-hole golf course in the near neighbourhood. Close at hand, too, are many places of interest to the historian and antiquarian, which are briefly noticed in the following pages.