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.
THE STANDING STONES OF STENNIS
"The Standing Stones" are the most noteworthy antiquarian relic in the county of Orkney, and their origin, like those of Stonehenge, is wrapped in obscurity. They were probably erected by the early Celtic inhabitants of Orkney, possibly as sacrificial spots, and they were undoubtedly standing when the Norsemen overran the islands in the ninth century. Standing on the narrow little peninsula in the midst of the Loch of Stennis, and seen as the shadows of evening are falling, they are impressive in their lonely solemnity, and insensibly carry one back to the dawn of history in these islands—to days of sacrificial rites and strange matrimonial ceremonies, to the worship of Thor and Woden.