Where I Live - Blackha'

Our house, Blackhall - "Blackha" as it's known in Orcadian dialect - is an old cottage at the end of a single track road in an area known as Kirbister in the West Mainland parish of Stromness.

Approximately four miles to the north-west of the town of Stromness, ours is one of the ten "Kirbisters" found in Orkney. The Stromness Kirbister is a rea of low green farming land on the boundary of the parishes of Stromness and Sandwick, and is flanked by a range of hills to the west.

When first built, Blackhall was a two roomed "but-and-ben", typical of most Orcadian crofts, but it has grown over the years. The house rests in the shadow of Kringlafjold, the hill that shelters us from the worst ravages of the western winds and the Atlantic Ocean.

Just a short walk from the top of Kringlafjold is the rugged western coast of Orkney, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. A little way to the north is the dramatic scenery of Yesnaby.

Kirbister - What does it mean?