Shapinsay
September 13, 2001
The Clan plus our bus took the Orkney Ferry to Shapinsay Island. We were met by Patricia Zawadski who gave us a tour of the grounds and walled gardens of Balfour Castle. Patricia was assisted by an orange and white village cat. We were then met by Patricia's mother Katherine Zawadski, who has been Laird of Balfour Castle for the last 50 years. We had a tour of the Castle, refreshments in the beautiful conservatory and lunch in the elegant dining room.
Balfour Castle is a Baronial style Victorian castle completed in 1848 by Laird David Balfour. We learned that Robert Louis Stevenson was a friend of David Balfour and had visited the Castle. Stevenson used his friend's name for the name of his hero in the book Kidnapped.
The especially scary scene in the book where David climbs up the ruined staircase to the tower in the dark and stormy night was supposed to be inspired by a visit to Balfour Castle's tower in the moonlight.
One of the absolute highlights of the whole trip was the visit to the Irving croft of Quoholm. This croft was the home of the grandfather of the noted American author Washington Irving and the place where his father William Irving was born in 1731.
Originally the Irvings owned the land but lost ownership and became tenants of Balfour. Today only the stone walls remain standing to mark a site most interesting to all Irvines/Irvings/Irwins. James Irvine also took us to see the old Parish Church and graveyard containing 17th and 19th Century gravestones of relatives of Washington Irving.
At Quoholm croft we were met by Mr. Mason who made a short reading from Washington Irving's work and who met the Clan again at the Smithy-Museum and Shapinsay Heritage Center. We returned via the ferry to Kirkwall and went by bus to the Foveran Hotel restaurant overlooking Scapa Flow. A surprise for the Clan was a program of Scottish and Irish dances beautifully performed by two Orkney girls. Dinner featured a delicious "taste of Scotland" menu.
