Evie overlooks the islands of Eynhallow and Rousay across the fierce tides
of the Eynhallow sound.
Close to Aikerness beach is the Broch of Gurness. This is the best preserved
broch in Orkney, and it is surrounded by an extensive settlement. The broch
itself is a round defensive tower with thick stone walls, through which
passages run. Inside the tower, there is a central hearth, storage areas,
and an underground collecting tank for a well with stone steps leading down
to the water. Although the remaining part of the broch is not particularly
high, there is a fine example surviving on the island of Mousa in Shetland
that has walls 13m tall, giving an indication of what these fortifications
must once have been.
Aerial view of the Broch of Gurness
(C) Richard Welsby
One of the most noticable features when passing through Evie is the
wind generator site on Burgar Hill. The large generator has recently been
put back into service, and generates 3 megawatts of electricity at full
power. Close to the wind generator site is a bird hide at Lowrie's Water
overlooking a nesting site for red throated divers.
Photograph courtesy of Richard Welsby