ONCE a year in late July, around 80 people gather at the tiny ferry terminal at Tingwall, Orkney, to set sail for a vanishing island.
Eynhallow punctuates the western end of the Eynhallow Sound, a narrow stretch of water separating Orkney’s Mainland from Rousay. The North Atlantic and North Sea crash into each other here, flanking Eynhallow with strong, chaotic currents called roosts.
People of all ages, visitors and locals alike, packed on to the MV Eynhallow ferry, ranging from dedicated nature lovers hoping to spot puffins and seals to history fanatics like myself, plus a few who had booked out of blind curiosity. Luckily, Eynhallow was happy to reveal itself. Just the day before, it was entirely lost to thick sea fog despite being less than a mile from Rousay’s shore.
While one half of the group began a counter-clockwise turn around the island to focus on watching birds, the history-loving half followed Tom to the monastery. There we gathered round and listened to several tales of Eynhallow, including the story of how its vanishing veil was lifted – though not entirely.
On landing, they were assailed by various creatures including mermaids and the very Finman who stole the goodman’s wife, and all were vanquished with the salt and sign of the cross. The goodman’s sons set to work ringing the island with salt to break its spell.However, the youngest son had large hands and ran out of salt before he could complete his section. That is why, though the Finfolk may be banished from Eynhallow, a little of their magic still remains.
Yet, a strange incident on a previous expedition on July 14, 1990, was taken by some as a sign that modernity had not entirely relegated the Finfolk to the past. Eighty-eight heads were counted boarding the ferry at Tingwall – only 86 returned. This was clearly their home and we mere interlopers. Something of the old magic endures in their eyes – Orcadian folklore is rife with tales of men hunting seals only to discover in horror that they were, in fact, selkies or mermaids, and suffering misfortune and tragedy as a result.
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