Midhowe Broch

Midhowe Broch stands on a shelf of flat rock jutting into Eynhallow Sound on the west coast of Rousay, built more than 2,000 years ago and cut off on the landward side by a thick stone wall and ditch. It is one of at least nine brochs along this narrow, dangerous stretch of water, and it faces the Broch of Gurness across the sound; the two may have been the main strongholds on either side. The tower still rises 4.3 metres, perhaps half its first height, with its narrow entrance turned to the sea. Inside, its fittings are unusually complete: stone partitions, a spring-fed water tank and a hearth with sockets that may have held a roasting spit. Smaller buildings around it became workshops, one with an iron-smelting hearth, and excavators found a fragment of a Roman bronze vessel. Reviewers say the ten-minute walk down from the small car park is easy and the climb back stiffer, and to watch the time for the last ferry from Rousay to Tingwall.