Bite Sized Britain - Britain’s amazing history and culture

This Week’s Selected Theme

31 Mar - 6 Apr 2025

Tales from the Orkney Isles

Take a visit to the Orkney Islands this week - a landscape with a surprising number of ancient artefacts.

The Stones of Stenness - Britain's oldest standing stones?

The Stones of Stenness - Britain's oldest standing stones?

The Standing Stones of Stenness, in the Orkney Islands, are reckoned to be the oldest of Britain's many Neolithic stone monuments. The purpose of the structure remains unknown.

Skara Brae - the Scottish Pompeii

Skara Brae - the Scottish Pompeii

Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic village on Orkney's main island, and a much-visited ancient site, regarded by many as one of the most remarkable prehistoric monuments in Europe. It was accidentally revealed after being buried for 5,000 years.

The seaweed-eating sheep of North Ronaldsay

The seaweed-eating sheep of North Ronaldsay

The North Ronaldsay is a breed of sheep from the northernmost island of Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland. The rugged animals have evolved to live almost entirely on seaweed - one of few mammals to do so.

Ring of Brodgar - 'mysteriously stern'

Ring of Brodgar - 'mysteriously stern'

The Ring of Brodgar Stone Circle and Henge is an enormous ceremonial site dating back to the 3rd millennium BC. It can be found on Mainland, the largest island of the Orkneys, off the Scottish coast.

Why Orkney has its very own Italian Chapel

Why Orkney has its very own Italian Chapel

The Italian Chapel is a highly ornate chapel designed for Catholic worshippers on Lamb Holm in the Orkney Islands, north of Scotland. But why would there be such a chapel in what is very much a Protestant community? The answer is that it was built during World War II by Italian prisoners of war, who were housed on the previously uninhabited island while they constructed naval defences - and also somewhere to reflect their faith.

Old Man of Hoy - a Scottish challenge for climbers

Old Man of Hoy - a Scottish challenge for climbers

The Old Man of Hoy is an impressive tall sea stack rock formation on Hoy, part of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. At 137 metres high, it is one of the tallest stacks in the United Kingdom, and is formed from Old Red Sandstone. It is regarded as an iconic challenge for climbers.

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Spaceguard in Wales - watching out for the end of the world

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Spaceguard in Wales - watching out for the end of the world

High on a hill in mid-Wales, the Spaceguard Centre near Knighton is an independent observatory which monitors the potential threat to our planet posed by 'near earth objects'.

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