St Margaret's Hope
| St Margaret's Hope | |
|---|---|
 Buildings on the shore at St Margaret's Hope | |
  St Margaret's Hope Location withinOrkney | |
| Area | 0.42 km2(0.16 sq mi) |
| Population | 550 (approx.) |
| •Density | 1,310/km2(3,400/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | ND445935 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ORKNEY |
| Postcode district | KW17 |
| Dialling code | 01856 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
St Margaret's Hopeis a village in theOrkney Islands,off the north coast ofScotland.It is known locally asThe HopeorThe Hup.With a population of about 550, it is Orkney's third largest settlement afterKirkwallandStromness.[citation needed]
St Margaret's Hope is the main settlement of the island ofSouth Ronaldsay.Situated offWater Soundat the head of a calm bay on the island's northern coast, it is connected to theOrkney Mainlandby theA961 roadrunning across theChurchill Barriers.
St Margaret's Hope is believed to have been named after eitherSaint Margaret of Scotland(c.1045-1093), the wife ofMalcolm III,orMargaret, Maid of Norway,who died in Orkney and possibly in this location in 1290.
The village has a primary school, a small blacksmith's museum, a few shops and a cafe, a pub and a wine bar.Pentland Ferriesrun a reliable service from the pier in the bay toGills Bayon the Scottish mainland.
It is also known for its annual Boys'Ploughing Match,a local tradition where young boys plough the sands at the nearbySands of Wright,and girls (or boys, though this is now a rarity) wear traditional 'horse' costumes resembling aharness.The event, which incorporates The Festival of the Horse, is known to have been in existence for at least 200 years, and takes place on the third Saturday of August.[2]
Scant traces of an Iron Agebrochcan be found in a field off the Ontaft road above the village. The site could once be identified by Victorian OS maps, but with the passage of time and all but a 'crop mark' remaining, modern maps fail to show its location.
It is favoured by most in Orkney as being its prettiest village. The picturesque waterfront location being far superior to its West Mainland equivalent Stromness.[peacock prose]
References
[edit]- ^"Letter S".The Online Scots Dictionary. Archived fromthe originalon 8 July 2010.Retrieved1 January2015.
- ^Alison Campsie (17 March 2016)."The 200-year-old Orkney festival where girls dress as horses".The Scotsman.Retrieved31 July2018.
External links
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