The Circle and the Morning Boat

The Ring of Brodgar sits on a narrow strip of land between two lochs. The stones stand in a circle about one hundred and four metres across. A ditch was cut around it into solid rock. It was built between four and four and a half thousand years ago. It is part of a world heritage site.

Ring of Brodgar ligger på en smal stripe land mellom to vann. Steinene står i en sirkel på omtrent hundre og fire meter i tverrmål. En grøft ble hakket rundt den i fast fjell. Den ble bygd for mellom fire tusen og fire og et halvt tusen år siden. Den er del av et verdensarvområde.

There were around sixty stones once. Thirty-six are standing now. The gaps are as much of the shape as the stones are. Polly walked around the outside of the ring, with heather to her knees and the light going flat across the water. Nothing about it was arranged for a visitor.

Det var rundt seksti steiner en gang. Trettiseks står i dag. Hullene er like mye av formen som steinene er. Polly gikk rundt ringen på utsiden, med lyng til knes og lyset som la seg flatt over vannet. Ingenting ved den var ordnet for en besøkende.

Then came the ordinary business of leaving. At the harbour office there was a shag behind a counter. "What time does the ferry leave?" Polly asked. "How much does this cost?" She looked at the printed sheet with him. "I would like to buy a ticket, please."

Så kom det vanlige arbeidet med å reise. På havnekontoret sto det en toppskarv bak en disk. "Når går ferga?" spurte Polly. "Hvor mye koster dette?" Hun så på det trykte arket sammen med ham. "Jeg vil gjerne kjøpe en billett, takk."

"How long does the crossing take?" she asked last. She put the ticket away. In the morning the boat went out past the same low headland, and the islands went down behind it one by one.

"Hvor lang tid tar overfarten?" spurte hun til slutt. Hun la billetten bort. Om morgenen gikk båten ut forbi det samme lave neset, og øyene sank bak den, én etter én.