# A grand old house in Stromness



## Lurkingwitch (Jun 7, 2011)

Having frequently passed this house in the car and being amazed at the profusion of bluebells in the garden, my Big Sis and I figured it may be photoworthy. A walk one evening ( camera-less!) proved that this was the case, and the fact that the front door was boarded up fairly piqued my interest! It must have been a beautiful place at one time, and someone has been there recently looking after the local moggies if nothing else. Anyway, enough blathering, here's the pix.

The garden in full bloom:










The way in:




























Taking care of kitty:








A wee snifter afore lunch? Yes, guys, these bottles were unopened!!










More later......


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## eggbox (Jun 7, 2011)

Great stuff, especially the unopened xmas bottles. Guess they outlasted their recipient


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## JEP27 (Jun 7, 2011)

Wow! What an amazing find. It looks fantastic with the bluebells outside. Do you know any of its history?


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## Lurkingwitch (Jun 7, 2011)

JEP27, I know absolutely nothing about this house, I've just seen it in the passing. There's heaps of stuff and furniture just lying around untouched, but at the mercy of the elements. Here's a few more pix.













I didn't feel that trying to get upstairs would be such a good idea....this is some of the ceiling that's come down blocking the stairway:








And directly above the fallen ceiling is...the bathroom!



















I didn't get to many of the rooms, but a quick peek in some of them means that I just have to go back sometime and get some more shots! I didn't feel it was entirely safe, what with falling in ceilings and such, but I'd like to think there's a real treasure trove upstairs!


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## lost (Jun 7, 2011)

That is a great find, the unopened bottles and tins of cat food are a haunting sight. Did you check for use/sell by dates?

The house looks in poor condition but the packaging looks modern. Maybe the former occupant was confined to one or two rooms while the rest of the house fell down.


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## muppet (Jun 8, 2011)

what a great find would love to find something like this thanks for posting


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## UrbanX (Jun 8, 2011)

Phworr! What a beauty!  
I find that its given more questions than answers! I'd also be interested to see dates on the cat food / any newspapers about. 
Obviously not visited a great deal since it was abandonned. 
Lovely find dude!


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## Snips86x (Jun 8, 2011)

What a unique and beautiful little cottage. Shame it has been left for so long like this, its a superb find. That whiskey may now be just about right. More flavor! I must also say that I love the old artifacts in picture 5. I bet its been some time since that tennis racket saw any action. Great photos and superb find L!


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## johno23 (Jun 9, 2011)

What a great find, a real timewarp of a place.
Good work,hope you manage to go back and get some more,looking forward to seeing them.


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## bradleigh1977 (Jun 9, 2011)

that whicker basket----thats so chris yates a passion for angling--if anyone understands what i mean

Nice find.


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## Em_Ux (Jun 9, 2011)

Fantastic find!

Makes you wonder what the story is behind it. 

Enjoyed looking through your photos thanks


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## V70 (Jun 10, 2011)

What a fantastic find. You obviously have the nose for such places 

As Lost suggested, it's most likely the owner passed away and ended up only using a few rooms towards the end.

I might be returning to Orkney through work in the next month, so will definitely have a look for this old place before it's too late.


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## Pincheck (Jun 10, 2011)

interesting find, last place i seen wasn't covered in blue bells but icelandic popeyes real eyte opener 

having spent a lot of time covering scotland on my motorbike last summer you would be shocked or surprised by how many of these type of big houses i passed that where empty !


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## Foxylady (Jun 10, 2011)

Oh wow, that's really lovely. Love the fishing basket and the coloured glass window...and the bluebells are totally gorgeous. 
Great find.


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## Lurkingwitch (Jun 10, 2011)

I hope to go back again later this year, so hopefully more pix then! Thank you for all your encouraging replies, much appreciated.


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## Potter (Jun 14, 2011)

Fantastic find. Interesting mix of ages of stuff. Makes you wonder what's up stairs.


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## smiler (Jun 14, 2011)

The fishing basket is called a creel, and that bottle of Grouse is mine, keep your hands off. Great Find Thanks for sharing.


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## Acebikerchick (Jun 14, 2011)

Brilliant photos. Dont blaim you for not going upstairs, wouldnt want to be under that what looks like a cast iron bath when it comes down!!!
And good on whoever it is for feeding the cats....


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## alex76 (Jun 14, 2011)

Nice one mate


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## Lurkingwitch (Jun 15, 2011)

And the good news is we are going back to Orkney in October! YAY! I'll be back at this place like a shot and hopefully get some more pics. It'll look so different in October....


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