Orkney families have rich and varied traditions of how they came to the island. A number say they came through shipwreck – from a Spanish Armada vessel or from the Crown, transporting Scottish Covenanters prisoners to the West Indies, or from a single survivor washed ashore.

Others say they came as settlers from Norway or as servants of a Scottish earl. Others again say they escaped from trouble in mainland Scotland. Dr Ragnhild Ljosland of UHI Orkney has been gathering up family origin legends and finding that they build up into a fascinating picture.

Image: Doni Stanes said to be graves of Armada Survivors Yesnaby