“Round Swona and the Lowther Skerry the tidal stream may exceeed 16 km.p.h., and when such a current meets a contrary gale the size and confusion of the consequent seas can be imagined.” – Ronald Miller in his book Orkney, published in 1976.

An opportunity to find out more about Swona, its seals and shipwrecks, as Katy Firth of Stromness Museum introduces an exhibition of 360 degree photospheres of the island, with the help of some of the people close to its wildlife and history.

The island, out in the Pentland Firth tidestream on the southern approaches to Scapa Flow, has been uninhabited for nearly fifty years, and the remaining cattle, now feral, are recognised as a distinct breed.

Through the exhibition you can stand at various vantage points on the island, from the shores where the seals breed to stretches of wildflower meadow, and turn each image around a full 360 degrees, listening to voices and commentaries in multimedia format.

This morning she shows how to get the most out of the exhibition, and welcomes several people with much knowledge of the island, including Cyril Annal and his son Alexander, naturalist Penny Martin, and zoologist Prof. Stephen Hall who has been studying the cattle for nearly forty years.

There is more about the exhibition on our Exhibitions page or you can go direct to it from here.

In association with Swona Heritage Foundation and Stromness Museum

You can watch this free event from here, through the YouTube link below, or if you’d like to join questions and discussion, you can also go to the Science Festival’s YouTube channel