Pegal Burn On the road North from Lyness there is an attractive picnic area to your right. Under the stone bridge runs Pegal Burn which rises in the foothills of the Knap of Trowieglen and flows down to Pegal Bay.

Bridge over Pegal Burn Pegal Burn - Upstream   The Hoy Trust have fenced off part of this beautiful glen to prevent sheep from grazing here and, thus, to encourage the growth of a wide range of native Orkney trees.

But Pegal Burn has another claim to fame:  it was "bombed" in 1939! On October 17th 1939, Luftwaffe Junkers Ju88A-1 bombers  conducted a raid against ships in Scapa Flow, including HMS Iron Duke which received two direct hits causing extensive damage. The battleship was saved from sinking by a tug called to its assistance. However, during the attack, one Ju88 was struck by anti-aircraft fire from guns on a islet close to Hoy known as Rysa Little. Consequently, the bomber—now in flames—crashed to the ground on the Isle of Hoy, in the vicinity ofPegal Burn. With much of its bomb load still intact, the aircraft exploded on impact. This was the first enemy bomber to be shot down over British soil by anti-aircraft guns (as distinct from the earlier air-to-air combat with the RAF over the Firth of Forth). The propeller of this bomber is exhibited at the Scapa Flow Museum in Lyness. According to the RAF Museum, the bombs exploding on Hoy were considered to be the first enemy bombs to explode on British soil. Three of the crew died in this engagement (two of whom are remembered by gravestones at the cemetery in Lyness). The wireless operator / air gunner, however, survived.

Dwarfie Stane

Lyrawa Viewpoint

Betty Corrigall

Pegal Burn

Sandy Loch

Hills of Hoy

St John's Head

Old Man of Hoy

Rackwick Bay

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