Country diary: In a long, dark winter, this beam of golden light is precious | Cal FLyn

Maeshowe, Orkney: When the solstice sunset comes into line with the ancient cairn's entrance, the genius of its neolithic creators is manifestNear the village of Stenness, a strange conical hillock snouts from a grassy field. Shrouded in rough grass, and encircled by a ditch, it is both a part of the landscape yet unmistakably artificial. This is Maeshowe, a 5,000-year-old chambered cairn, best visited at this time of year, when the days are at their shortest and the genius of its neolithic creators might be viewed to full effect.Inside, at 2.30pm, a crowd of strangers stand together in the gloom, waiting for something to happen. We discuss the cairn's construction - the long, low passageway that leads into the dark, the great slabs of stone tightly corbelled to create the arching roof - and the runic graffiti scratched into the walls in the 12th century by Viking raiders. These runes are slender, branching figures, though their content is similar to what you might find in any bus shelter: who Thorni was bedding, adjudication of the shapeliest widows, who woz 'ere in 1153. Continue reading...