Castle of Stackelbrae

On Murdoch Mackenzie's map of 1750 the building is depicted as a "Remarkable or Gentleman's House" and it's said to be where Pirate John Gow was imprisoned prior to being sent to London to be tried. The site is being damaged by coastal erosion and so was partially excavated in 2008-9 by Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology. At least five phases of occupation were discovered, dating from the medieval to the post-medieval periods.

A radiocarbon date from a sample of midden material was found to have a Norse date. One of the phases included a building with a fine flagstone floor and lime mortar on its external walls.

The remains of a stone pier can be found on the sand at Maltbarn, and Eday lore states that this is where Pirate Gow was shipped South from. Look up from the sandy beach to the left and you’ll see the large farm of Greentoft. This was the estate farm which had many tenant crofters. Look out for some of their ruined cottages on the way around the coast.