A Peedie Bit O' Orkney...

The rich, fertile land of Orkney, and the seas surrounding, produce food that's exported all over the world and enjoyed in top restaurants in the UK and much wider afield.

I'll deal with others yet, but start with possibly the oddest - the North Ronaldsay Sheep, which live on the northernmost of Orkney's islands.

"Sheep?" I hear you say, "What can possibly be odd or prized about mutton?"

Well, these sheep are not normal run-of-the-mill, wandering about in fields, sheep... for at least part of the year, they live on the shore around the island, kept there by a 6-foot-high drystane dyke (or wall, for the benefit of those of you who wouldn't know what a drystane dyke was if you tripped over one), and they live on seaweed... which (so I'm told, coz I've never eaten North Ronaldsay lamb or mutton) gives their meat a very distinctive, and much sought after, flavour.

And why do the sheep get shunted on to the shore? Quite simply, North Ronaldsay's not a big island, and good grazing land is at a premium.

The sheep have evolved in several ways to cope with their environment... for instance, instead of eating during the day and ruminating at night, these woolly beasts eat twice a day, at low tide, and digest in between.

Their wool is also highly prized, and lots of products knitted in North Ronaldsay wool are available.