I read George Mackay Brown in high school - Greenvoe and An Orkney Tapestry were the set texts in 2nd year and 3rd year respectively - and I was struck by the immense sense of depth of history from a living poet. It's difficult to explain what reading An Orkney Tapestry was like for the first time. It's like seeing Saturn's rings through a telescope with your own eyes for the first time except it's a telescope that's letting you see in crisp sharp focus all the way through 5000 years of time, instead of 750 million miles. From where I was standing aged 14 in a fairly small town on the Isle of Skye, 5000 years seemed a hell of a lot further.
I've been to Orkney several times, and it's an incredible place. The people who built Skara Brae had more advanced architecture than the Romans did (at least, they had better drains, and understood things like septic tanks and keeping drainage away from water supplies).
Very very real. You can go there and see it. You can walk around and sit where people sat over 5000 years ago.
I grew up not far from there (it's about a six or seven hour drive, followed by a two hour ferry journey, so it's not something you do every day, but barely 160 miles in a straight line) and it was all Iron Age brochs and such. Skara Brae was already ancient and lost when they were built.
I've been to Orkney several times, and it's an incredible place. The people who built Skara Brae had more advanced architecture than the Romans did (at least, they had better drains, and understood things like septic tanks and keeping drainage away from water supplies).