Cava
Cava is a small uninhabited island lying in the heart of Scapa Flow, the great natural harbour of Orkney in the far north of Scotland. Sitting at coordinates 58.881°N, 3.168°W, the island occupies a central position within this sheltered stretch of water, surrounded by the larger islands of the Orkney archipelago. It is a flat, low-lying island of rough grass and heather, modest in size but rich in atmosphere and historical resonance, given its setting within one of the most storied stretches of water in the British Isles. Although it is now uninhabited and visited by very few people, Cava possesses a quiet, windswept beauty and an intimate connection to some of the most dramatic events of the twentieth century.
The island's most profound historical context comes from Scapa Flow itself, which served as the main base of the British Home Fleet during both World Wars. It was here, in June 1919, that one of the most extraordinary acts of naval history took place: the deliberate scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet. Following the Armistice, the interned German fleet — 74 warships in total — was scuttled on the orders of Rear-Admiral Ludwig von Reuter to prevent the ships from falling into Allied hands. Many of those vessels sank in the waters immediately surrounding Cava and the neighbouring islands. The wrecks that remain are today considered among the finest wreck-diving sites in Europe, drawing divers from around the world. Cava itself would have witnessed this dramatic event from close quarters, the vast ships slipping beneath the cold grey water of the Flow.
The physical character of Cava is of a piece with Orkney's remote, treeless interior islands. The land is low and gently undulating, covered with rough maritime grass, heather, and wildflowers in season. There are no trees to speak of — the Atlantic winds that funnel through the Flow ensure that. The coastline is a mixture of smooth, rounded shorelines and rocky outcrops, and the sound of the place is dominated by wind, water, the call of seabirds, and the distant wash of the tidal currents moving through Scapa Flow. On still days in summer, the water of the Flow takes on a deep blue-grey colour, and the surrounding islands — Hoy, South Ronaldsay, Burray, and Flotta — frame the horizon in every direction, lending the place a sense of being enclosed within a vast natural amphitheatre.
The landscape immediately surrounding Cava is defined by the waters of Scapa Flow and the low profiles of the neighbouring islands. To the south, the dramatic hills of Hoy rise steeply from the water, providing a striking backdrop. Flotta, the island to the east, is home to a major North Sea oil terminal and provides an industrial counterpoint to the otherwise wild setting. The Churchill Barriers — four stone causeways built during World War II to protect the Flow from submarine attack — link some of the eastern islands and are today used as roads. The wider Orkney mainland lies to the north, with the town of Stromness being the nearest significant settlement and the primary gateway for visitors to this part of the archipelago.
Visiting Cava requires independent arrangement, as there is no regular ferry service to the island. The most practical approach is to hire a private boat from Stromness or another harbour in the vicinity of Scapa Flow. Many visitors who come to this part of the Flow do so primarily for the diving, and several dive charter operators based in Stromness make trips through the waters around Cava as part of their wreck-diving excursions. Summer months — particularly June through August — offer the most favourable conditions, with calmer seas, longer days, and the possibility of encountering a wide variety of seabirds, including terns and various wading species. Visitors should be prepared for rapidly changing weather and should have appropriate clothing and experience for maritime conditions.
One of the more fascinating and little-known aspects of Cava's situation is that the seabed around it holds, within accessible diving depth, what remains of the German Imperial Navy. Several of the four surviving German warships that were not salvaged in the years following the scuttling lie within or near the waters around Cava. These include some of the most celebrated dive sites in the world, visited annually by thousands of divers who descend to the encrusted hulks resting on the sandy bottom of the Flow. The island thus sits at the epicentre of an underwater museum of extraordinary historical significance, most of which remains invisible to the casual visitor on the surface but is no less present for that.