Olympic flame reaches far north

With just days to go before the relay reaches Yorkshire, the torch was yesterday carried in the Orkney and Shetland islands as it travelled by land, boat and plane.

The relay covered just under 30 miles on the ground, but involved three flights, first to Kirkwall in Orkney, then on to Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, and finally to Stornoway in the Western Isles.

Inga Kemp, 22, from Orkney, was the first of 20 Orkney torch- bearers, chosen for their contributions to sport and their communities.

She was chosen because of her involvement in the local development of netball and hockey and started the relay in front of the medieval St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, to cheers from large crowds.

Torchbearers who followed her included Sean Mcfedries, 24, who has Down’s Syndrome, and represented Orkney last year at the Commonwealth Games in India as part of the youth group that took part in the handover ceremony, and ultra distance running record holder William Sichel, 58, from Sanday, who lit the Orkney Cauldron.

The torch began its journey to the Shetland Islands at around noon, arriving in the town of Lerwick, where it passed through up to 20 hands, before being taken across Clickimin Loch by boat by Matthew Cox, 42, from Shetland, before making a visit to the town’s community festival and then leaving by helicopter.

It was lit at John O’Groats by two torchbearers, Andrew Sinclair and Louis MacKinnon, both 18, as they were cheered on by a large crowd.

The torch was flown to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis early last night.|