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Islands  solstices — extremes of light and dark  OSummer
Sunsetrkney summers are long, with almost continual daylight. In
June, for example, the sun is above the horizon for over 18
hours. This is contrasted sharply by the long, dark, winter
months, when the sun rises after 9am and begins to sink beneath
the horizon again around 3.30pm.  This is due to the high
latitude of Orkney (59 degrees north).  At the midsummer
solstice, the sun rises in the north-east, around 4am, before
setting again, in the north-west, at around 10.30pm. As such,
the sun shines for six hours on north facing surfaces and is in
the sky for some 18 hours.  But despite the long summer days,
the altitude of the sun at noon is less than 60 degrees, so high
temperatures are unusual.  When the summer sun finally sets, it
remains just below the horizon so there is no true darkness -
simply a period of extended twilight, known in dialect as the
"simmer dim".  But there is a price to