Following Gemma and Sinclair's outing to The Brough of Birsay, Gemma is left confused and hurt at Sinclair's swift disappearance. While waiting for him to return, she rediscovers a history book on Skara Brae where she learns of the Ring of Brodgar — a stone circle associated with wishing and curative restoration — and bikes the 11 miles to make a wish of her own (Livesey 231). Though only a short passage in Livesey's work, the history, and particularly the geographical implications, of the Ring of Brodgar can be attributed to the forewarning Cecil gives Gemma at Claypoole that has carried through the remainder of the story.

            The Ring of Brodgar is located in Stenness on a ness that separates the Harray and Stenness lochs. It is one of several stone henges found in the British Isles, and of those, the third largest. While The Ring of Brodgar stands in the middle of the Ness of Brodgar, it is surrounded to the north-west and south-east by both the Ring of Bookan and the Stones of Stenness respectively. These other stone formations are regarded as much more landlocked, whereas the two entrances to the Ring of Brodgar are described as causeways of differing sizes — leaving this ring to be on somewhat of an island. Even the location's name: Ring of Brodgar, is derived from brúar-garor, which is Old Norse meaning bridge farm ("The Ring of Brodgar, Stenness"). Since the Ring of Brodgar has never been excavated, its origin date is unknown, but it's been estimated that it was built between 2500BC and 200BC. While there were originally 60 stones in the formation, only 36 remain ("Ring of Brodgar Stone Circle and Henge";"The Ring of Brodgar, Stenness"). The exact use of the circle is unknown, but many speculate that it could have been a ceremonial place, astronomical observation spot, religious/ritual location, or a combination of a few or many functions ("The Ring of Brodgar, Stenness").

            The Ring's associations to wishing and curative powers as stated in Livesey's work are obscure, however this may come from one or two places. One possible correlation is a tradition that may take place during New Year celebrations in Scotland — in this a couple travels to Brodgar and prays to keep their oaths to one another. Another association may be the rocks' similarity to traditional anointed standing stones such as "elf-stenar" in Sweden. By anointing certain stones with fat, butter, oil, or more some stones were places of prayer and were believed to hold curative powers ("The Ring of Brodgar, Stenness").

            A greater correlation between this location and Livesey's work however lies in the recollection of Cecil's warning to Gemma prior to leaving Claypoole: "Be careful of the causeway" (Livesey 141). While there are several instances of causeways surrounding Gemma and her relationship to Sinclair, her visit to the Ring of Brodgar provides another one. As described earlier, both entrance points to this location are causeways meaning that Gemma's travel to this location is once again laced with caution. Despite her history book's positive associations for the site, Gemma's crossing of a causeway to get there may better sum her experience up with the phrase: "be careful what you wish for."

 Work Cited

Livesey, Margot. The Flight of Gemma Hardy. HarperCollins, 2012.

"Ring of Brodgar Stone Circle and Henge." Historic Environment Scotland,  https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/ring-of-brodgar-stone-circle-and-henge/history/. Accessed 20 February 2022.

"The Ring of Brodgar, Stenness, Orkneyjar, http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/brodgar/index.html. Accessed 20 February 2022.