Tourists disrupt Orkney funerals
Funerals in Orkney’s renowned St Magnus Cathedral have been interrupted by tourists taking pictures and disrupting funeral parties.
The Kirkwall cathedral, which still acts as a church in addition to being a tourist hotspot, has had a number of issues, with the latest coinciding with a rise in cruise ship visitors.
Local funeral director John G Corse told the Press & Journal: “It’s unbelievable really. The cathedral is closed during services and they put signs up but people just keep on coming past them. It’s very obvious there’s a funeral happening, it’s not acceptable.”
Previous issues have included an attempt to take the lid off of a coffin ahead of a funeral service. The doors are locked during these services, but enough people regularly linger on the green outside to interrupt families.
Rev Fraser Macnaughton said: “It is baffling to me. We need to try and understand it and unfortunately we will have to discuss it with our stakeholders.
“These are not isolated incidents and I’m certainly not condoning it.”
Tags: John G Corse, Orkney, Press & Journal, tourism, tourists