The Orkney - Charles Tait · tory sthrough historical times to the 21 t c enury iso , mak g h dv-sio nb etw p ad r m ha rdto isc n. A tracions Pe rh ap m o tfu i exceptionally well

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1st Edition

The

OrkneyMini Guide

by Charles Tait

ISBN 9780951785xxx

orkney minguide 2012_Miniguide 16/02/2012 21:32 Page 1

ISBN 9780951785xxx

CONTENTS

Welcome to Orkney 4Kirkwall 10Heart of Neolithic Orkney 20West Mainland 30East Mainland 38Scapa Flow 44South Isles, Hoy 48North Isles 50Getting Around in Orkney 90Getting to Orkney 60Local Services 62Index 64

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced in any form, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise(except for the purpose of bona fide review) without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorhas asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998 to be identified as the author of thiswork.

The Orkney Mini Guide1stEdition

Published by Charles Tait Kelton, St Ola, Orkney KW15 1TR

Tel 01856 873738 Fax 01856 [email protected] charles-tait.co.uk

This book is dedicated to my uncle,John Mather Leonard (1912-2007)

Text, design and layout © copyright Charles Tait 2012Photographs © copyright Charles Tait 1975-2012

Old Photographs from Charles Tait collectionPrinting by Kine Italia, Italy

OS maps reproduced from Ordnance Survey mapping with permissionof the Controller of HMSO, © Crown Copyright Reserved 100035677

The

OrkneyMini Guide

by Charles Tait

1st Edition


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Magnus Cathedral, to a diverse array ofcraft workshops and shops selling attrac-tive local goods. Wildlife, especiallybirds, is another feature of Orkney not tobe missed, whatever the season.

The Old Red Sandstone rocks result ina combination of fertile agricultural land,most of which is used to raise Orkney’srenowned grass-fed beef cattle, moorlandand spectacular coastal fringes, making ita haven for many species of birds in everyseason, while in spring and summer wildflowers are abundant.

The maritime climate combined with therelatively warm Atlantic Ocean, make theclimate very equable, with snow and frostrare in winter. Equally, the temperaturerarely exceeds 200 in summer. Situatedat the meeting point of the North Seaand Atlantic Ocean the islands are sur-rounded by waters abundant in fish andshellfish, adding to the wide variety of lo-cally produced quality foods.

Whether one arrives by air or sea at Kirk-wall or by sea at Stromness, St Margaret’sHope or Burwick, Orkney presents astrong contrast to the Highlands. Bothtowns are dominated by their windingmain streets and harbours, while Kirk-wall also has the imposing 12th centurySt Magnus Cathedral.

Both towns have excellent shops, hotelsand eating places, as well as interestingmuseums, and make good bases from

which to explore the rest of Orkney.Even on the shortest of visits there areseveral “must see” sites.

Suggested starting points are the OrkneyMuseum or the Highland Park VisitorCentre, with its excellent audiovisual, inKirkwall. A tour of the West Mainlandtaking in Maeshowe, the Ring ofBrodgar, the Standing Stones and SkaraBrae is essential. If time permits there aremany more places which can be visited ina day. These include Birsay, Stromnessand the Italian Chapel.

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WELCOME TO ORKNEY, where isThe rich archaeological heritage is one ofthe prime attractions, but the soft greenand fertile landscape, beautiful beaches,spectacular cliffs, abundant wildlife andabove all friendly people are equally im-portant in making up “Orkney”.

The archipelago lies just north of Main-land Scotland at around 590N and com-prises over 70 islands of which 17 or 18are inhabited by about 21,000 people.The first written reference to the islandsis by Pytheas the Greek in about 325BC,but they have been inhabited for at least6,000 years. The timeline from prehis-tory through historical times to the 21st

century is continuous, making the divi-sion between past and present at timeshard to discern.

Attractions Perhaps most famous for itsexceptionally well preserved Neolithicmonuments, some of which now enjoyWorld Heritage status, Orkney has awealth of visitor attractions. These rangefrom archaeological sites, local museums,the Highland Park Distillery and St

Midsummer at Yesnaby, West Mainland

WELCOME TO ORKNEY

St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall

Puffins and other seabirds come ashore to breed

WELCOME TO ORKNEY

Midsummer dawn at the Ring of Brodgar


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Brochs Continuity of settlement is welldemonstrated by the Broch of Gurness,one of the best examples of over 100 suchstructures in Orkney. It dates from thelate Iron Age, the last centuries BC. Thesettlement was occupied for hundreds ofyears at least until early Norse times.Pictish houses can be viewed here.

Picts and Vikings The Brough of Birsayis a tidal island off the northwest of theMainland, the site of both Pictish andViking settlements. These include Norsehouses and a well preserved church. Inthe nearby village of The Palace, the ruinsof the 16th century Earl’s Palace providea gaunt reminder of the more recent past,while St Magnus Kirk is built on the siteof a much older church.

St Magnus Cathedral The 12th centurySt Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall wasbuilt by the Norse Earl, Rognvald Kol-son, in honour of his murdered uncle,Earl Magnus Erlendson. It dominatesthe town, and its warm coloured Old RedSandstone, makes the building especiallyattractive. The interior is particularly im-pressive and well proportioned.

Italian Chapel During WWII Italianprisoners-of-war worked on the con-struction of the Churchill Barriers. Dur-ing their time here, the prisoners built theItalian Chapel in their camp on LambHolm. This unusual and charming sur-viving artefact of war stands now as asymbol of hope and peace.

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Neolithic Orkney There is a wealth ofNeolithic sites to visit, of whichMaeshowe, the Standing Stones of Sten-ness, the Ring of Brodgar and Skara Braeare the most spectacular. Maeshowe isthe largest and grandest of its type anddates from the third millennium BC,while the Standing Stones, Ness ofBrodgar and the Ring of Brodgar wereerected at about the same time.

All of these monuments are situated inthe heart of the West Mainland, sur-rounded by farmland and near the lochsof Stenness and Harray, in turn ringed byheather-covered low hills. There is atimeless and spacious feel to this land-scape as a result of the dramatic conflu-ence of sky, water and land.

Skara Brae lies on the shore of the Bay ofSkaill. Its well preserved 5,000 year oldhouses give a very good impression of lifethen. Together these and adjacent mon-uments form a the UNESCO WorldHeritage Site, “The Heart of NeolithicOrkney”.

There are many other fascinating monu-ments and sites of interest ranging fromthe Neolithic to the 20th century whichcan be visited all over Orkney. Everyparish and island has something differentand special left by the people who inhab-ited the countryside during the last sixmillennia.

WELCOME TO ORKNEY CULTURAL HERITAGE

Broch of Gurness

Italian Chapel

St Magnus Cathedral

Brough of Birsay

Skara Brae

Ness of Brodgar

Ring of Brodgar midsummer sunset

Maeshowe winter sunset


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is very variable, and it is possible to haveevery season in a day. This means thereis really no “best” time to visit.

The combination of constantly changingweather and day length make for a hugevariety of lighting conditions. Thismakes Orkney a paradise for artists, pho-tographers and lovers of the landscape inall seasons. Just wait a few minutes andeverything will be different.

During the summer many thousands ofbirds breed in Orkney. The cliff coloniesof seabirds are especially impressive atMarwick Head in Birsay, and NoupHead on Westray. Both Grey and Com-mon Seals, as well as Otters breed here,while cetaceans are sometimes seen off-shore.

Maritime Heath is home to the diminu-tive Primula scotica, and is a favouritenesting site for Terns and Arctic Skuas.The Heather Moorland is home to HenHarriers, Merlins and Short-eared Owlsas well as many species of Waders. Wa-terfowl breed around the many lochs andmarshes as well as, in some cases, nearthe shore.

Orkney is also a good place to see mi-grants and winter visitors such as GreatNorthern Divers, Long-tailed Ducks,Goldeneye, Iceland Gulls and otherspecies. The Peedie Sea, harbours atKirkwall and Stromness and the lochsare good places to look for these visitors.

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Natural Environment Orkney has arich natural environment. The combina-tion of fertile farmland with a great vari-ety of other habitats makes it a very goodplace for wildlife, especially birds andwild flowers. There are cliffs, beaches,marshes, moors and maritime heath aswell as sheltered bays, small islands andlochs, all of which attract a variety of dif-ferent species, depending on the seasonand weather.

There are many wonderful opportunitiesfor walking. Whether a stroll along abeach, or one of the many more adven-turous walks, Orkney will never fail toplease. The islands are also great for cy-cling, as the hills are not steep, and theside roads generally quiet.

The predominant colours are greens,blues and browns of grass, water, moorand sky. They vary with the season andare particularly vibrant in summer, butmore muted in other seasons. Orkney isfamous for its sunsets and its long hoursof daylight in summer. Winter days areshort, with long nights. The Aurora Bo-realis is occasionally seen, usually on adark moonless winter nights. Skies aregenerally not polluted by light, so thestars and planets are easily observed.

The Orkney climate is much influencedby the sea, which varies in temperatureby only a few degrees over the year. Thisensures that winters are mild, but alsothat summers are never hot. The weather

WELCOME TO ORKNEY NATURAL HERITAGE

Aurora Borealis from Wideford Hill in autumn

Orkney is home to Grey Seals

Puffins are one of the many bird species

Midwinter sunset at the Loch of Stenness

Aikerness beach overlooks Eynhallow Sound

Grobust on Westray

Rough seas at Skipi Geo, Birsay

The Old Man of Hoy


Later, the town developed around theCathedral, and became the administra-tive and commercial centre. Its access tothe North Isles, central position and shel-tered harbour in the then much biggerPeedie Sea made it an obvious location.

Today the winding main Street still fol-lows the shape of the original settlement.Many of the fine old houses with end-ongables date from the 16th to 18th cen-turies. Narrow lanes run off the Streetwhich has many attractive shops. AtBroad Street it opens into the expanse ofthe grass covered Kirk Green in front ofSt Magnus Cathedral.

The harbour front is the scene of muchactivity with ferries, fishing boats and, insummer cruise ships. Over the last 200years the pier has greatly expanded, it stillretains much of its charm. The marina

KIRKWALL (ON Kirkjuvagr, ChurchBay), as the main settlement in Orkney,is a good starting point for a visit to theislands. It is first mentioned in theOrkneyinga Saga. It was the dwellingplace of Earl Rognvald Brusison about1035, who built a church dedicated toKing Olav of Norway there.

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point from which to gain an insight intoOrkney’s rich past. Tankerness HouseGarden, behind the museum, is a pleas-ant place for a seat on a nice day. St Mag-nus Cathedral is across the road, andmakes an suitable finale to a visit, with itspeaceful interior.

is home to pleasure craft and is visited bymany yachts in the summer. Occasion-ally one or more tall ships lends a taste ofnostalgia to the scene.

Orkney Museum is housed in Tanker-ness House, parts of which date from the15th century. This is an excellent starting

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Tankerness House is the home of the Orkney Museum

KIRKJUVAGR

Kirkwall is dominated by the 12th century St Magnus Cathedral

Kirkwall Harbour Basin Albert Street and the “Big Tree”

KIRKWALL

KIRKWALL

St Magnus CathedralOrkney MuseumEarls’ & Bishop’s PalacesThe HarbourPeedie SeaThe Street - Old BuildingsThe Street - ShoppingHighland Park Visitor CentreWideford HillScapa BeachEating OutEvening EntertainmentKirkwall Ba’ Game

Crown copyright


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Orkney jewellery, local crafts and books,as well as many other home produceditems. There is plenty of opportunity forretail therapy. In addition there is a goodselection of Orkney food and drink prod-ucts such as Highland Park and ScapaMalt Whisky, Orkney Herring, OrkneyCheese, fresh and smoked fish and shell-fish of various kinds and of course the fa-mous Orkney Beef.

Eating Out There is a wide choice of es-tablishments around Kirkwall offeringfood and drink. These range from firstclass restaurants to chip shops and an ex-cellent Indian. All offer local produceand friendly service.

Highland Park Visitor Centre on thesoutheastern edge of the town the offersvisits to the distillery. An interesting au-diovisual introduction to Orkney and themaking of Highland Park Malt Whiskypreceeds a guided tour. The shop stocksmany items, mostly branded, as well asthe full range of Highland Park MaltWhisky.

Wideford Hill is a fine vantage pointfrom which to gain an overall impressionof Orkney. Just to the west of Kirkwallon the Old Finstown Road, the summit(226m) can be reached by footpath or byroad. From the here there is a panoramicview of most of the North and SouthIsles, East and West Mainland and ScapaFlow. Scotland can be seen in the far dis-tance to the south.

Scapa Beach is about 2km (1.5mi) southof the town and makes a fine walk.There are expansive views over ScapaFlow from here. This is a good place forbird watching at all times of year, espe-cially for waders and sea ducks. ScapaDistillery is on the west side of the bayand makes an excellent malt whisky.

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Palaces The nearby Bishop’s and Earl’sPalaces date from Norse and Scottishtimes. The former was first built at thesame time as the Cathedral, and waswhere King Haakon Haakonson died in1263 after the “Battle” of Largs. The“Moosie Tower” was built during the 16th

century.

The Earl’s Palace was built by the noto-rious Earl Patrick Stewart in the early17th century, but was only briefly occu-pied. It was roofless by 1750. Patrickwas executed for treason in 1615 and sohad little time to enjoy his palace, whichhas been described as a Scottish Renais-sance Masterpiece.

Shopping The Kirkwall Street is angood place to seek out interesting sou-venirs or presents, with its wide varietyof quality shops. They stock knitwear,

Scapa Bay and Distillery

KIRKJUVAGR

Kirkwall from Wideford Hill

The Earl’s Palace was built about 1600 Bishop’s Palace - “Moosie” Tower

KIRKWALL

St Magnus Cathedral and the Bishop’s Palace


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He was succeeded by his son Paul, whowas deposed in 1135 by Magnus’nephew, Earl Rognvald Kolson. He hadvowed to build “a stone minster at Kirk-wall, and to dedicate it to Earl Magnus theHoly”. On St Lucia’s Day 1137 (13th De-cember) he is said to have laid the foun-dation stone.

Much of the finance came from localfarmers under pressure from the Earl.Durham masons were drafted in to su-pervise construction work. The churchwas consecrated about 1150 when Mag-nus’ remains were transferred to a shrinein the east end of the building. This wasin the apse, which was later extended toform the present St Rognvald’s Chapel.

The choir and nave were lengthened, sothat by the 14th century the Cathedralwas more or less complete. Over the cen-turies it was allowed to fall into disrepair,but extensive restoration works havebeen carried out since the late 19th cen-tury.

St Magnus Cathedral is built from OldRed Sandstone, said to have been quar-ried at nearby Head of Holland, and alsoon Eday. It lends the slightly austere ex-terior a warm look. The interior of theCathedral is about 69m long and 30macross the transepts, while only 5m sep-arates the pillars in the nave. Despitethis, the overall impression is of spaceand balance with the attractive colours ofthe stone giving a very welcoming feel.

The Cathedral belongs to the people ofKirkwall and Orkney, having been largelyfinanced by them over the centuries. It isthe principal venue of the annual StMagnus Festival, whose founders includethe composer, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies,and the Stromness poet, George MacKayBrown.

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ST MAGNUS CATHEDRAL hasdominated Kirkwall for over 875 years.It remains a symbol of the 600 yearNorse rule and of the power and wealthof the Earldom. In 1103 the cousinsMagnus Erlendson and Haakon Paulsonsucceeded to the Earldom. At first allwent well, but by c.1117, disputes hadarisen, and they met on Egilsay on 16th

April. Each Earl was to take only two

ships, but Haakon arrived with eight andin an uncompromising mood. Soon itwas resolved to execute the rival Earl.

Lifolf, the cook, was ordered to kill Mag-nus, which he did by cleaving his skull. Acenotaph now stands on the spot wherethis act is said to have taken place. Theroofless 12th century St Magnus Kirk onEgilsay is one of many churches namedafter the martyred Earl.

Magnus was buried at Christ’s Church atBirsay, and soon prayers were being saidto him, and miraculous cures wereclaimed to be taking place. Later, EarlHaakon made a pilgrimage to Rome, andon his return had the now ruined StNicholas Round Church built at the Buin Orphir, in about 1122.

Nave west window

KIRKJUVAGR

The nave from the west door

St Magnus window

ST MAGNUS CATHEDRAL

St Magnus cathedral from the southeast


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Making Highland Park Whisky takeswater, barley, yeast, peat, sherry casks andlots of time. There are several stages:

Malting After steeping the barley in water,it is spread out on the malting floor and al-lowed to germinate.

The Kiln The malted barley is then placedin the kiln where it is dried over a peat fire.The peat smoke imparts a rich aroma to themalt, which then milled to form grist.

Tun Room The dried malt is mixed withhot water to form wort, then fermented byyeast in the mash tuns, and sampled at reg-ular intervals.

Still Room When fermentation is completethe result is distilled twice in the familiarcopper pot stills.

Bonded Warehouses The distillate isplaced in sherry casks and laid down to ma-ture for up to 25 years.

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Highland Park Distillery, the mostnortherly in Scotland, was founded in1798, on the site of a house which be-longed to Magnus Eunson, a smuggler and

illicit distiller, but also a Church Officer.On hearing that the Excisemen were afterhim, he removed all his casks from the kirkto his house, covered them with a coffinlid and a white cloth and called the con-gregation together around the whisky.When the customs arrived he was appar-ently conducting a funeral service, and awhispered “smallpox!” sent them off rap-idly.

The site was chosen on account of thewater supply which comes from springsin a small field called “Highland Park”. Ithas been owned by several people, havingbeen founded by a David Robertson. Itwas even owned by a minister of theUnited Presbyterian Church for a time!The Grant family of Elgin first became as-sociated with the distillery in 1888, finallyselling to the Highland Distilleries Co, in1936, which in turn was taken over by theEdrington Group in 1999.

The Malt is Dried in the Kiln

THE MOST NORTHERLY MALT WHISKY DISTILLERY

Spreading the Barley on the Malting Floor

The Still Room

HIGHLAND PARK DISTILLERY

The distinctive “pagoda-style” kilns make the Highland Park Distillery stand out in the landscape

One of the Bonded WarehousesThe Spirit Safe


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WEST MAINLAND The WestMainland includes “The Heart of Ne-olithic Orkney”, a designated UNESCOWorld Heritage Site, which includesMaeshowe, the Standing Stones of Sten-ness, the Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae,and parts of the surrounding area. Thereis a strong argument for the whole ofOrkney to be a World Heritage Site inview of its unique natural and culturalheritage, but for now the designation is

cultural only. The West Mainland en-compasses the essence of the archipelagoin a small and accessible area .

Apart from the Neolithic attractions,there are other many sites of interest.These include dramatic coastline such asat Yesnaby, Marwick Head and theBrough of Birsay as well as fine beacheslike Warebeth, the Bay of Skaill, Birsay,Aikerness and Waulkmill.

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For birdwatchers andbotanists, the huge vari-ety of habitats ensures awide range of species tosee at any season, whileanglers have a choice ofseveral lochs on which totry their skills and luck.Walkers will also find adiverse selection of inter-esting routes, coastal orinland, easy or morestrenuous. There ismuch to do in the West Mainland.

Apart from the main archaeological sites,there are many others to visit. These in-clude Neolithic chambered cairns atBookan, Unstan, Cuween and WidefordHill. The Broch of Gurness is the bestpreserved of many such Iron Age sites.There are Pictish and Norse ruins theBrough of Birsay, and a 16th centuryEarl’s Palace in Palace Village.

The Farm Museums at Corrigall andKirbuster, the Click Mill and Board-house or Barony Mill, all date from the19th century. Skaill House, next to SkaraBrae is a restored laird’s home full of in-teresting artefacts.

Stromness has its internationally ac-claimed Pier Arts Centre and a delightfulsmall Museum, reached through narrow,winding streets. The sheltered harbourwas called Hamnavoe by the Norse andis still home to much activity.

Orphir offers fine views over the greatnatural harbour of Scapa Flow, oncehome to the British Home Fleet, and lastresting place of some the WWI GermanHigh seas Fleet. The St Nicholas RoundKirk is Norse, and was built by EarlHaakon in atonement for his murder ofEarl, later to become St, Magnus.

THE HEART OF ORKNEY

The Castle of Yesnaby

WEST MAINLAND

VisitOrkney

WEST MAINLAND

World Heritage SiteSkara Brae, Ring of Brodgar,Ness of Brodgar, Barnhouse,Stones of Stenness, MaeshoweOther Places to Visit

Brough of BirsayYesnaby and Marwick HeadBroch of GurnessSkaill HouseFarm Museums & MillsStromnessOrphirScapa Flow


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Hut 8 appears to havebeen the workshop, withevidence of stone work-ing, and pottery making.“Grooved Ware” potterywas found along withbone and stone tools aswell as jewellery madefrom bone and shells.

The people were stockfarmers who reared cat-tle, sheep, some pigs anddeer. They also fished inthe sea, which wouldhave been prolific withCod, Haddock, Saithe and many speciesof shellfish. They also grew Bere Barley.

Due to the small amount of flint inOrkney, chert was used to make cuttingtools. Bone was much utilised, but woodwas not well preserved, though presum-ably it would also have been extensivelyused. Although no evi-dence of textile makingwas found, many possibleleather working toolswere found, suggestingthat the people may havebeen quite well dressed,perhaps using skins andfurs.

Skara Brae is contempo-rary with the otherOrkney Neolithic monu-ments. It is so far the

best preserved village to have been foundand the only one which can be visited,apart from the houses at Knap of Howaron Papa Westray and the settlement atBarnhouse in Stenness. The fact that itis so impressively designed and built sug-gests that its inhabitants were well settledin Orkney and not newcomers.

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SKARA BRAE The 5,000 year-oldNeolithic village of Skara Brae wasburied under sand dunes at the Bay ofSkaill, in the West Mainland, until 1850,when it was revealed by a big storm. The

houses are so intact that it is easy toimagine their inhabitants going abouttheir lives. The site was occupied fromabout 3100BC to about 2600BC, andconsists of at least six dwellings, all joinedtogether by a “street” and buried in amound of midden except for the free-standing “workshop”.

The huts are well constructed withdrains, (perhaps) damp-proof courses,stone dressers, beds, cupboards andtanks. There are even cells which mightbe toilets. All are quite similar in designand vary from about 6m x 6m to 4m x4m. The roofs may have been supportedby whalebone or driftwood rafters. Theywould have been covered with hides, turfand perhaps with straw or reed thatch, allheld down with heather or straw ropes.

THE HEART OF NEOLITHIC ORKNEY

“The Street” is a subterranean passageway

SKARA BRAE

Hut 1 is open to the elements and can be studied in detail

Aerial view of Skara Brae

Hut 7 is now covered over to preserve it


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Comet Stone, to the southeast, as well asseveral mounds nearby which could datefrom the Bronze Age. They may perhapsbe points for viewing the variety of solaralignments relating to the solstices,equinoxes, Beltane and other dates whichhave been observed or suggested.

This may have been the intention of thedesigner or not, but will always remainenigmatic. Alignmentswith lunar phenomenahave also been observedand suggested, particu-larly at the times of majorlunar standstills, every18.6 years.

Nowhere does the feelingof space, where water,land and sky all seem tomerge feel stronger thanat Brodgar. The con-stantly changing Orkney

light and weather mean that the site canbe visited at any season or time of dayand always look different. Although weknow nothing about the beliefs of theNeolithic people who built the Ring ofBrodgar it is clear that they were a highlymotivated and imaginative society.Building such a monument took consid-erable architectural and engineering skill,besides the physical effort.

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THE RING OF BRODGAR (ONBruar-gardr, Bridge Farm) is situated ona peninsula between the Lochs of Harrayand Stenness, in the heart of the WestMainland. This very fine stone circleoriginally comprised of 60 megaliths, ofwhich 27 remain upright. It is a perfectcircle, 103.7m in diameter and is sur-rounded by a rock-cut ditch 10m acrossand over 3m deep.

Dating from the same Neolithic periodas Maeshowe and Skara Brae, the con-struction of the henge and ditch wouldhave taken a lot of labour, implying an or-ganised society with spare resources andsome kind of strong beliefs. As withMaeshowe, the monument has been care-fully situated, with clear views in all di-rections.

The monoliths resemblethe uprights withinMaeshowe in size andshape, ranging fromabout 2m to 4.5m inheight, and often withangular faces or notcheson one side. They are allaligned with their flatsides facing into the cen-tre of the circle.

There is an outlyingstanding stone, the

THE HEART OF NEOLITHIC ORKNEYRING OF BRODGAR

Midsummer sunrise at the Ring of Brodgar

The Ring of Brodgar on an autumn afternoon The moon hovering low over the Stenness Hills

Midsummer sunset at the Ring of Brodgar


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based pigments mixedwith animal fat or eggwhites were used to cre-ate the yellow, red andbrown coatings. Somehave scratched designsobvious when new andwhich resemble other in-cised Neolithic artwork.

Flagstone Roofs Thesebuildings may have beenpartly roofed by flagstoneslates in a similar mannerto traditional Orkney houses. A layer oflarge, worked, rectangular flagstones wasdiscovered on the floor of two of thestructures. These well formed “slates” hadbeen skillfully trimmed.

Interiors Dressers and central hearthssimilar to those at Skara Brae were pres-ent, but the scale of the buildings andlack of evidence for long term occupationsuggests that these were not houses forliving in. More probably they were usedfor special occasions as has also been sug-gested for those at Barnhouse Village.

Abandonment The latest radiocarbondates so far found are c.2300BC fromcattle bones around structure 10. Thiswas first built around 2600BC and in-volved much demolition and burial ofearlier buildings. Development contin-ued for about another 300 years, afterwhich structure 10 was filled with mid-den and rubble. The cattle tibia, perhaps

represent feasting at the final closure ofthe site. Neolithic cultural activity con-tinued for perhaps another 200 years, buton a minor scale.

Nick Card, Project Manager has said,“The discoveries are unparalleled in Britishprehistory, the complexity of finds is chang-ing the whole vision of what the landscapewas 5,000 years ago and that it’s of a scalethat almost relates to the classical period inthe Mediterranean with walled enclosuresand precincts. The site could be more im-portant than Stonehenge.”

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NESS OF BRODGAR is the narrowpeninsula north of the bridge from whichthe area takes its name. In 1925 a stonedecorated with Neolithic lozenges andchevrons was found in the area nowbeing excavated, having been reused asthe lid of a Bronze Age cist burial.

Discovery The site was revealed by geo-physical surveys in 2003. After ex-ploratory digging in 2004, excavationshave been carried out here every yearsince then. So far only a small fraction ofthe buildings here have been investigated

Walls The site isbounded to the northand south by well builtwalls. The northern onewas initially 4m wide,and up to 100m long.The walls were paved onthe outside and musthave been most impres-sive when built. Origi-nally they could havebeen 3m or more highand enclosed an arearoughly 125m by 75m.

The oldest radiocarbon dates found sofar are from material under the southernwall and are from c.3200BC.

Buildings The largest building, structure10, is 20m square with walls 5m thick. Itis surrounded by paving and hasstonework of remarkable quality. Thecross shaped interior includes standingstones and in design is reminiscent ofMaeshowe, with which the entranceseems to be aligned.

All of these buildings have side chambersbuilt into the walls, central fireplaces andare aligned roughly north to south. Largequantities of Grooved Ware pottery andother artefacts have been found. In 2011the “Brodgar Boy” clay figurine added tothe growing finds of anthropomorphicartefacts in Orkney.

Painted Stones One of the most inter-esting finds was painted stones. Iron

Broken polished mace head


Walling and paved area

THE NESS OF BRODGAR

Excavation work in progress The Ness of Brodgar lies between Harray and Stenness Lochs


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BARNHOUSE VIL-LAGE Nearby is theNeolithic Village ofBarnhouse on the edge ofthe Loch of Harray. Thebases of at least 15 free-standing houses are indi-cated here, each with acentral hearth, and bedssimilar to those at SkaraBrae. Two were biggerthan the rest, the largestbeing 7m square inter-nally with 3m thick walls.At midsummer the setting sun shines di-rectly down the entrance passage of onehouse.

This structures resemble some of thechambered cairns, especially Maeshowe.This may have been a meeting-place as-sociated with events at the StandingStones. Flint and other stone tools werefound as well as Grooved Ware pottery,similar to that from Skara Brae, theStanding Stones and the Ness ofBrodgar. There are strong similaritieswith the apparently slightly later struc-

tures at the Ness of Brodgar, just over thebridge from here. Clearly much remainsto be discovered about this fascinatingarea of Neolithic Orkney.

The Barnhouse Stone

BARNHOUSE VILLAGE

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THE STANDING STONES OFSTENNESS originally comprised of acircle of perhaps 12 monoliths, sur-rounded by a ditch 2m deep, 7m wideand 44m in diameter. The tallest stoneis over 5m high. In addition there is ahearth-like stone setting in the centre.The site dates from about 3000BC andis thus older than Maeshowe or Brodgar.

Socket holes for more stones or woodenuprights were also discovered within thecircle and nearby, suggesting that the sitewas originally more complex.

The nearby Watchstonestands at the side of theLoch of Stenness. Ob-served from here somedays before and after thewinter solstice, the sundisappears behind thesouthern flank of theWard Hill of Hoy, andthen reappears momen-tarily on the north side,before finally setting.

There are several otherstanding stones in the vicinity, the Barn-house Stone near the main road, and apair of smaller monoliths on the northside of the Brodgar Bridge. In additionthere used to be the Stone of Odin,which was destroyed in 1814. This stonewas broken up and used to build a shed,but was a famous landmark. It had a holethrough which lovers and others couldhold hands and thus seal their vows. TheOath of Odin was binding on any con-tract, and also credited with healing pow-ers.

The Watchstone at midwinter

THE STANDING STONES OF STENNESS

The Standing Stones of Stenness on an autumn afternoon One of the houses at Barnhouse Village

Standing Stones midwinter sunset Midsummer sunset at Barnhouse Village

The Odinstone


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Maeshowe is very promi-nent in the Stennesslandscape. The quality ofits construction remainssupremely impressive5,000 years after it wasbuilt. It is highly doubt-ful whether the expertiseto quarry, transport andassemble these massiveflagstones exists today.Today’s visitors can onlymarvel at the abilities ofthese Neolithic buildersand wonder how they managed to do itall.

The other type of chambered cairn inOrkney is referred to as the Orkney-Cro-marty group, which have upright “stalls”,shelves at one or both ends and corbelledroofs. They may also have cells leadingoff the main chamber at floor level. Ex-amples include Unstan in Stenness, theTomb of the Eagles on South Ronaldsayas well as several on Rousay.

Excavation of a few of these cairns hasyielded the remains of large numbers ofpeople, and provided much informationon lifestyle, life expectancy and diseasessuffered as well as artefacts such as pot-tery and tools. Two types of pottery havebeen found - “Grooved Ware” and “Un-stan Ware”.

Some of the tombs seem to have been as-sociated with a particular animal, such as

Sea Eagles at the eponymous Tomb ofthe Eagles. The Neolithic people went togreat lengths to provide “houses for thedead” and clearly their ancestors werevery important to them. The cairns maywell have been used for rituals as well asburials.

Whether Maeshowe was ever used as atomb is unknown, but its ambience todayis rather that of a “Neolithic Cathedral”than a burial chamber. The nearby Nessof Brodgar buildings are clearly associ-ated in some ways yet to be discovered.

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MAESHOWE, or Orkahaugr in theOrkneyinga Saga, is one of the finest of allchambered cairns, of which there aremany in Orkney. These tombs were builtby Neolithic people from c.3200BC and

were often used over along period. Maeshowedates from c.2700BCand is the largest andmost splendid of its type.

The stonework is engi-neered with great skill,with massive stone slabs.The mound is carefullysituated with the en-trance passage alignedsuch that the setting sunilluminates the chamberfor several weeks in theafternoon in midwinter.

Very few artefacts werefound when the moundwas cleared out in 1862,but the discovery of alarge number of 12th cen-tury Norse runic inscrip-

tions and other carvings somewhatmitigated this. These runes were carvedabout 1153 by Norsemen returning fromthe crusades and are of the form “In-gibiorg, the fair widow...” or “Thorfinncarved these runes”.

The chamber is 4.5m square, similar tothe smaller houses at Skara Brae, whilethe passage is 14.5m long and 1.4m high.It is lined with very large stone slabs, eachof which weighs several tons. The threechambers are roofed with single hugeflagstones. The mound is surrounded bya ditch dating from c.2750BC.

Maeshowe is a prominent mound


Runic graffiti on the inside of Maeshowe

MAESHOWE

The winter solstice sunset shines down the passage at Maeshowe

Interior of Maeshowe, with passage, a cell and massive stonework


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said to be “a sumptuousand stately mansion” in1633. Stewart was ahalf-brother of MaryQueen of Scots.

The large exposed bay tothe east of the Brough isSkipi Geo. There is afine walk from the carpark to the Whale Bone,from where there arespectacular views onrough days. In summerthe whole area is awash with wild flow-ers, including Thrift, Spring Squill, Grassof Parnassus and Sea Plantain.

To the south the Birsay Links are a largearea of sand dunes and machair. Theyare a sea of colour with wild flowers insummer. There are fine views over BirsayBay from Garson, on the south side. Apath leads all the way to Marwick Headfrom here.

Marwick Head (87m) lies about 4km(2.5mi) to the south of The Palace, andis an RSPB Reserve. In early summer itteems with breeding seabirds and is avery good place to view Guillemots, Ra-zorbills, Fulmars, Kittiwakes, RockDoves, Puffins, and even perhaps a Pere-grine. The clifftops are carpeted by a pro-fusion of Thrift, other wild flowers andyellow lichens in summer, which adds tothe untamed wild beauty of the cliffs.

The Old Red Sandstone rock has levelbeds and weathers into a myriad of smallledges which are ideal for nestingseabirds. There are also plentiful foodsupplies in the neighbouring waters.

The tower at the highest point of Mar-wick Head was erected after WW1 tocommemorate the Minister of War,Kitchener, and the crew of HMS Hamp-shire, which was sunk by a German minehere in 1916. The cruiser was taking theMinister to Russia when the sinking hap-pened. There were very few survivors.

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THE BROUGH OF BIRSAY is a tidalisland off the northwest corner of theMainland. There are remains of a largeViking settlement, which is underlain byPictish buildings. Bronze casting wasdone here in Pictish times and a largesymbol stone was also found.

Most of the ruins visible today areViking, the small church is 12th century,but there may be an earlier Celtic onebelow it. On the slopes above the churchare the outlines of several Norse long-houses up to 20m long, together with

outhouses, which can beclearly seen from the air.

Near the church lies anextensive area of build-ings, complete withbath-house and underfloor central heating. Itis thought that EarlThorfinn the Mighty’s11th century cathedraland palace were in thevillage, which is called“The Palace”.

Apart from the ancient monuments, theBrough has a lighthouse dating from1925, and the whole area is a very pleas-ant place for a walk or to watch roughseas from the shelter of the car during awinter storm. It is also possible to seePuffins here during the breeding season.

The Earl’s Palace at “The Palace” villagewas built by Earl Robert Stewart in thelate 16th century and consists of fourwings surrounding a large courtyardwhich has a well in the middle. It was

Marwick Head with Kitchener Memorial

WEST MAINLAND

Earl’s Palace, Birsay

BIRSAY - THE BROUGH & MARWICK

The Brough of Birsay from the northwest

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Skipi Geo and the Whalebone


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Yesnaby During a stormhuge waves crash intoand over the cliffs here.The Castle of Yesnaby isa mini version of the OldMan of Hoy, which canbe seen from here. Thecoastal scenery here isnature in the raw. Stro-matolites, fossils whichdate from about 350 mil-lion years ago, may beseen here.

Yesnaby has many characters dependingon the season, time of day and weather.On a gentle summer’s evening it appearsbenign and welcoming. During a north-westerly force 12 gale with enormousseas breaking, the raw power of naturelaid bare.

Wild Flowers This exposed place is oneof the best places to see the rare endemic,Primula scotica. It flowers in May andJuly and can be spotted from the ap-proach road. This hardy little plant onlygrows in Orkney and the north coast of

Scotland. It has small magenta flowers.In summer Spring Squill, Thrift, Grassof Parnassus and Sea Plantain give themaritime heath a warm glow.

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Skaill House is situated near Skara Braeon the west coast of the Mainland. It isthe only mansion house in Orkney opento the public as a museum and datespartly from the 17th century. In 1615Bishop Graham “acquired” a substantialamount of land from bishopric propertyand smallholdings, in the name of hiseldest son, John, who became the firstLaird. The oldest part was built byBishop Graham in the 1620’s and muchof the house dates from the 18th century.

The tour is a good insight to the lives ofthe Lairds and their families, with con-nections to many historic events and

characters. These include some of Cap-tain Cook’s dinner service, a cupboardcalled the Armada Chest, with panelssaid to have come from a Spanish ship in1588 and one of Bishop Graham’s beds.The house is allegedly haunted, and dur-ing renovation work 15 skeletons werefound, which are thought to be earlyChristian, perhaps Pictish.

There is a gift shop and the property isopen from April to October. A visitmakes an interesting contrast to SkaraBrae. The present Laird, Major MalcolmMacrae, is the 12th and he has renovatedthe property as a museum.

Bay of Skaill Further south along thewest coast of the Mainland lies the Bayof Skaill. The famous Neolithic villageof Skara Brae is on the southwest shore.Skaill House is adjacent and shares tick-eting with its more ancient neighbour. Astroll here is much recommended at anyseason, whether benign on a summer’sday or wild in a winter storm.

Yesnaby Castle

WEST MAINLAND

Bishop Graham’s bedroom and bed

SANDWICK - SKAILL AND YESNABY

Skaill House faces the Bay of Skaill Yesnaby on a calm summer evening

Primula scotica at YesnabyThe Bay of Skaill

Coastal scenery at Yesnaby


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the visitor is free to wan-der at will and imaginelife millenia ago.

During excavation manyartefacts were found, in-cluding fragments ofRoman amphorae fromc.100AD, stone and bonetools, pottery and itemswith Pictish Ogam in-scriptions. A 9th centuryViking female burialwith grave goods waspresent near the top of the mound.

Pictish Houses At Gurness are the onlyexamples of shamrock-shaped multicel-lular Pictish houses currently on view inOrkney. These were rebuilt near the en-trance as originally they were built intothe broch mound. The small museumhas a shop, and an excellent interpreta-tion area.

Other Brochs Other excavated brochsto visit include Midhowe on Rousay,Burgar in Sandwick, Burrian on North

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BROCHS (ON Borg, stronghold) areunique to Scotland and Orkney hasabout 100. They developed from round-houses which first appeared around700BC. Brochs typically have a largetower, up to 20m in diameter with hol-low walls up to 5m thick at the base.

The walls have an internal staircase andthe structures could be up to 15m tall.Most brochs are sited near the coast, butthere a number in the West Mainlandthat are inland. Some are solitary, butothers are surrounded by settlements.

Broch of Gurness Over2,000 years after its con-struction, this broch atAikerness remains im-posing. The site, with itsramparts, ditches, brochtower and extensive sur-rounding settlement is anevocative place to visit. Itwas occupied from theIron Age to Norse times.

The broch is surroundedby three massive ram-

parts and deep ditches, and may have hada tall tower. Inside there is a centralhearth and an elaborate well with a col-lecting tank. The space between thebroch and the defences encloses a smallvillage which could have been occupiedby 30 or so families. An imposing en-trance leads via a small street to the brochdoorway with its massive lintel.

The houses share walls and are furnishedin stone with hearths, cooking tanks,drains, box beds, storage cupboards andeven toilets. Unlike at other monuments,

IRON AGE ORKNEY

Pictish houses at Gurness

BROCH OF GURNESS

Aerial view of the Broch of Gurness with village and broch tower

Staircase inside the broch Earthhouse at Rennibister

Ronaldsay and Burroughstone on Shap-insay. There are many more visible asmounds.

Earthhouses Another interesting devel-opment starting in about 600BC is theEarthhouse or souterrain. Typical exam-ples at Rennibister in Firth and Grainnear Kirkwall can be visited. These un-derground structures are thought to becellars from long-gone roundhouses.They were probably used for storage, andany resemblance to chambered cairns ismost likely superficial.

Broch of Gurness has an impressive tower

Norse oval brooch from Gurness


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temporary exhibitions. This attractiveold building was once the agency andstore for the Hudson’s Bay Company andis built on a pier near the ferry terminal.It has recently been refurbished and ex-tended to accommodate a greater varietyof work.

Shopping There are many interestingshops in Stromness, offering a range oflocal crafts, knitwear, books and art, aswell as several grocers and hardwareshops Parking is not very practical in thenarrow street but there are plenty ofspaces on the approach road.

Ness Battery was an important part ofthe defence of Scapa Flow in both WorldWars. The WWII structures are largelyintact and include 6in gun houses, thebattery observation post, magazines, gen-erator houses and accommodation.

Activities Apart from the timeless at-traction of watching boats and peoplearound the harbour, Stromness has a golfcourse and a variety of fine walks. Thereis an excellent panoramic view fromBrinkie’s Brae (94m) above the town.The beach of Warebeth lies to the westand offers fine views of the Hoy Hillsand Hoy Sound.

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STROMNESS (ON Straum-nes,Stream Point) was also called Hamnavoe(Harbour Bay) by the Vikings. This ex-cellent harbour is the ferry terminal forthe crossing to Scrabster in Caithness.There are also many small fishing boatsand dive boats which work from here.

The town dates from the 17th centuryand for many years supplied water, storesand crewmen to ships taking the north-ern route around Britain as well as shipsof the Hudson’s Bay Company andwhalers. During the Herring Boom inthe late 19th and early 20th centuries itwas also very busy.

Street The winding, flagstone-pavedstreet is the backbone of the town. Manyof the houses on the shore side have theirown piers, while the houses higher up arereached by a multitude of narrow lanes.The lack of space for new developmentin the town has preserved its attractivecharacter, with the industrial area beingsituated on the outskirts.

The intimate nature of the town makesStromness popular with visitors and sev-eral events take place here includingOrkney Traditional Folk Festival, Strom-ness Shopping Week and a Beer Festival.

Museum Stromness Museum has a fas-cinating series of displays on mostly mar-itime and natural history themes. Theseinclude the Hudson’s Bay Company con-nection, and the scuttle of the WW1German High Seas Fleet. There are alsoextensive exhibits of Orkney birds, mam-mals, molluscs and insects.

Pier Arts Centre Also well worth a visitis the Pier Arts Centre with its perma-nent collection of 20th century art and

Hoy Hills and Hoy Sound from Warebeth

HAMNAVOE

The view of Stromness from the ferry is one of Orkney’s iconic scenes

Victoria Street

STROMNESS

Crown copyright

Small boats in the harbourPier Arts Centre


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Copinsay is a small is-land and RSPB Reserveoff the southeast ofDeerness. It has a largeseabird colony in sum-mer on its east facingcliffs. Many Grey Sealsalso pup here in autumn.It is hard to reach, butwell worth the effort if aboat can be procured.

Holm The pretty villageof St Mary’s in Holmoverlooks Holm Sound, through whichU47 sailed in 1939 on its way to sinkHMS Royal Oak. There is a good viewof the sound and the Churchill Barriersfrom the hill east of the village.

The fertile area in the south east corneris known as Paplay, where the Vikingsfound a large monastic settlement. Noarchaeological remains have been exca-vated from this time here, but a high sta-tus Pictish, and later, Viking, farmsteadat Skaill in Deerness was examined sometime ago.

Beaches In Deerness, Sandside, Newarkand Dingieshowe are all very fine beachesfor a walk or picnic. There are several at-tractive small beaches in Tankerness. InHolm, Wester Sand and Howes Wick,near the Old Kirk, are pleasant.

Wildlife There are many good birdingsites here including the flat muddy shoresat Mill Sands and St Peter’s Pool, inTankerness. St Mary’s and GraemeshallLochs in Holm, as well as the Loch ofTankerness should be checked. In Deer-ness the Mull Head is home to breedingseabirds and moorland species.

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EAST MAINLAND The parishes ofTankerness, Holm and Deerness havemuch to offer the visitor, having a charmall of their own and being like a separateisland in many ways. The area is gener-ally low lying and mostly farmland, butall the same has much of interest to seeand do. This includes many fine beaches,some spectacular cliffs and good walking.

Archaeology There is ample evidence ofearly occupation in the form of burntmounds and brochs, most notablyDingieshowe on the Deerness isthmus.

The only ancient monu-ment open to the visitoris Minehowe. Thisenigmatic, well-like IronAge structure has 29stone steps which de-scend in two flights to asmall chamber. Mine-howe is a small part of alarge unexplored prehis-toric landscape.

Rerwick Head is themost northeasterly point

of Tankerness. In both World Warsthere were gun batteries on this head-land, which may still be seen. There arefine coastal walks from here, southwardsalong the low cliffs to the Ness and Hallof Tankerness, or eastwards to the finebeaches at Heatherhouse and Redbanks.

Mull Head in Deerness is a Nature Re-serve with indicated paths. Near the en-trance the Gloup is a large partiallycollapsed cave, a deep chasm which canbe observed with care from a gallery.The low cliffs at Mull Head are a goodplace to see seabirds and seals. There isa fine circular walk around the headland.

Brough of Deerness On the east side ofMull Head , about 1km north of thecarpark, stands the promontory of theBrough of Deerness. There is a smallchapel and a scatter of foundations ofbuildings. All are Norse, but Pictish peo-ple were probably here in earlier times.

TANKERNESS, DEERNESS & HOLM

The Brough of Deerness

EAST MAINLAND

The Mull Head

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Dingieshowe has a lovely beach

EAST MAINLAND

Rerwick HeadSt Peter’s Pool & DingieshoweNewark Bay, Sandside & The GloupMull Head & Brough of DeernessCopinsaySt Mary’s & Paplay & Holm Sound


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A belfry was mounted ontop and a moulded headof Christ in red clay wasplaced on the front of thearch. The whole exteriorof the hut was then cov-ered with a thick coat ofcement, never in shortsupply during the build-ing of the Barriers!

Chiocchetti returned toOrkney in 1960, when hedid much to restore theinternal paintwork of the chapel. In1961 his hometown, Moena, nearBolzano in the Dolomites, gifted a way-side shrine, the carved figure of Christerected outside the Chapel, to the peopleof Orkney. More recently much workhas been done to restore and preserve theChapel, the memorial statue and sur-roundings for the future.

The Italian Chapel is now one of themost visited monuments in Orkney andis a fitting memorial to those lost inwartime. Chiocchetti, in addressing theOrcadian people, said, "The chapel isyours, for you to love and preserve. I takewith me to Italy the remembrance of yourkindness and wonderful hospitality. I shallremember you always, and my childrenshall learn from me to love you. I thank(you)....for having given me the joy of seeingagain the little chapel of Lamb Holm whereI, in leaving, leave a part of my heart."

It is somewhat ironic that most of themany visitors to Orkney cross theChurchill Barriers to see the ItalianChapel. They come not to remember theBritish war leader, or to marvel at mili-tary engineering, but to visit our littleItalian shrine, which is a monument tohope and faith in exile. It is now over 70years ago that the Italian prisoners of warfrom the Libyan desert arrived on a chillyLamb Holm, but their chapel offers awarm welcome, and is an enduring sym-bol of faith and hope.

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ITALIAN CHAPEL "The Miracle ofCamp 60" was built by Italian prisonersof war of Camp 60, who arrived fromLibya in January 1942 to help build theChurchill Barriers. It is an unusual sur-vivor and memorial to the Second WorldWar.

To brighten up the cheerless camp ofNissen huts the Italians made paths andplanted flowerbeds. Artist, DomenicoChiocchetti made the St George and theDragon statue from barbed wire and ce-ment, to preside over the camp square.

The prisoners soon had atheatre and a recreationalhut complete with a con-crete billiard table, butthey lacked a chapel.

In late 1943 two Nissenhuts were joined end toend and Chiocchetti setto work, aided by a smallnumber of other POWs.One end was to be theChapel, the other aschool. The hut was

lined with plasterboard and an altar withthe rail cast in concrete.

Chiocchetti painted the Madonna andChild behind the altar. The image isbased on a 19th century painting by Ni-colo Barabino from a card his motherhad given to him when he left for the war.He also frescoed a White Dove, the sym-bol of the Holy Spirit, at the centre of thevault and included the symbols of thefour Evangelists around it, as well as twoCherubim and two Seraphim lowerdown.

The upper parts of the interior appearlike brick with vaulting, while the lowerwalls are painted to look like carved mar-ble. The “vaults” in the ceiling are espe-cially well executed. Palumbo, ametalworker, made candelabra and therood screen and gates. A façade waserected with the help of Bruttapasta,with an archway and pillars.

St George and the Dragon in the camp square

OVER THE BARRIERS

The Italian Chapel and Barrier #1

ITALIAN CHAPEL

The Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm The interior is beautifully painted


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The Tomb of the Eaglesis to the south, near Bur-wick. This chamberedcairn strongly resemblesUnstan Cairn in Sten-ness. The remains ofabout 340 individualswere found. Of particu-lar interest was the dis-covery of skeletons andtalons of Sea Eagles,hence the name.

The cairn was built c.3150BC and usedfor c.800 years. Over 40 broken UnstanWare pots were found, as well as fish andanimal bones and charred barley. Carvedstone objects and rougher stone tools areon display along with some of the skullsin the museum where they can be exam-ined closely. The human remains haverevealed much about the people’s lives.

The nearby Liddle BurntMound dates from theBronze Age, from per-haps 1000BC. It has acentral trough which wasused to cook joints ofmeat by throwing instones heated in a fire -hence the mound ofburnt stones.

Ferries John o’Groats Ferries runs a pas-senger service in the summer betweenJohn o’Groats in Caithness and Burwickin around 45 minutes. Pentland Ferriesalso operate a daily year round roro cata-maran ferry between Gills Bay in Caith-ness and St. Margarets Hope.

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SOUTH RONALDSAY& BURRAY areaccessed by the Churchill Barriers. Thereare many sites of interest apart from theBarriers themselves, their associatedblockships and the lovely sandy beacheswhich have built up.

Burray (ON Borgarey, Broch Island) islow lying with very fine beaches on theeast side. Echnaloch is particularly good

for wildfowl at all times of year. Manyoverwintering bird species can also beseen from the Barriers.

Orkney Fossil and Heritage Centre hasdisplays of Orkney rocks and fossils andtells the story of Orkney’s geology, as wellas relics of bye-gone days. There is a giftshop and tea room.which is open fromApril to October.

South Ronaldsay (ON Rognvald’s-ey) has aspecial charm. The small village of StMargaret’s Hope dates from the 17th and18th centuries. “Hope” comes from ONHjop (Bay), and not the English word“hope”. The village has the Old SmiddyMuseum, several interesting shops, craftworkshops and the Creel Restaurant.

Boys’ Ploughing Match This event isheld at Sand o’Wright each August.Girls dress up as horses and boys asploughmen, before being judged as at areal horse event. Later, rigs are workedin the sand using ploughs which haveoften been handed down over genera-tions.

Hoxa Tapestry Gallery Here LeilaThomson weaves wonderful tapestries“inspired by the life and landscape ofOrkney.”

OVER THE BARRIERSSOUTH RONALDSAY AND BURRAY



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HMS Royal Oak In1939 the German U-boat U47 crept intoScapa Flow throughHolm Sound and torpe-doed HMS Royal Oak,with the loss of 833 crew.This was to result in theconstruction of theChurchill Barriers and ahuge increase in the de-fences in general.

The wreck of HMSRoyal Oak was leakingconsiderable quantities offuel oil and became a pollution threat. Asa result the Royal Navy has removedmuch of the oil fuel that remainedaboard.

Churchill BarriersGreatly increased de-fences were ordered to be built byChurchill in 1940 after the sinking ofHMS Royal Oak to seal off the easternapproaches to Scapa Flow. The firm ofBalfour Beatty was appointed as contrac-tors. To solve the labour shortage, several

hundred Italian prisoners of war weredrafted in from Libya early in 1942 to as-sist in the work.

Camps and works were set up in the EastMainland as well as on Lamb Holm,Glimps Holm and Burray. Nearly 1 mil-lion cubic metres of rock in wire bolsterswas used to complete the four Barriers,and by late 1942 they were breaking thesurface. Over 50,000 5 and 10-ton con-crete blocks were then used to clad thesides.

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SCAPA FLOW was used as the mainbase of the British Home Fleet in bothWW1 and WW2 due to it being a largeland-locked harbour with deep entrancesand deep water anchorages. In both warsit took some time to make it secure.

WWI Early in the First World War,Scapa Flow was selected as the main basefor the British Home Fleet. In 1914 ithad no defences in place, but by 1918 itwas very heavily defended. Coastal bat-teries, boom defence nets, controlledminefields and many other measures

were put in place tomake the fleet safe in itsanchorage. Early exper-iments with shipbourneaircraft were carried outhere for the first time.

Scuttle of GermanFleet The harbour sawdramatic actions in bothwars. After WW1, 74vessels of the GermanHigh Seas Fleet were in-

terned here, and on 21st

June 1919 they were scuttled. Somewere beached, but most sank. The ma-jority were salvaged during the 1920s and1930s, but three battleships and fourcruisers remain and are much visited byscuba divers today.

WWII At the start of the SecondWorld War, Scapa Flow had a few gunemplacements left over from the previousconflict. It was soon realised that exten-sive defences would be required to renderScapa Flow secure from German attack.

Holm Coastal Defence Battery

MAJOR NAVAL BASE IN WWI AND WWII

HMS “Royal Oak”German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow in late 1918

SCAPA FLOW

Aerial view of the Churchill Barriers from the north

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and export large quantities of crude.Tankers remain a common sight in ScapaFlow. In addition vessels doing ship toship transfers or undergoing mainte-nance often call.

Wildlife Scapa Flow is winter home tomany birds which breed in the Arctic, in-cluding Great Northern Divers andLong-tailed Ducks. The Churchill Bar-riers are a good place to look for thesespecies. In summer many Terns, Eiders,Red-breasted Mergansers and otherseabirds nest around the shores.

It is occasionally visited by pods of youngSperm Whales and various species ofdolphins, including Killer Whales andPorpoises. The shores are home to theelusive Otter, while Common and GreySeals both breed in the area.

Transport Link Today the Barriers pro-vide Orkney’s only fixed transport linksbetween the Mainland and other islands.Large sandy beaches have built up inWeddel and Water Sound on the east

sides of Barriers #3 and #4. The blockageof the channels has also greatly affectedthe distribution of sand all aroundOrkney beaches.

The Churchill Barriers are often subjectto adverse weather conditions. Duringstorms waves can make crossing danger-ous, particularly at high spring tides witha storm surge. Most visitors, however,will only see Scapa Flow in beautiful, be-nign and colourful summer weather.

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WWII defencesUp to 40,000 men werebased in Orkney at the peak of activity inWWII, and once secured maximum ad-vantage was taken of the strategically im-portant position of Scapa Flow. Muchevidence still remains of the defences, in-cluding coastal batteries, searchlight em-placements, old airfields, and parts of thenaval base at Lyness on Hoy.

During WWII, aircraft carriers werevery important and Orkney served asbase for repairs and training for many of

their aircraft. The actionwhere Bismarckwas sunksucceeded due to theseemingly archaic FaireySwordfish torpedobombers which doggedlysearched out the battle-ship and, despite theirapparent frailty, damagedthe ship’s rudder.

Scapa Flow VisitorCentre, based in the oldpumphouse at Lyness, is

a museum and interpretation centreabout the wartime history Scapa Flow.Lyness was a massive naval base in bothWorld Wars. During WWII large oiltanks were built into Wee Fea, the hillabove the harbour. Many artefacts are ondisplay from both wars, ranging fromlarge guns to small items. The remaininglarge oil tank is also used for exhibits.

North Sea Oil In the 1970s oil was firstexploited in the North Sea, and theFlotta Oil Terminal continues to process

Flotta Oil Terminal

MAJOR NAVAL BASE IN WWI AND WWII

Swordfish aircraft at Hatston

HMS “Victorious”

SCAPA FLOW

Scapa Flow Visitor Centre at Lyness

Ness Coastal Defence Battery, Stromness Diving in Scapa Flow


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Scapa Flow Visitor Centre is in whatwas the pumphouse serving the RoyalNavy fuel oil tanks during WWII. Oneof the oil tanks has also been retainedand contains displays of military equip-ment and artefacts. Inside the pump-house the machinery has been renovatedand there are displays of small artefacts,photographs and documents relating tothe two World Wars. Outside severalWWI German guns, railway stock usedin WWII and a propeller off HMSHampshire can be seen.

Longhope Lifeboat Station at Brims isa museum whose main exhibit is thelifeboat which served here from 1933 to1962, the Thomas McCunn. Since beingestablished in 1874, many successful res-cues were undertaken from here. Per-haps the late coxswain Dan Kirkpatrickwas the most deserving of fame. It wasfrom here that he and his crew left in thelifeboat TGB to aid a Liberian freighter,Irene, in March 1969. Sadly all were lostin tumultuous seas in the Pentland Firth.A bronze statue in Osmondwall Ceme-tery honours the TGB crew.

Martello Tower & Battery at Hackness, one of two Scotland. It was built duringthe early 19th century Napoleonic Warsto protect shipping from American pri-vateers. Convoys were introduced at thattime to guard merchant vessels from at-tack, and Longhope was a rendezvous.

The tower had a 24-pounder gunmounted on top, while the battery hadeight 24-pounder guns, with barracks,stores and a magazine. The site has beenextensively renovated inside and out.

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HOY (ON Ha-ey, High Island) is thesecond largest of the Orkney Islands anddifferent in character from the others.The north end is hilly with the WardHill (479m) and Cuilags (433m) beingprominent landmarks from many partsof Orkney. Much of the north end ofHoy is an RSPB Reserve.

Old Man of Hoy The north and westcoasts have spectacular cliffs, only thesouth end being low and fertile. One ofOrkney’s most well-known icons is the

famous rock stack, theOld Man of Hoy(137m), which standson a lava platform. Theferry passes the Hoycliffs on its way acrossthe Pentland Firth, al-lowing a stunning viewof the noble stack.

Rackwick The widesweep of Rackwick, onthe north west side witha sand and boulderbeach bounded on both

sides by high cliffs, is wellappreciated from the path to the OldMan. This offers good views across thePentland Firth to Scotland. Rackwickhas a beauty and climate all of its own,beware the midgies but admire the drag-onflies and wild flowers.

St John’s Head The imposing craigs atSt John’s Head (351m) are the highestvertical sea cliffs in Britain. The horizon-tal beds of sandstone have weathered togive dramatic reds and yellows, which areespecially vibrant with a low evening sun.

Dwarfie Stone Below the Ward Hill, onthe road to Rackwick, lies the enigmaticDwarfie Stone with its hand carvedchamber. This may be Neolithic, but isunique as the only such tomb in the UK.It must have taken a lot of work to exca-vate the cavity.

Martello Tower gun

THE HIGH ISLAND

The Old Man of Hoy

Rackwick

HOY

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Longhope Harbour


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metal working includingcrucibles, moulds andjewellery.

The site of a Pictish andViking cemetery lies atMoaness near WestnessFarm. Brooches, pins,tools and weapons werefound, including an elab-orate Celtic brooch pin.Boat graves had the re-mains of two men buriedwith their weapons, onehad four arrowheads in his body.

There is another broch above the Bay ofSwandro. The ruins of a Norse Farm areadjacent to this, and nearby, on Moaness,there is a Norse boat shed and slipway.Skaill is an 18th century farm whose ten-ants were evicted by General Burroughsin the 19th century. St Mary’s Kirk is theformer Rousay parish church. Westnesswas the most important part of Rousayfor thousands of years, with continuoussettlement since Neolithic times to thepresent.

RSPB Reserve The moorland Trum-land RSPB Reserve near the pier is agood place to see Hen Harriers, Merlin,Peregrine and Red-throated Divers,while the rare Primula scotica may befound on the maritime heath of the westcoast.

EGILSAY was the location of the mar-tyrdom of Earl Magnus. It is the site ofthe fine 12th century St Magnus Kirkwith its tall round tower. A cenotaphmarks the place where the saint is said tohave been killed at Easter c.1117.

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ROUSAY (ON Hrolfs-ey, Rolf ’s Island)has been called “The Egypt of the North”due to its concentration of prehistorictombs and other monuments. Thisround, hilly island has a road around thecoast and makes a pleasant excursionfrom the Mainland via the roro ferryfrom Tingwall in Rendall.

Chambered Cairns Near the pier is theunusual two tiered chambered cairn ofTaversoe Tuick. This unique little tombalso has two entrances. Further west aretwo more chambered cairns at Black-

hammar and Yarso. Both are of the“stalled” type and are divided up by up-right slabs as in a byre.

Blackhammar contained only two burialsand a broken Unstan Ware bowl, whileYarso had remains of at least 21 people.In both cases flint and bone tools werefound as well as deer bones at Yarso.

Midhowe stalled cairn is the largest in-tact chambered cairn in Orkney. Thechamber measures 23 by 4m and is di-vided by 12 pairs of “stalls”. About 25bodies had been laid in a crouched posi-tion on or under shelves between thestalls. The outside walls are carefullybuilt with stones set at angles, similar tothe designs on Unstan Ware pottery.

Westness Walk Midhowe forms part ofthe Westness Walk, which also takes inthe Midhowe Broch, whose walls stillreach 4.3m in height. This Iron Agebuilding was occupied from about200BC to 200AD. Finds included someRoman artefacts, as well as pottery and abronze ladle. There was evidence of

St Magnus Kirk, Egilsay

THE EGYPT OF THE NORTH

Midhowe Broch overlooks Eynhallow Sound

Trumland Farm and House

ROUSAY

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Midhowe stalled cairnWyre and Gairsay from Rousay


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parents. The large skeleton of a SpermWhale lies in the garden.

Noltland Castle The gaunt unfinishedshell of 16th Noltland Castle overlooksthe village. It was commenced about1560 by Gilbert Balfour, but never fin-ished. There are fine views from theupper storey. With its many gunloops ithas been compared to a ship of the line.

The great hall is spacious, as are the up-stairs apartments. However the cav-ernous kitchen cannot have been verysalubrious. The Castle may have beenpartially habitable as late as 1761.

Noup Head The landscape more thanmakes up for lack of ancient sites on dis-play for visitors. The dramatic cliffs atNoup Head are an RSPB Reserve,which is second in numbers of breedingseabirds only to St Kilda. A substantialcolony of Gannets is now established.

Puffins In the south the Castle of Bur-rian and surrounding low cliffs near Rap-ness Mill is the easiest place to seePuffins in Orkney. During the breedingseason this rock stack and the low cliffsin the area are home to many of thecheeky little birds. It is possible to closelyobserve the Puffins here without distur-bance as they pay scant attention to hu-mans.

PAPAY or PAPA WESTRAY (ONPapey hin Meiri, Big Isle of the Papae),takes its name from the Celtic clergy whowere there before the Vikings. This smallisland lies just east of Westray, across theshallow Papa Sound.

Knap of Howar is the oldest knownstone built house in Orkney and, likeSkara Brae, it was revealed after a severestorm. The walls of the dwellings stillstand to a height of 1.6m, and the stoneinteriors are remarkably intact.

Large numbers of artefacts includingUnstan Ware pottery was found, alongwith bone, flint and stone tools. Bonesof domestic animals, fish, seals and birds,including Great Auk were abundant aswell as mollusc shells. The earliest dateswere from c.3600BC, 500 years beforeSkara Brae, and the latest c.3100BC.

St Boniface Church dates from the 12th

century and is still in use today. The in-teresting grave yard has an 11th centuryhog backed gravestone which has beendubiously linked to the burial of Earl.

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WESTRAY (ON Vestr-ey, West Isle),often referred to as “The Queen of theIsles”, is the second largest of the NorthIsles, and in many ways could be de-scribed as “Orkney in miniature”. The is-land has dramatic cliffs, good beaches,several ancient sites, and is the best placein Orkney to see Puffins easily. There aredaily roro ferry and air services.

Pierowall The village is situated at thehead of a sheltered bay in the northeastof the island. This excellent harbour wasdoubtless the reason for its early settle-

ment. Pictish and Norse graves havebeen found in the vicinity as well as Ne-olithic and Bronze Age remains.

Archaeology A large Neolithic farm-house with many associated field dykeshas been excavated near Grobust beach.The “Westray Wife”, a tiny stone humanfemale figurine, was found at this site,along with many other artefacts. Theseinclude pottery, tools and large numbersof cattle bones. These sites were occu-pied from c.3000-2000BC.

Quoygrew, on the north side of Rack-wick, was partially occupied until 1937.Around AD1000 a building was erectednear the shore. Extended many timesover the years. This Norse house cannow be examined by visitors.

Westray Heritage Centre now promi-nently hosts the Pierowall Stone as wellas other artefacts from recent excava-tions. Displays are changed annually, butthe concentration on nature and the en-vironment continues. There are excellenthands on things for children and their

PAPA WESTRAY

Westray landscape

WESTRAY

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Noup Head The Knap of Howar


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NORTH RONALDSAY (ON Ri-nansey, Ringan’s or Ninian’s Isle) lies tothe north east of Sanday, which it resem-bles with its low lying landscape andsandy beaches. The island has a dis-tinctly different character, and still retainsmany traditions and language usages nowextinct in most of the rest of Orkney. Itis the most isolated of the North Islesand is mostly served by air link.

Sheep Dyke This unique feature of theisland was built c.1832 to keep the sheepoff the agricultural land. The 19km(12mi) drystone dyke encircles the shore.The small, hardy, North RonaldsaySheep graze the seaweed off the shore aswell as grass outside the dyke. The leanmeat has a distinctive flavour.

During lambing time the ewes are al-lowed onto grass for a time. Specialsheep punds around the shore are usedfor clipping and dipping. The white andbrown fleeces make fine wool, suitable forknitwear, but the coloured ones arerather coarser.

Bird Observatory (NRBO) NorthRonaldsay is especially well situated on amigration crossroads for birds on passageto northern breeding grounds in springand on their return in autumn. A num-ber of rarities turn up every year. TheNRBO was set up to study these move-ments. It also offers guest house and hos-tel accommodation as well as meals.

Lighthouse North Ronaldsay light-house, at Kirk Taing on Dennis Head,was the first in Orkney, and it was estab-lished in 1789. This was the only light-house in the North Isles until the StartPoint light was built in 1806 on Sanday.The new brick built lighthouse was firstlit in 1854. It was the last one in Orkneyto be made automatic, in 1999.

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SANDAY (ON Sand-ey, Sandy Isle) isthe largest of the North Isles. It is verylow lying, apart from at the south end,and has many beautiful sandy beachesbacked with machair. In summer thereis a riot of wild flowers, while the shallowsandy bays are a favourite with the manymigrant and resident wading bird species.

Quoyness Chambered Cairn Althoughthere are many sites of archaeological in-terest, only the Quoyness chambered

cairn is actually on display to the public.This impressive Maeshowe-type cairn onthe peninsula of Elsness dates fromabout 3000BC and very much merits avisit. It is largely built from lightcoloured rounded beach stones, givingthe interior a quite special ambience.

Scar Boat Burial In 1991, an excitingfind at Scar was a Viking boat burial, inwhich three people were interred. Aspectacular whalebone plaque wasamong the artefacts found. This may beseen, along with other artefacts, at theOrkney Museum in Kirkwall. Althoughthe wooden boat had long since decayed,its shape could be discerned from ironnails.

Start Point lighthouse was first lit in1806, and the present light was built in1870. The tower is painted with verticalblack stripes to distinguish it from NorthRonaldsay lighthouse, which has redstripes. Start Island can be reached atlow tide by crossing Ayre Sound.

North Ronaldsay sheep

NORTH RONALDSAY

Backaskaill Bay

SANDAY

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Quoyness chambered cairn Dennis Head old beacon


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STRONSAY (ON Strjonsey, Profit Is-land) is one of the most fertile islands inOrkney. It has a much indented coast-line, with many very fine beaches, as wellas low cliffs on the south east side, withseveral large caves, and a natural arch atthe Vat of Kirbuster.

Although most of the island is agricul-tural land, the headland of Rothiesholmis moorland, thus there is a large varietyof habitat and feeding areas for wildlife.

Archaeology There are a number of ar-chaeological sites on the island, but noneof great interest, no doubt because it hasbeen intensively farmed for many years.There is a large chambered cairn at Kels-burgh near the Bu and two smaller onesat Lamb Head.

Herring Stronsay was a major centre forHerring fishing for centuries. The Dutchwere fishing in Orkney waters in lateNorse times and by the 17th century hadover 2,000 boats working the North Sea.The island was used as a harbour forDutch and Fife boats during the seasonfor hundreds of years up until 1937,when the fishery collapsed due to over-exploitation.

Whitehall Village was very busy duringthe fishing season, and once boasted thelongest bar in Scotland. On Sundaysthere were hundreds of boats tied up;however, the increased catching power ofthe steam drifter meant that the stocks of

Herring were exhausted before WWII.

Today the harbour is home to a few in-shore creel boats. The former Fishmar-ket has been done up as an interpretationcentre, cafe and hostel.

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EDAY (ON Eid-ey, Isthmus Isle) is lessfertile than the other outer North Islesand much of it is peaty heather moor-land. Its central position means thatthere are excellent views of much ofOrkney from, for example, the top of theWard Hill, or from the Red Head.

Stone of Setter is 4.5m high and veryprominent overlooking Calf Sound andnear the Mill Loch, in a focal point of thelandscape. The weathered monolith iscovered in lichen.

Chambered cairns There are manychambered cairns on the island, some ingood condition and some ruinous. Vin-quoy, is a Maeshowe-type cairn whichoverlooks Calf Sound. This interestingstructure has been repaired and is builtof large sandstone blocks. It has twopairs of side cells and the main chamberis over 3m high inside.

Carrick House was first built in 1633and in 1725 nearby Calf Sound was thescene of the capture by its then owner,James Fea, of “Pirate Gow”. Gow and hisfellow pirates were tried and were exe-cuted in London.

Wildlife The hide on the Mill Loch is avery good place from which to observeRed-throated Divers, and other water-fowl which nest here. Whimbrels, HenHarrier, Merlins, Arctic Skuas andShort-eared Owls may also be seen onthe island during the summer.

Aerial view of Whitehall

STRONSAY

Whitehall Village

The Stone of Setter

EDAY

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Boys at play in Whitehall

Carrick House


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INTERNAL SEA TRANSPORTOrkney Ferries operates to most inhab-ited Islands from Kirkwall, Tingwall,Head Office at the Pierhead, Kirkwall Tel 01856 872044orkneyferries.co.uk

North Isles services depart from Kirk-wall for Shapinsay, Westray, PapaWestray, Eday, Sanday, Stronsay andNorth Ronaldsay. Tel 01856 872044

Rousay, Egilsay & Wyre services departfrom Tingwall. Tel 01856 751360

Papay services depart from Pierowall,Westray. Tel 01857 677216

Hoy and Flotta services depart fromHouton in Orphir. Tel 01856 811397

North Hoy & Graemsay services departfrom Stromness. Tel 01856 850624

INTERNAL AIR SERVICES Loganairoperate daily services to most of theOuter North Isles, including Westray,Papay, North Ronaldsay, Sanday andStronsay and Eday.

Loganair Internal Flights Bookings andInquiries:Tel 01856 872494 or 873457loganair.co.uk

ISLAND SERVICES Please refer tothe “Islands of Orkney” brochure or Vis-itOrkney in Kirkwall or Stromness.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT Stagecoach isthe main bus operator in Orkney. Theyrun services between Kirkwall andStromness, to ferry terminals and variouslocations on the Mainland.

Public Transport Timetable. Full detailsof all these and other schedules are pub-lished by Orkney Islands Council.

Car Hire Several firms have cars forhire, including on many of the islands.

Taxis Taxis are available throughoutOrkney, either for normal hires, or tours.There are taxi ranks at the Pier Head,Broad Street and the Airport in Kirkwalland in Stromness at the Pier Head.

Bicycle Hire Bicycles may be hired inKirkwall and in Stromness as well as onseveral of the islands.

Tours of Orkney Apart from the toursoffered by John o’Groats Ferries, smalleroperators offer tours on the Mainlandand several of the islands. Check withVisitOrkney, or locally.

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SHAPINSAY (ON Hjalpand-isey,Helping Island) is only 20 minutes fromKirkwall by roro ferry. It was one of thefirst areas where the old runrig systemwas changed to larger fields, and is nearlyall cultivated today.

Broch of Burroughston This is the onlyarchaeological site which is on display,having been excavated in 1862. It is sur-rounded by a ditch and rampart, and hasa well-preserved interior, nearly 3m highinside. There is an intact corbelled cell inthe entrance passage and a large centralwell accessed by steps.

Mor Stane The 3m Mor Stane is of in-determinate date and is said to have beenthrown by a giant from the Mainland at

his departing wife. On the north sidebelow Lairo Water, Odin’s Stone mayhave been a Norse meeting place.

Norse Power Shapinsay featured in theunsuccessful bid by King Haakon ofNorway to reassert Norse power in thewest of Scotland in 1263. The great fleetwas mustered here in Elwick Bay, beforeits departure for the Clyde.

Balfour Castle The house of Sound wasbuilt in 1674 by Arthur Buchanan, onthe site of the present Balfour Castle. In1775 Thomas Balfour married FrancesLiginier, whose money paid for theSound Estate. Soon the island was trans-formed with a new house, Cliffdale, thevillage, then called Shoreside, farm build-ings and dykes all being built.

In 1846 David Balfour, who had made afortune in India, inherited the estate,which now included the whole island.He had the house transformed into thepresent building. It has not changedmuch in 150 years, with most of the orig-inal furnishing and decor still in place.

INTERNAL TRANSPORT

Balfour Castle

SHAPINSAY

VisitOrkney

Balfour Village

Loganair “Islander” at Kirkwall Airport


PLANES AND FERRIESGETTING TO ORKNEY

AIR ROUTES Kirkwall Airport is openseven days per week and is equipped withan Instrument Landing System, whichgreatly improves the reliability of flights inadverse weather conditions. The airport isabout 4km (3mi) east of the town, and iseasily reached by taxi or scheduled bus.

Flybe (franchised to Loganair) operate sev-eral flights into Kirkwall Airport (KOI)every day, from Aberdeen, Inverness, Edin-burgh and Glasgow. There are also dailyflights to and from Shetland.FlyBe has a

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NorthLink Ferries currently operateMV Hamnavoe between Scrabster inCaithness and Stromness. This takesabout 1½ hours to cross the PentlandFirth, passing the Old Man of Hoy onthe way. She crosses up to 3 times dailyand carries up to 180 cars and 500 pas-sengers. NorthLink also operate MVHjaltland and MV Hrossey, which runbetween Aberdeen, Kirkwall and Ler-wick. These vessels call several times perweek all year round.

Please note that the Northern Isles FerryService is being retendered as from July2012. The operator, contact details, timeta-bles and vessels may thus be changed.

NorthLink Ferries Ltd,Ferry Terminal, Stromness,Orkney KW16 £2BH Reservations 0845 6000 449northlinkferries.co.uk

Pentland Ferries operate year-roundservices from St Margaret’s Hope to GillsBay in Caithness with MV Pentalina, alarge catamaran. The scenic trip takesabout 1 hour with 3 or more services perday (3 in winter).

Pentland Ferries Ltd, Pier Road, St Mar-garet’s Hope, Orkney KW17 2SW Tel 01856 831226pentlandferries.co.uk

codesharing agreement with BA for on-wards flights.

Flybe Flight Details, information andbookings can be found online, or by call-ing FlybeTel 0871 200 7000flybe.com

Information can also be had from theLoganair desk at Kirkwall Airport.Tel 01856 872233British AirwaysGeneral Reservations and EnquiriesTel 0844 493 0787ba.com(Note: BA can only assist where the booking is ona codeshare flight with a direct connection to a BAservice)

Kirkwall Airport is operated by HIALInformation Desk

Tel 01856 886 210Live flight information athial.co.uk/kirkwall-airport

ADS (Air Discount Scheme) Reserva-tions and AssistanceTel 0844 800 2855

SEA ROUTES The main routes arefrom Stromness to Scrabster, St Mar-garet’s Hope to Gills Bay and Kirkwall toAberdeen and Lerwick. There is also apassenger ferry in summer from Burwickto John o’Groats. All sailings are subjectto weather conditions, and disruptiondue to storms can occur.

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John o’Groats Ferries run a summerpassenger service between John o’Groatsand Burwick in South Ronaldsay withMV Pentland Venture. There are coachservices to Kirkwall, while a special busservice from Inverness connects with theferry. Several variations on day trips areavailable.

John o’Groats Ferries, John o’Groats, CaithnessKW1 4YR Tel 01955 611353jogferry.co.uk

SAAB 340s of Loganair in FlyBe colours MV “Pentalina” in Hoxa Sound

MV “Pentland Venture” at John o’GroatsMV “Hrossey” at Kirkwall


ACCOMMODATION, EATING OUT AND SHOPPINGORKNEY SERVICES

Shopping Although an island destina-tion might not appear to have shoppinghigh on the agenda, this is far from thetruth. There has been a renaissance in theretail experience in recent years, especiallyin Kirkwall, where “The Street” now offersa host of enticing shopping opportunities.

Designer Jewelleryhas long been a hall-mark in Orkney, ever since Ola Gorie pi-oneered her innovative pieces in the1960s. Based initially on Neolithic, Pic-tish and Norse symbols these themes havebeen developed to include nature, andOrkney in its widest sense.

Crafts High quality traditional crafts,most of developed from ordinary house-hold furniture or utensils. The OrkneyChair is now an expensive and soughtafter piece of furniture. In the past was ahomemade utility chair made from drift-wood and spare oat straw.

The Bride’s Cog remains a feature of everyOrkney wedding. Made from woodenstaves bound together with metal rings, itis really a bucket with handles. The happycouple circulate after the first dance andoffer their guests a drink from the cog.Made from rum, whisky, dark ale, sugarand spices, the strong liquid is an essentialcomponent of every wedding.

Accommodation Orkney offers arrangeof accommodation, including hotels, guesthouses B&Bs, self catering, hostels andcamp sites. Full information is available inthe current VisitOrkney brochure.visitorkney.com

Eating Out There is a wide range of ho-tels, restaurants, bars, cafes, tea rooms andfast food outlets offering meals to every-one’s taste. Most use local produce as faras possible, including beef, lamb, seafood,potatoes, fruit and vegetables in season.Expectations may frequently be exceeded.

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Knitwear has always been a cottage in-dustry in Orkney, perhaps less well knownthan its Shetland equivalent, but never-theless still very much alive. A number ofshops specialise in knitwear, including TheQuernstone in Stromness, Judith Glueand RA Finn in Kirkwall and the Work-shop Gallery in St Margaret’s Hope.

Crafts Trail An booklet by the OrkneyCrafts Association showcases its mem-bers work including jewellery, textilesknitwear, art , woodwork and pottery. orkneydesignercrafts.com

Art and Poetry Orkney has inspiredmany artists over the years. These rangefrom painters such as Stanley Cursiter topoets like George MacKay Brown, musi-cians as for example, the composer, SirPeter Maxwell Davies or cinematogra-phers, including Margaret Tait. Todaylocal artist Jane Glue is one of the bestknown and has her studio in Finstown.

The Pier Arts Centre is the centrepiece ofart in Orkney with its permanent andtemporary exhibitions. Other venues, in-cluding Orkney Museum, the WaterfrontGallery in Stromness and the WorkshopGallery in the Hope, hold regular shows.

Many people have been inspired to writeabout Orkney and a visit to one of thebookshops just what a lively publishingscene the county has. Book lovers will finddelight in perusing the shelves of outletsin Kirkwall and Stromness as well as thoseat some of the main visitor attractions.

Traditional Music is another vibrant partof Orkney. A revival was started by theinspirational Orkney Islands Councilpractice of offering free tuition in schools.The thriving Orkney Folk Festival and theSt Magnus Festival are two of the verysuccessful results of this. The Wrigley Sis-ters’ “The Reel” on Broad Street is a goodplace to find out about musical events.

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Orkney Chairs

Bride’s Cog

Celtic-inspired jewellery

Traditional music


INDEX

Natural Environment 8Neolithic Orkney 6Ness Battery 37Ness of Brodgar 24North Ronaldsay 55North Sea Oil 46Noup Head 53Old Man of Hoy 48Orkney Fossil & Vintage Centre 42Orkney Museum 11Orphir 19Papa Westray 53Pier Arts Centre 36Pierowall 52Primula scotica 9Puffins 30, 53Rackwick 48Rerwick, Tankerness 38Ring of Brodgar 22Rousay 50Runes 28Sanday 54Scapa Flow Visitor Centre 46,49Sea Routes 60Shapinsay 58Shopping 12, 62Skaill House 32Skara Brae 6, 20South Ronaldsay 42St John’s Head 48St Magnus Cathedral 14St Magnus Kirk, Egilsay 14, 51Stone of Odin 26Stromness 19, 36Stronsay 57Standing Stones of Stenness 26Tomb of the Eagles 29, 43UNESCO World Heritage Site 6, 18Unstan chambered cairn 29Unstan Ware 29, 50Watchstone 26West Mainland 18Westray 52Yesnaby 33

Accommodation 62Air Routes 60Art and Poetry 63Aurora Borealis 8Barnhouse Village 27Bay of Skaill 32Birsay 30Bishop’s Palace 12British Home Fleet 44Broch of Gurness 34Brough of Birsay 30Burray 42Chambered Cairns 29, 50Churchill Barriers 40, 45,47Crafts 62Dwarfie Stone 48Earl Haakon Paulson 14Earl Magnus Erlendson 14, 51Earl Rognvald Kolson 15Earl’s Palace, Birsay 30Earl’s Palace, Kirkwall 12East Mainland 38Eating Out 13, 62Eday 56Egilsay 51Farm Museums 19German High Seas Fleet 36, 44Getting to Orkney 60Grooved Ware 21, 24, 27, 29Heart of Neolithic Orkney 6, 18Highland Park Distillery 13, 16HMS Hampshire 31HMS Royal Oak 45Holm 39Hoy 48Internal Transport 59Italian Chapel 7, 40Kirkwall 10Knap of Howar 53Maeshowe 28Martello Tower and battery 49Marwick Head 31Midhowe, Rousay 50Mull Head 38

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Documents

The Orkney - Charles Tait · tory sthrough historical times to the 21 t c enury iso , mak g h dv-sio nb etw p ad r m ha rdto isc n. A tracions Pe rh ap m o tfu i exceptionally well