Orkney

Keep your eyes and ears peeled at all times! A cacophony of sights and sounds awaits you at all times of the year. Orkney is the best place in the UK for seabirds, with 21 breeding species. There are also 13 RSPB reserves across the islands, providing superb places to watch resident and migrant birds.

Breath-taking cliff walks are also easy to find – visit Hoy to see the magnificent red sandstone cliffs and sea stack at St John’s Head, or make your way to North Ronaldsay to spot seals and their pups, or catch a glimpse of the native sheep who live on the shore feeding on seaweed.

From early spring and throughout summer, the cliffs, meadows and moorlands burst into colour with wild flowers of all shapes and sizes. Here on Orkney you truly can get back to nature.

Some of our landscapes remain unchanged since long before the time of the Great Pyramids. And history is still being written here. You will find an unbroken timeline of sites dating from nearly 6,000 years ago to the present.

The Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage site is in the West Mainland, and gives a unique insight into how people lived here 5,000 years ago. You can also visit the Ring of Brodgar and walk among the remaining 27 megaliths of a stone circle over 104 metres wide, marvelling at the power and determination of our predecessors.

During July and August you can become a part of history by visiting the excavations at the Ness of Brodgar – a Neolithic site uncovered as recently as 2003. Many exciting painted and carved objects have been uncovered at this site.

Home to painters, potters, furniture makers, jewellers, textile artists and sculptors, Orkney has a wealth of high-quality arts and crafts. It’s a place where traditions are kept alive and individual talents flourish.

The Orkney chair with its woven straw hood and the bride’s cog have been made here for hundreds of years, and you can see local craftspeople making these items today. Wool from North Ronaldsay sheep has kept Orcadians warm for millennia, and now it is turned into colourful textile art as well as cushions, scarves and jumpers.

Visit the studios of Orkney’s painters and you will see the islands interpreted in dozens of different ways – from incredibly detailed realism to mesmerising impressionism.

Orkney’s Neolithic history is reflected in some of the pottery, sculpture and jewellery created on the islands. But in the next studio, you’ll find eye-catching contemporary designs. It’s like opening one treasure chest after another. And if you want to take a little bit of Orkney’s magic home with you, you’ll be spoilt for choice.

For a list of places to shop click here.

Walking on Orkney takes you into beautiful open spaces and lets you lose yourself in nature. There are plenty of signposted routes, so you can choose an easy ramble or a long strenuous trek. And don’t forget your camera as the scenery is magnificent.

Cycling is also a pleasure with many quiet roads and dramatic views. Most islands are fairly flat, letting you get up some speed and cover the miles with ease. Or if you want to leave the tarmac behind, you’ll find miles of tracks to follow. Best of all, bikes go free on ferries so you can see somewhere new every day.

If your sport relies on the wind, Orkney is a fantastic destination providing a year-round playground for power kiting, wind surfing and kite surfing. Favourite locations include Scapa Beach near Kirkwall and the Bay of Skaill on the West Mainland. Big waves and good breaks make Skaill the serious surfers’ choice, and you can hire boards and wetsuits locally.

Keen sailors return year after year to tackle Orkney’s challenging winds and currents, and there are races throughout the summer months if you enjoy friendly competition.

Charter a boat and take advantage of the local knowledge of one of Orkney’s excellent, qualified Skippers, fishing for giant Conger eels in the depths of Scapa Flow, or don your wetsuit and explore the historical wrecks that lie on the seabed.

For a list of activities on Orkney click here

We have a long tradition of harnessing the power of nature to heat our homes and drive machinery. Today, Orkney is also leading the world in the development of marine renewable energy, and is home to The European Marine Energy Centre: the world’s first and only real-sea facility for testing machines that generate electricity from waves and tides. With the Atlantic Ocean crashing against the West coast, and the tides rushing between islands to and from the North Sea, Orkney is the perfect testing ground for marine energy converters.

There are various sites around Orkney where you can see these leading technologies being developed and tested, including EMEC’s wave test site at Billia Croo near Stromness, and the tidal test site at the Fall of Warness off the northern isle of Eday. When devices are not being tested on site, you may spot them at one of Orkney’s marine renewables port facilities at Hatston Pier in Kirkwall, Lyness Pier in Hoy, and Copland’s Dock in Stromness.

Every renewable energy project is undertaken with careful consideration of the environment, so that Orkney’s heritage, beauty and ecology are protected.

In Orkney we have dedicated producers and talented chefs whose combined skills turn the islands’ harvest into award-winning, first-class cuisine.

There are many specialities to be enjoyed here. With lush grazing, it’s no surprise that premium beef is produced in Orkney. Much of it is exported, but you’ll find prime cuts in butchers’ shops and on restaurant menus across the islands. Don’t go home without trying North Ronaldsay lamb. They feed on seaweed, which gives the lean meat exceptional flavour and tenderness.

Depending on the season, look out for spoots (razor clams), whelks, cockles, lobster, crab and hand-dived scallops. Similarly, you could savour fresh haddock, cod, tusk, halibut, plaice, sole, monkfish or squid. Rarer choices might include megrim, witch or ling.

Orkney is also home to award-winning whisky distilleries, the UK’s most northerly winery and a number of charming real ales.

If you’re staying in a self-catering property, you could serve dinner with clapshot made with locally-grown tatties (potatoes) and neeps (turnips) mashed together, or pack a picnic using locally-produced bread, cheese, butter and shortbread.

Other traditional fare includes fattie cutties – a biscuit with currants, and Orkney oatcakes – wonderful with some smoked Orkney cheddar.

For fine places to dine click here.

Orkney is a special destination that can charm and entertain you for two days, two weeks or a lifetime. There are hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs and self-catering properties on all the inhabited islands, making it easy to stay and tour.

In midsummer you can walk in the glow of the midnight sun, and in winter witness the phenomenon that is the Northern Lights above your head. The islands are a Mecca for photographers and artists throughout the year and at most times of day. Where will you go first?

Orkney for Explorers
To see places to explore click here.