BalfourBirsayEgilsayEynhallowFinstownGrimbisterHacknessHatstonHawnHoutonHoyKirkwallMarwickOrkneyPapa WestrayRousaySanday IslandStennessStromnessWestray
If you enjoy the solemn grandeur of moorland landscape, the Orkney moors can be a wonderful place to visit, full of wild and windswept beauty. Come during the summer to see hen harriers, short-eared owls and elegant Arctic skuas nesting.
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Residence spiritual and temporal Kirkwall is the capital of Orkney. For centuries it was the capital of the Norse-held Nordreyjar – the Northern Isles. But that ended in 1469 when Christian I of Norway failed to pay the dowry promised to his...
The Blackhammer Chambered Cairn is a Neolithic burial cairn, similar in general shape and subdivisions to the contemporary Neolithic houses at Knap of Howar....
A uniquely Scottish monument Brochs are unique to Scotland. There are over 500 of them, the vast majority spread throughout the northern and western Highlands and the islands. Many of these tall circular towers stood alone, but in Orkney they ...
Could there be a more spellbinding and mystical setting? Brodgar Nature Reserve surrounds the monument of the ring of Brodgar. Visit Brodgar Nature Reserve during the summer and hear the unmistakable bubbling cries of the curlews and the drumming ...
A settlement of Picts and Vikings A tidal island off the north coast of the Orkney mainland, the Brough of Birsay was intensively settled from the 7th to the 13th centuries AD. The physical remains comprise a 9th-century Viking-Age settlement ...
Click Mill is the last surviving horizontal water mill in Orkney, of a type well represented in Shetland and Lewis. Click Mill is in working order....
If you'd like to visit a remote, tranquil wildlife haven, and enjoy the chance to see majestic raptors such as hen harriers and merlins, this is the place to come.
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Cubbie Row's Castle and St Mary's Chapel is probably one of the earliest stone castles to survive in Scotland, built in about 1145 by the Norseman Kolbein Hruga. It is a small rectangular tower enclosed in a circular ditch. The ruined chapel is of la...
Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn is a low mound covering a Neolithic chambered tomb with four cells. Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn contained the bones of men, dogs and oxen when discovered....
Dwarfie Stane is a huge block of sandstone in which a Neolithic burial chamber has been cut....
The Earl's Bu is the name for the foundations of ancient buildings, which may be an Earl's residence of the Viking period. The church is of the 12th-century, and consists of the chancel and part of the nave of the only medieval round church in Sc...
The gaunt remains of the residence of Robert Stewart, Earl of Orkney, was constructed in the late 16th-century round a courtyard....
Eynhallow Church is a ruined 12th-century monastic church and post-medieval domestic buildings. The island of Eynhallow. Can only be reached by private hire boat from mainland Orkney or Rousay....
Grain Earth House is a well-built Iron Age earth house of underground chamber supported on stone pillars....
Monuments of war Hackness Battery and Martello Tower were built in 1813–14, at the height of the Napoleonic War. French and American warships were wreaking havoc on British and Scandinavian merchant shipping going ‘north about’ through t...
This reserve is a magical mixture of land and sea, from sea cliffs to saltmarsh, from moorland to sandflats. Stroll through the moorland and you may well see hen harriers, short-eared owls and red-throated divers, all of which nest on the moorland fl...
Holm of Papa Westray Chambered Cairn is a massive tomb with a long, narrow chamber divided into three, with 14 beehive cells opening into the walls. There are engravings on the walls. Access to chamber. Access to Holm of Papa Westray Chambered Cai...
Hoy Nature Reserve is a mixture of moorland and cliff tops which may be exposed to the elements, so you really do need to wrap up warm, but a visit is very rewarding. You'll see the famous Old Man of Hoy rock stack that has inspired generations of...
Knap of Howar is probably the oldest standing stone houses in north-west Europe, dating from the early Neolithic period. Two houses, approximately rectangular, with stone cupboards and stalls. Contemporary with the chambered tombs of Orkney....
Knowe of Yarso Chambered Cairn is an oval cairn with concentric walls enclosing a Neolithic chambered tomb divided into three compartments....
Sand dunes seal and protect Links Of Noltland which are significant prehistoric remains in a fragile environment requiring careful management. Little can be seen of the remains of Links Of Noltland....
A monumental landscape The monumental chambered tomb of Maeshowe is simply the finest Neolithic building in NW Europe. Built around 5,000 years ago, it is a masterpiece of Neolithic design and stonework construction, not least for its use of m...
Marwick Head Nature Reserve remote headland has spectacular displays of wild flowers, including sea campion, thrift and spring squill. In spring and summer,Marwick Head Nature Reserve has thousands of seabirds nest on the cliffs. In August, look o...
Midhowe Broch is a well-preserved broch, with remains of later buildings round it. Impressive evidence for the internal appearance of houses survives. Very steep access, follow the black and white poles....
Midhowe Chambered Cairn is a huge and impressive megalithic chambered tomb of Neolithic date in an oval mound, with 25 stalls. Midhowe Chambered Cairn is now protected by a modern building. Very steep access, follow the black and white poles....
This is an ideal place for birds throughout the year. In summer, you'll see large numbers of breeding wildfowl, including pintails, redshanks and wigeons, while in the winter migrating whooper swans and other birds visit.
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Noltland Castle is a fine, ruined Z-plan tower, built between 1560 and 1573 but never completed. Remarkable for its large number of gun loops and impressive staircase. Noltland Castle is on the island of Westray, 1m West of Pierowall village. Reac...
North Hill Nature Reserve is situated on the island of Papa Westray, North Hill may seem remote but it's a very exciting place to come and visit. North Hill Nature Reserve is home to an extremely rare plant, the Scottish primrose, while stunning l...
Noup Cliffs Nature Reserve is over 76 metres above the sea, these dramatic cliffs house Orkney's largest seabird colony. Noup Cliffs Nature Reserve once seen, it's never forgotten! Walk along the cliff path in the summer and you'll see an array o...
Come during the spring and summer and you will see a wonderfully exuberant display of summer flowers and possibly the rare great yellow bumblebee....
Based in Westray, one of the Northern Isles of Orkney, off the coast of North Scotland, the museum is believed to be the only one of its kind in the UK. Featuring the art of international artist Neil Geddes-Ward, co-author of the Hay House UK book Fa...
Orkney Ferries give you easy access to the archaeolocial sites, the stunning. You can view our up-to-date Online Timetables by visiting Orkney Ferries website by clicking on the website link below the address on this page...
Pierowall Church are now the ruins of a medieval church with some finely lettered tombstones....
Quoyness Chambered Cairn is a megalithic tomb with triple retaining walls, containing a passage and main chamber, with six subsidiary cells. Quoyness Chambered Cairnis of Neolithic date. Quoyness Chambered Cairn is reached via Orkney Ferries Lt...
Rennibister Earth House is a good example of an Orkney earth house, like that of Grain Earth House....
The Ring Of Brodgar Stone Circle And Henge, which is part of The Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, is a spectacular stone. The ring is surrounded by a large circular ditch or henge. It was one of the first sites to be scheduled in the Br...
Northern Europe’s best-preserved Neolithic village The Neolithic village of Skara Brae was discovered in the winter of 1850. Wild storms ripped the grass from a high dune known as Skara Brae, beside the Bay of Skaill, and exposed an immense ...
St Magnus Cathedral - Britain's most northerly Cathedral.
St Magnus Cathedral known as the 'Light in the North' was founded in 1137 by the Viking, Earl Rognvald, in order of his uncle St Magnus. The Cathedral belongs to the people of Orkney an...
St Magnus Church is the complete but roofless ruin of a 12th-century church with a round tower, dramatically sited. Access to St Magnus Church is on the island of Egilsay 0.5m from pier. Reached using Orkney Ferries Ltd from Tingwall Terminal....
Stone rings The Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar are two of Britain’s best-preserved prehistoric monuments. They were built between 5,400 and 4,500 years ago. Our best guess as to their function is that they were involved in activi...
Taversöe Tuick Chambered Cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn with unusual arrangement of two burial chambers, one above the other. Access is to Taversöe Tuick Chambered Cairn is via the island of Rousay 0.5m West of pier. Reached using Orkney F...
One of the best remaining wetlands in Orkney, and the perfect place to come and see pintails breeding in the summer. A winter visit can also be very rewarding, as the flooded marsh attracts hundreds of ducks and a number of white-fronted geese.
The Orkney Museum tells the story of Orkney, from the Stone Age, to the Picts and Vikings, right through to the present day. There is a large collection of old photos and activities to amuse younger visitors. The Museum's collection is of internation...
Tormiston Mill is an excellent late example of a Scottish watermill. Tormiston Mill was probably built in the 1880s. The waterwheel and most of the machinery have been retained. Now forms a reception centre for visitors to Maeshowe....
The best time to visit this typical piece of Orkney moorland is during the summer months, when you should see breeding red-throated divers, hen harriers, merlins and short-eared owls.
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Unstan Chambered Cairn is a mound covering a stone burial chamber divided by slabs into five compartments. Unstan Chambered Cairn is of Neolithic date....
The head of a whale skeleton is now outside the Heritage Centre. The whale came ashore in the bay of Tuquoy in 2007. At approximately 50 feet (16 metres) long this was a large adult male sperm whale.
Most of the bones are here, though, of course,...
Westside Church, Tuquoy is a small and elegant 12th-century nave-and-chancel church, later the parish church, now roofless. Westside Church, Tuquoy was built by a wealthy Norse chieftain, the remains of whose farm can be seen in the adjacent cliff...
Wideford Hill Chambered Cairn is a fine Neolithic chambered cairn with three concentric walls and a burial chamber with three large cells....
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