Orkney
Predating Stonehenge and the pyramids of Giza, extraordinary Skara Brae is one of the world's most evocative prehistoric sites, and northern Europe’s best…
Must-see attractions in Orkney
Orkney
Constructed about 5000 years ago, Maeshowe is an extraordinary place, a Stone Age tomb built from enormous sandstone blocks, some of which weighed many…
Orkney
Two significant archaeological sites were found here by a farmer on his land. The first is a Bronze Age stone building with a firepit, indoor well and…
Kirkwall
Constructed from local red sandstone, Kirkwall's centrepiece, dating from the early 12th century, is among Scotland's most interesting cathedrals. The…
Orkney
A half-mile west of Pierowall stands this sturdy ruined tower house, built in the 16th century by Gilbert Balfour, aide to Mary, Queen of Scots. The…
Orkney
Six miles from the ferry on Rousay, mighty Midhowe Cairn has been dubbed the 'Great Ship of Death'. Built around 3500 BC and enormous, it's divided into…
Orkney
By the seashore, this sturdy stone-built farmhouse and storeroom are solidly built testimony to crofting life on Papa Westray island…5500 years ago. An…
Kirkwall
This distillery, South of Kirkwall's centre, is great to visit. Despite a dodgy Viking rebrand, it's a serious distillery that malts its own barley; see…
Orkney
This superb museum, run with great passion, is full of knick-knacks from maritime and natural-history exhibitions covering whaling, the Hudson's Bay…
Orkney
This eclectic museum is a great visit, combining some excellent 360-million-year-old Devonian fish fossils found locally with a well-designed exhibition…
Orkney
Hoy’s best-known sight is this 137m-high rock stack jutting from the ocean off the tip of an eroded headland. It's a tough ascent and for experienced…
Orkney
The most distinctive feature of this small, flat island – in fact, the name comes from the Norse for 'flat island' – is the 68m-tall flare stack rising…
Scapa Flow Visitor Centre & Museum
Orkney
Lyness was an important naval base during both World Wars, when the British Grand Fleet was based in Scapa Flow. This fascinating museum and photographic…
Orkney
This tiny, low-lying agricultural island between Hoy and Stromness once supported a healthy population of crofting families (more than 200 people in 1841)…
Orkney
Egilsay is the larger of the two islands off Rousay, and is accessed from the same ferry. The RSPB have a base here; listen for the corncrakes at the…
Orkney
Next to Skara Brae, and entered on a joint ticket, Skaill House is an imposing step-gabled Orcadian mansion built for the bishop in 1620. It may feel a…
Orkney
Wyre is just off Rousay, and accessed from the same ferry. It was the domain of the Viking Baron Kolbein Hruga (known as ‘Cubbie Roo’). The substantial…
Orkney
Here is a fine example of the drystone fortified towers that were both a status symbol for powerful farmers and useful protection from raiders some 2200…
Orkney
At low tide – check tide times at any Historic Environment Scotland site – you can walk out to this windswept island, the site of extensive Norse ruins,…
Orkney
At the northern end of the island, this lighthouse is over 100ft high and one of many built across Scotland by the Stevenson family. A visitor centre and…
Orkney
Rousay's major archaeological sites are clearly labelled from the road ringing the island. Heading west from the ferry, you soon come to Taversoe Tuick,…
Orkney
Discovered while digging was under way for a car park, this 5000-year-old chambered tomb has yielded a vast quantity of human bones, well preserved thanks…
Kirkwall
The intriguing Earl’s Palace was once known as the finest example of French Renaissance architecture in Scotland. One room features an interesting history…
Orkney
The spectacular finds from ongoing excavations at this archaeological site between the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar have…
Orkney
Part of this Mainland area's concentration of neolithic monuments, four mighty stones remain of what was once a circle of 12. Recent research suggests…
Orkney
Earl's Bu, in Orphir, has the foundations of a 12th-century manor house belonging to the Norse earls of Orkney. There are also the remains of St Nicholas’…
Hackness Martello Tower & Battery
Orkney
Built during the Napoleonic Wars, when French ships passed through the Pentland Firth to prey on North Sea merchant vessels, this battery, accompanied by…
Orkney
The Italian Chapel is all that remains of a POW camp that housed the Italian soldiers who worked on the Churchill Barriers. They built the chapel in their…
Kirkwall
Two miles south of Kirkwall's centre, on the shores of Scapa Flow, this is one of two Orcadian whisky distilleries and, though less famous than Highland…
Orkney
On a historic farm in the centre of Papa Westray, this tiny museum is packed full of objects from the everyday life of the island's past. Agricultural…
Orkney
On a farm at Tankerness, the mysterious Iron Age site of Mine Howe is an eerie underground chamber, about 1.5m in diameter and 4m high. Its function is…
Orkney
A narrow spit joins this peninsula to the eastern edge of Mainland. You reach the end of the road at Mull Head. A short walk from the car park brings you…
Orkney
The folk here have been producing their brilliant Orcadian beers – Dark Island is a standout, while Skullsplitter lives up to its name – for years now,…
Orkney
Alongside the Standing Stones of Stenness are the excavated remains of a village thought to have been inhabited by the builders of Maeshowe. Don’t skip…
Orkney
A mile northwest of Stenness is this wide circle of standing stones, some over 5m tall. The last of the three Stenness monuments to be built (2500–2000 BC…
Kirkwall
Opened in 2018, this distillery and visitor centre on the waterfront is a new showcase for this tasty Orkney spirit. Tours run for an hour and include an…
Orkney
This uninhabited island just off the eastern shore of Papa Westray is notable for its three chambered cairns, the largest of which (South Cairn) is most…
Kirkwall
This labyrinthine display in a former merchant’s house gives an overview of Orcadian history and prehistory, including Pictish carvings and a display on…
Orkney
This atmospheric neolithic tomb, on a smaller scale than nearby Maeshowe, is a site that you may well get to yourself. It's a very tight squeeze down the…
Orkney
At the southern end of Hoy, Longhope’s former lifeboat launching station holds a small lifeboat museum, centred around one of the old boats itself, the…
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