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Welcome to Orkney - the Orkney Islands, in North Scotland, UK
You want to know the truth about Orkney? Here we go:
Here is a website with superb pictures showing a different perspective of Orkney, plus places to visit, the best accommodation, reasons for visiting and other honest info.
Here is a website with superb pictures showing a different perspective of Orkney, plus places to visit, the best accommodation, reasons for visiting and other honest info.
Places to Visit and Things to Do
An insider's guide to the Orkney Islands Scotland
Places in Orkney to explore:
(or put another way, what are the main names of places to visit whilst actually busy doing the inportant things - which will be:
Relaxing in a safe and friendly place
Meeting interesting locals and making friends
Getting lots of fresh air and more
Eating tasty food, and ice cream mmmm
Learning about the ancient past and recent stuff too
Discovering yourself and what matters in life
Dancing, drinking and playing.
F = free at point of access
(or put another way, what are the main names of places to visit whilst actually busy doing the inportant things - which will be:
Relaxing in a safe and friendly place
Meeting interesting locals and making friends
Getting lots of fresh air and more
Eating tasty food, and ice cream mmmm
Learning about the ancient past and recent stuff too
Discovering yourself and what matters in life
Dancing, drinking and playing.
F = free at point of access
- Stromness - cobbled streets, harbour and lanes (F)
- Skara Brae - neolithic village (5,000 years old)
- Stones of Stenness - 5,000 year old mystery (F)
- Ring of Brodgar - perfect stone circle (F)
- Maeshowe Chambered Cairn - often called a Tomb
- Tomb of the Eagles - Neolithic Chambered Cairn
- Old Man of Hoy - sandstone rock pillar (F)
- Dwarfie Stane - unique rock cut chamber (stone age) (F)
- Broch of Gurness - Iron Age fort
- Knap of Howar - oldest house in Europe (F)
- The shortest scheduled flight in the world - Papa Westray
- Brough of Birsay - Pictish and Viking settlement
- Birsay - Headland, beach and marine wildlife (F)
- Saint Magnus Cathedral - Red Sandstone Architecture (F)
- Kirbuster Farm Museum - Unique Old House (F)
- Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn - best preserved Stone Age structure (F)
- Craft Trail - many local crafts people, potters, silversmiths, textiles, glass, furniture (F)
- Scapa Flow - Dive Shipwrecks or revisit World War history (F)
- Italian Chapel and Churchill Barriers - WW11 history (F)
- Earl's Palace, Birsay - Stuart dynasty's extravogance crumbling (F)
- Barnhouse Village - Stone Age site beside Harray Loch (F)
- Ness of Brodgar - amazing discovery on going in World Heritage Site (F)
- Marwick Head and Bay - Puffins and HMS Hampshire memorial (F)
- Yesnaby Cliffs - wild and windswept seascape (F)
- Click Mill - beautiful, simple horizontal mill restored (F)
- Rennibister Earth House - underground secret chamber, Iron Age (F)
- Earl's Bu and Saga centre - Viking Farmstead and interpretation (F)
- Fishermen's Huts - Skipi Geo and Marwick Bay (F)
- Brough of Deerness - Remote Headland and Celtic Church (F)
- Minehowe - Iron Age mystery underground
- Rackwick - "Rock Bay", crofting township beside Atlantic (F)
- Betty Corrigall's Grave - Lonely Grave and tragic story (F)
- Orkney Museum - Wonderful Museum opposite Cathedral (F)
- Stromness Museum - delightful museum
- Pier Arts Centre - Architectural restoration and quality art (F)
- Holland Farm - traditional farm and folk museum (F)
- Taversoe Tuick - unusual and evocative stone age structure (F)
- Midhowe Broch and Cairn - more fantastic old stuff (F)
- Fusion - Nightclub and bar (I got tired of old stuff)
- Via House Storytelling - be prepared to dance and inhale peat smoke
- Art of Ancient Fire Making - Primitive Skills by Five Senses
- Balfour Castle - more old stuff :)
- No more please - you get the idea - lots to occupy brain and body
Why come to Orkney?
It is a long way and costly after all
The very reasons why you should question coming to Orkney are in fact the very reasons why you should make it a priority to get there.Isolation has enabled this place to become and remain somewhere special - and now as the world rushes headlong into globalisation and stress and fear, Orkney offers a haven, of sanity, community, genuine crafts and a better way of life.
Protected by being islands, cut off from mainland UK, the Orkney Islands have managed to prosper. Not only does it have all the old stuff (listed above) but it has:
# Great libraries
# Festivals (St Magnus, Science, Folk)
# College and superb schools
# A thriving community
# Great shops and artists
# Supermarkets and family stores
# No unemployment
# No crime (worth talking about)
# It's own history and identity
# A Norwegian heritage
# Cinemas and sports centres
# Superb meat, ice cream, beer, whisky, cheeses :)
I could go on - you get the idea?
(See the Guestbook below for some of the downsides and disappointments that you could encounter, depending upon your attitude and expectations)
I reckon some of the best things about Orkney are the very things that a first time visitor might describe as dull or boring. In a world of instantanious gratification, and over stimulation, pollution and incessant provocation - we actually need to get back in touch with what really matters - the basics: feeling safe, fresh air, clean water, friendship, community, a sense of belonging and shared history, awareness of the environment around us and of the mess we, as a species, are making of our world. These are the real reasons for visiting these old piles of stones all over Orkney: To get a perspective on our lives, sort ourselves out, de-stress and live better lives.
Orkney is becoming a very special place to be, for what it is and can become, not just what it was. Orkney represents a future we should seriously consider - a blend of ancient wisdom and modern technology - solutions to global warming and social problems.
Orkney Links - The Best Websites
Find out about Orkney with these Links:
- Orcadian Newspaper Online
- The number one site for news, weather and stories about the Orkney Islands. Read online.
- Orkneyjar's Amazing Orkney Heritage Site
- Sigurd Towrie's private masterpiece about Orkney heritage has become one of the most searched sites about the islands.
- Orkney Tours and Primitive Skills Courses
- Explore using your senses: Five Senses runs private tours of Orkney and teach primitive survival skills: Learn to make fire, navigate and find wild foods, in the vicinity of the ancient sites.
- Orkney Tourist Board Official Site
- The Orkney version of VisitScotland's tourism 'service'. A good general resource and the main site for accommodation listings.
- Where to Stay in Orkney
- A personal review of accommodation in Orkney - the best places to stay, in comfort.
- Travel Advice for getting to Orkney
- A personal account of travel options to Orkney, including great pictures and advice.
- Driving Itineraries, Edinburgh to Inverness to Orkney
- Very useful and detailed information about travel to Orkney by car, with suggestions for places to visit along the way, not just the towns of Edinburgh and Inverness either. Also all the ferry options.
- Northlink Ferries to Orkney
- Ferries to Orkney from Aberdeen, Shetland and Scrabster (Thurso). The main but not the only ferry service to Orkney.
- Orkney Community Websites
- A large and complicated site containing much about Orkney - for those who live there or have time to dig deep for juicy information.
- Orkney Islands Council
- The local government body for the county of Orkney and a site full of hidden information - not just for residents to use.
- Do Good Design - Website Designer
- Orkney based website designer offers website design and business support for ethical, creative and personal businesses. Includes portfolio, articles, design tutorials and advice.
- Useful Links
- A large list of Orkney links, crafts, travel and accommodation.
Orkney Books and Maps - Recommended
Books and maps packed with useful information about Orkney History
Here are some of our favourite books and maps about Orkney. I suggest you browse the web links, then when you are ready for more detail - check these paper resources out. Planning a trip is half the fun! (More books listed below guestbook).
Reader Feedback
Your chance to add your own comments, advice and useful info for world explorers.
submit
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Reply
- Gordon_Hamilton Gordon_Hamilton Jun 3, 2008 @ 9:04 am
- Orkney is not a place I have yet visited but you certainly present a powerful case for doing so. A very warm, though belated, welcome to the Destination Scotland group!
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Reply
- Maryanne Pearce Maryanne Pearce Apr 1, 2008 @ 12:16 pm
- Five Senses showed our family of 4 plus my sister and her husband around for a week. It was incredible. The highlight of 3 weeks in the UK - and we plan to return. We could not have seen 1/3 of what we saw without Malcolm. It was not a "okay so look at this for 20 seconds" type event. Malcolm asked us all kinds of questions for weeks before we arrived. Once there, he learned more about us -- and surprised us with a stop off at a rare breed sheep farm, as well as a combination wool shop / bookstore, to satisfy all 6 of us. I would highly recomend Malcolm and FIve Senses to anyone. It is not costly when you realize how much you end up doing, seeing and expereincing.
We shall be back.
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Reply
- iqbal615 iqbal615 Mar 20, 2008 @ 11:01 am
- Nice lens.Great info
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Reply
- Ashley Willett Ashley Willett Mar 17, 2008 @ 9:24 pm
- Fantastic page, Malcolm. We'll come visit one of these days!
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Reply
- Mar 10, 2008 @ 1:47 am
- Very nice informative lens you have made.% stars from me and thanks for joining my group Travelmania.
- Load More
More Books!
Interesting research and stories about Orkney
I'll keep adding books as I find ones I know to be good that are on Amazon. The maps are superb, works of art and very informative - I urge you to get at least one. The Landranger is the general purpose map covering all Mainland. The Explorer series is more detailed, down to individual walls and lots of ancient sites, not marked on the ground and not signposted.
A Special Section - George Mackay Brown
Stromness writer and poet, GMB, whose writing can evoke the essence of the place and life better than most pictures. Highly recommended.
Orkney Books - continued
Books, books, books!
Orkney Trees - Life in the Northern Isles of Scotland, without many trees
The facts about trees, attitudes to trees, and why there are so few
I love woods - Now I find myself living in Orkney, a place almost devoid of trees. So much so you appreciate and worship individual trees! True. You do not see woods here - you see trees!Orkney is grass pasture farmland in the most part, with the uplands being left to heather and grass moorland (good for birdlife). It wasn't always like this.
There are some trees.
The dominant species nowadays is Sycamore, non native. A programme of reintroducing native trees hs been very successful and has lead to the spread of Willows, Birch, Alder, Aspen, Hazel etc
Berriedale - The most northerly native woodland in Britain - is on Hoy, Orkney. (details to follow)
Lots more to follow on this subject - check in to see more pictures, links and writing. (11 March 08)
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by FiveSenses
Hello world. This is Malcolm of Five Senses - sharing my knowledge with you. Bet you don't read it! For more info, go to http://www.allfivesenses.com... (more)
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