Oh, Orkney.
While visitors to these remote islands in Scotland are rapidly increasing year on year, in the online travel circles and particularly the blogging world, my home island of Orkney remains seriously overlooked.
And yet I don’t understand why. Is it because we don’t have Instagrammable mountains? Is it because our beaches aren’t quite as Caribbean-esque (although not far off) as some other Scottish islands? Is it because we don’t have a crazy fire festival to draw a wee bit of attention to us?
Because Orkney has plenty. We have a hell of a lot of history. We have stunning coastlines. We have some of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen. We have jaw-dropping wildlife. And we have drool-worthy and world-renowned food and drink.
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We also have creepy neolithic tombs you can climb inside, the oldest preserved discovery in Europe, and the highest vertical cliffs in the UK. We have puffins. We have — alright, you know what? It’s one thing for me to list everything that’s great about Orkney. Here’s a bunch of my favourite photos to show you what we have.
Ring of Brodgar – a 5,000-year-old stone circle.
Windwick, South Ronaldsay. This is my happy place, a few miles from where I grew up.
Skara Brae, a neolithic village. The houses even have furniture! This stuff is mindblowing.
The Italian Chapel – one of my favourite attractions in Orkney. WW2 prisoners of war built this from two nissen huts while they were kept here.
The inside of the Italian Chapel – it’s stunning!
A gorgeous baby seal at Windwick – see them in October.
St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall. A rare cathedral that’s made out of red sandstone.
Sunset over Hoy.
Another view at Windwick Bay.
Sunset from Wideford Hill.
Waulkmill Bay – one of Orkney’s best beaches.
Sunset in Stromness – taken from Warebeth Beach.
A wild coast at the Brough Of Birsay.
Wave-watching at the Brough Of Birsay is one of my favourite things to do.
One more Brough Of Birsay photo – a classic lighthouse.
Marwick Head (admittedly with Brough Of Birsay in the background, so not the last photo after all).
Yesnaby – a treacherous but beautiful coastline.
The Ba’ – a huge street ball game in Kirkwall, held on Christmas Day & New Years Day.
Forget the Twatt road sign – check out Twatt Church!
Broch Of Gurness – just another fascinating slice of history.
One more look at Windwick.
The Ring of Brodgar at sunset.
An old boat in Herston.
An old hostel.
The impressive Stones of Stenness.
A view over to Hoy from one of Orkney’s hills.
The whalebone at the Brough Of Birsay (this is no longer here, sadly!).
The Brough of Deerness.
Brough of Deerness.
A small broch between Yesnaby and Skaill Bay – Broch of Borwick.
Another view over to Hoy – I will never tire of this!
Somewhere between Skaill Bay and Yesnaby, I believe.
One of the most impressive coastal sites in the British isles – the Old Man of Hoy.
Rackwick Glen, Hoy.
Rackwick, Hoy.
Another view of Rackwick Glen.
St John’s Head – the highest cliffs in the UK. These are terrifying.
A winter’s night at the Ring of Brodgar.
Waulkmill Bay, one of Orkney’s most impressive beaches when the tide’s out.
A gorgeous cottage in Happy Valley.
Skara Brae, Orkney’s 5,000-year-old neolithic village.
Skaill Bay.
Earl’s Palace, Birsay.
Stromness, Orkney’s second largest town.
One of the blockships sunk to stop submarines getting through before the barriers were built.
Sunset at Marwick Bay.
What do you think? Is this somewhere you’d like to visit?!
Read more:
⭐ A Perfect Orkney Itinerary For 2, 3 or 7 Days
⭐ Why You Should Visit Orkney
⭐ 7 Incredible Coastal Walks In Orkney You Have To Take
⭐ Visiting Hoy: A Day Trip To The Highest Island In Orkney
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Lovely photos. My wife is from Orkney and I love to walk there, watching birds and experiencing four seasons worth of weather in a single day.
Thank you! One of my favourite places in Orkney (and the world) is a cliff face where you can sit and watch birds fly past your head for hours. 🙂 I think the weather is the only downside – but we had a beautiful summer last year!
Beautiful photos… You’ve made me a believer in visiting 😄
Thanks Trish! Hope you make it here one day. 🙂
Me too!
I’ve been 3 times and still want to come back.
It seems to have that effect on a lot of people! 😉
Right, so where do I sign up? haha. Definitely on my list- perhaps even more now thanks to your beautiful photos (AND THE SEAL-OMG!)
Haha! Yay thanks so much! (So many seals here too, but the babies are just the cutest!)
That is one epic stretch of coastline you have there <3
It really is beautiful! I’ve discovered so many walks in the past year. 🙂
Those photos are stunning! As a history buff, I’d love to visit those preserved sites.
Oh you would love it!! Growing up here I definitely took it for granted, but I’ve never found anything older than some of our sites which is pretty amazing. Plus we have 3 main “eras” of history here – neolithic, Viking and war time relics! (As well as iron age & bronze age etc) So there’s really something for everyone when it comes to that. 😉 (Fun fact: 5 of the 20 oldest buildings in the world are in Orkney!!! I only just found that one out!)
This makes me want to jump on a plane right now! I’ve always wanted to visit the Scottish islands. I went to the highlands when I studied abroad there but didn’t make it to any other island than Skye. Orkney is definitely on my list!
Do you know what’s funny, I feel like I’m the only person who hasn’t been to Skye!!! Definitely #1 on my Scotland list now haha. I’m sure you would love it here, I hope you make it some time! 🙂
I made my first trip to Scotland last year and wanted to get to Orkney but didn’t. It’s firmly on my list for the next visit! Great snaps!
Thanks so much! Aww it’s so hard to see everything sometimes, and especially I think a lot of people don’t realise how remote it is in the north of Scotland! They are actually bringing in lower ferry fares too, so that should be in place by the time you make it here. 😉
How did I miss Twatt Church?! 😛 Lovely photos Clazz, I’d love to come back to Orkney but it just takes so long. The image of Stromness after a shower brings back fond memories.
Hahaha! I’m such a child. 😉 It only took me 28 years to discover it!!! Plus that bench helped, haha! Hope you make it back here some time, otherwise I am sure we will cross paths somewhere. 🙂
It worked! I wanna go! Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful pictures of an indeed beautiful place
I haven’t heard of Orkney before but it is certainly beautiful and sounds like it has so much to offer! Would love to visit when I make it to Scotland!
Some of these photos make my heart race a bit. It looks absolutely stunning.
Hehe you will have to go! 😉
Ohhhh now you have me desperate to visit Orkney! It looks stunning. You are now my official go to gal for all things Orkney……lol
Haha! Happy to answer any questions! I think you’d really like it there. 🙂
Hey, happy to have discovered your blog! Many moons ago a friend and I jumped on a ferry over to Orkney and hiked from Stromness to Kirkwall. I’d love to go back one day and see a bit more. If only for the photo opportunity of Twatt Church.
Hey aren’t you that girl who did a poo outside the grammar school in Kirkwall?!
lol not that I remember! 😂 Haven’t even heard about that hahaha.
I have so many questions. Why is the Lynnfield Hotel asking about someone doing a poo? What year did this happen? IMPORTANTLY, which exit was the offending poo found nearest? Why do we think it was Clarissa? Why are you asking if it was her – did you have a specific question about the poo? I want to know who did it. They should make a Netflix series about this.
A lovely wee place. I’ll have to visit soon.