Orkney's Sites

Orkney has an amazing range of sites – from world-class archaeology to social history and natural wonders. If you join us on one of our one-week holidays we visit ALL of the sites listed in our short guide below. If you would prefer a private tour we will arrange your itinerary to suit your interests.

 

Barony Mill, Birsay: the last working water mill in Orkney – still grinding traditional bere meal for our locally made bere bannocks and biscuits.Blackhammer Cairn, Rousay: a 5000-year-old Neolithic tomb in the picturesque island of Rousay.Broch of Gurness: a 2000-year-old Iron Age settlement, the central tower still surrounded by its village. Brough of Birsay: an island with a Norse settlement and monastery accessible only at low tide. Churchill Barriers: part of Scapa Flow’s Second World War defences. Corrigall Farm Museum: a traditional 18th century Orcadian farmstead.Cuween Chambered Cairn:  a 5000-year-old Neolithic tomb that, when opened in the 19th century, contained the remains of 24 dogs in addition to eight people. Dwarfie Stane, Hoy: an immense block of sandstone hollowed out 5000 years ago to form Britain’s only rock cut tomb.The Earl’s Palace, Birsay: the 16th century palace built by Earl Robert Stewart.The Earl’s and Bishop’s Palaces, Kirkwall: the 12th century Bishop’s palace, built for the cathedral’s first bishop, and the 17th century Earl’s Palace. Earl’s Bu: remains of a 12th century Norse farmstead mentioned in the Orkneyinga Saga as the scene of a great Christmas feast and notorious murder.The Gloup: a huge natural chasm caused by the collapse of a sea cave. Kirbister Farm Museum: the last surviving farmstead in Orkney to retain the traditional ‘firehoose’ with central hearth and fireback. Italian Chapel: the world famous ‘miracle of camp 60’, built with remarkable dedication from scavenged materials by Italian prisoners of war.Lyness Naval Museum: a fine collection of relics of Orkney’s naval past. Maeshowe: the finest example of a Neolithic chambered tomb in Britain, complete with the largest collection of Norse runic inscriptions outside Scandinavia. Martello Tower, Hoy: built during the Napoleonic Wars to protect convoys assembling in Scapa Flow from attack by American and French privateers.Midhowe Broch, Rousay:  a fine example of an Iron Age settlement, looking out over Eynhallow Sound.Midhowe Cairn, Rousay: known as the great ship of the dead – the largest of Orkney’s the Neolithic stalled cairns. Mine Howe: where 2000 years ago a mysterious chamber was carved into the heart of a glacial mound, and you descend 29 steps into the underworld. Rennibister Earth-house: an Iron Age subterranean chamber, discovered by chance in 1926 when a threshing machine fell through the roof.Rendall Doocot: a 17th century beehive dovecote, which was built to house 500 pairs of nesting pigeons – a source of year round fresh meat in the days before freezers. Round Kirk: remains of a late 11th /early 12th century round church, featured in the Orkneyinga Saga.St. Magnus’ Cathedral: a magnificent 12th century sandstone cathedral, a legacy of Orkney’s days as a Norse Earldom. Scapa Flow: the best natural harbour in Britain and the main base of the Royal Navy in both World Wars. Skaill House: an early 17th century laird’s house, the home of William Watt, the discoverer of Skara Brae.Skara Brae: the world famous 5000-year-old Neolithic village. Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar: two magnificent 5000-year-old henge monuments. Taversöe Tuick Cairn, Rousay: an unusual two storey burial mound, discovered in 1898 during the construction of a summer seat for the laird’s wife. Unstan Stalled Cairn: a 5000-year old Neolithic stalled cairn.