Please sign in to post.

Getting to the Orkneys -- Stay in/take ferry from Thurso/Scrabster or John o' Groats?

Posted by (Tucson) on

Based on a discussion of how long to stay in the Orkneys, I decided to spend 4 nights (14-18 May) in Kirkwall. I will use train and ferry to get there and fly back to Aberdeen.

I previously decided to take the ScotRail scenic route to Thurso and a bus to John o' Groats on 13 May, spend the night and take the JoG ferry to Orkney the next morning. I must admit that I was strongly influenced by sticky toffee pudding on the menu of the place I would likely stay in JoG.

Now, I'm not so sure about where to stay or what ferry to take. The JoG ferry takes about half the time, but John o' Groats is a very tiny village and requires a bus ride from Thurso. Most people who responded to the earlier question spent the night in Thurso and took the Scrabster ferry.

Is there any advantage to taking one ferry over the other or staying one night in one town over the other? The departure times for the two ferries are almost the same. Both have buses that meet them. Does one go by better scenery than the other?

Posted by
5678 posts

The Scrabster Ferry takes you right past the Old Man of Hoy. It's the ferry I've taken so I really can't comment on the other one. I know if you have a car the John O'Groats one might make more sense, but I suspect if you're on public transit, Scrabster is the better option. (BTW I bet you can find some sticky toffee pudding elsewhere. I had some on Skye and other places. It's a favorite desert!)

Pam

Posted by
1642 posts

I would agree with Pam's comment s above. Especially about the Old Man of Boy. Furthermore I have heard the John O'Groats route although shorter can be rougher if you hit it on the wrong day.

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.