Orkney Northern Isles

Forgot to mention this would be in May, but not this year.

I feel that our motives and means of travelling are too far apart, to offer any meaningful thoughts to you on the out isles of Orkney which is a great shame.

I also think that speed and convenience is just out weighing getting to know the islands. The vast majority of people (especially locals) to the islands use the Orkney Ferries services. No one pretends that they are anything but basic, workhorse ferries.

I am not going to sway from the opinion that the best way to actually understand island life is to go one way by ferry, explore the island then the other way by air. For me out ferry and back air was the best way to each island, but the opposite may well be true sometimes. There is something about arriving at these tiny air strips in their isolated island locations, which just works that way round.

You say that you are not interested in Museums, but how else do you actually get to understand the islands and island life, than the quirky little museum in the New Kirk on North Ronaldsay, or the fascinating Local History Centre in Balfour Village on Shapinsay?, two examples. Island life never did or could revolve around Neolithic ruins and wildlife- they do not make a living to survive there.

Stronsay (the main village of Whitehall) was once a huge herring port, unlikely as that may seem. The old fish mart has external info boards about that, and has been re-purposed as a hostel and cafe. In the interwar years in season as many as 6,000 people lived on the island.

You are not interested in shopping- so are you not going to support the local crafts people on, say Stronsay, as an example? Again this is vital income to them which helps to keep the island alive and populated.

On North Ronaldsay there is the unique sheep dyke/wall which surrounds the island + their own breed of sheep. You are not interested in the lighthouses on North Ron- now a significant part of the economy. Then you will miss the woollen mill, once an important part of the island economy.

I haven't even mentioned the largest island in the group- Hoy, and have passed straight by the Scapa Flow Museum on Hoy and the naval cemeteries- an integral part of Orkney History.
You went to Rousay, but not Wyre with Cubbie Roo's Castle (the oldest surviving medieval castle in Scotland, mentioned in the Sagas) and St Mary's Chapel (with it's Norse history) or Egilsay (well known for it's corncrake population as well as the ancient St Magnus Kirk). Both are request calls on the Rousay ferry route.

This has lengthened your list, but not shortened it- because you seem to be selling the Islands way short.

With a limited time budget, you can only soak in one or two islands or as I'm hoping, spending one night each on a handful. We'd be using lodging, buying food, and paying for tours wherever they are to be had, so I won't feel guilty about not supporting the islands. My hope is that I find a way to stay in the island group without hopping back and forth to Kirkway, which requires use of both the ferries and LoganAir. I haven't actually solved the puzzle of routing yet, as investing the time with ferry and flight schedules changing each year is a little silly.

When I say we don't like lighthouses, shopping, and museums, I mean "bagging" lighthouses (as some do) or taking pictures of battened down places like Eshaness (although the birds are worth a visit), going store to store in downtown Edinburgh looking at trinkets, or strolling galleries. We thought the Workhouse near Dunfanaghy was one of the best stops ever, and we always hit the small heritage centers and folk museums.

We dearly have different travel styles, but having a 15-20 hour long haul on each end of maybe a three week budget, it's either see just a few things or move fast. We've always opted for the latter, although I seem to be slowing things down in my old age.

I think you're right to try to narrow this list. Oh, I am so sad that you think it is your last trip. :( Have you explore this site? It should have some guidance. You might also post a question on the Orkney forum on TripAdvisor.

It sounds like a marvelous trip.

Pam

Hi jjgurley,
I am still reliving my wonderful time on Orkney several years ago! I think you'll love it too.
I was there from late June to mid-July (2-1/2 weeks). I don't tolerate heat, so temps in the 50s and 60s degF were perfect. There was frequent wind (these are islands!), occasional drizzle, very little rain. I had intended to visit a few of the "outer islands" but ended up just going to two - Westray and Papay (besides an all-day, 6-person tour on the Mainland, which included South Ronaldsay). I don't rent cars overseas. In this case, the unexpected, time-consuming logistics of limited ferries to the islands (two local ferries a week to each island when I was there; things may have changed) made me decide to save Sanday and North Ronaldsay for another time. It was more important to me to take it easy and explore two islands rather than move quickly trying to see more islands while seeing less of each of them. It didn't occur to me to take a plane to these islands (other than the one I took from Aberdeen to Kirkwall). I actually liked the ferries, but the suggestion to take a plane one way and a ferry one way to see more islands may be a good one for your purposes. I can't speak to the other islands, but between Westray and Papay, if you're only planning to stay the day, maybe Papay isn't the best choice. It seems to me it's best suited for a slower form of travel. A Westraak tour on Westray might be more up your alley.

I did spend a few days on Westray, including a 4-hour Westraak tour, which I enjoyed. Lots of hill walking, birding, wildflowers on the island. They take you to the small museum, but it was worth the time to learn a bit about the area's history. The tour was good because Westray has some steep areas and some of the areas I wanted to visit were a fair distance from one another on foot. There is the option to rent bicycles if that appeals to you.

The rest of my time was spent on Papay, which I loved. I can't imagine you'd need an organized tour on little Papay, unless you can't or don't want to do much walking. The archeology is amazing. When I was there, I just walked right up to ruins. No lines, no tickets, no people at all. It was surreal and beautiful. A warden (ranger) lives on the island in the spring/summer. She lead a walk on North Hill, where about eight of us who showed up saw lots of puffins, skuas, fulmar, shearwater, terns. She talked about how she and fellow wardens conduct annual bird counts, which entails being roped for a breathtaking rappel down a sheer cliff above the sea. We saw fields of wildflowers, including the rare magenta Scottish primrose (only place in the world where the tiny flower grows!). Papay is the antidote to those wishing to get away from city crowds and noise.

If I could have added one island to my visit it would have been North Ronaldsay. If you don't know, the sheep originally brought there were penned to the foreshore by a wealthy property owner who didn't want them grazing on his land. Their digestive systems adapted to ingested seaweed. Locals on Westray told me that lamb from North Ronaldsay has a bit of "salt sea" taste. Maybe something for the adventurous eater to experience.

I hoe you enjoy Orkney as much as I did and that you let us know which islands you visited and how your trip went!

You may find this new video about Sanday interesting-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UKNC_afar4

I've been to Sanday, and this was just gorgeous viewing to me as I know the island and can recognise so much in the film. Pure bliss.

Memories of many happy times on the Earl Class ships of Orkney Ferries, and the wee airstrips out there.

By the way neither Northlink or Orkney Ferries schedules change much, if at all, year by year. The OF changes each year are on the Sunday excursion sailings and for specific island events when they add extra calls. Otherwise you can pretty much plan on this year's timetables and know there will be little if any change next year, unless (and you won't be) you are there during the winter refit period.

And note I am not the only one who says that you should get to North Ronaldsay.

I'm a big fan of Steve Marsh, but I somehow missed that one.

I've set the entire plan aside for the last few weeks, as our upcoming May trip is starting to ring alarms for dinner and ferry reservations. At the moment, the future plan is GLA to 2xRothsay, Cambeltown, Gigha, 2xArran, 3xMull, 2xMuck, 2xEigg, Glencoe (just a waypoint to Glasgow), 4xNortherns, 1xKirkwall, 1xGlasgow for three weeks away from home. I will eventually try flipping the trip around to see if flying to Kirkwall on our arrival day makes more sense. These plans need to stew awhile.

We can fly to Kirkwall and make it to one of several islands the same day, We can also return to Kirkwall late in the day to make it four full days on the islands of our choice. We could fly out of Kirkwall and connect to our long-haul flight the same day depending on the days of the week, since LoganAir schedules are highly erratic, which would give us a fifth day, but that kind of open jaw (maybe that's the wrong term) flying makes me nervous.

Even if I squeeze out five nights in the Orkneys, that still leaves some hard choices.

jjgurley, don't be guilted into shopping. Some people like to shop, like me, and others don't want to, so there is no reason for you to do so just to provide for someone else's income. There are plenty of shoppers who travel and they are more than enough to help the local economy.

It sounds like a wonderful trip and you should do exactly what you want, especially since it might be your last one there. One of these days I will make my way up to the northern islands!

"We could fly out of Kirkwall and connect to our long-haul flight the same day depending on the days of the week, since LoganAir schedules are highly erratic, which would give us a fifth day, but that kind of open jaw (maybe that's the wrong term) flying makes me nervous."

I think you are wise to reconsider this. It would make me nervous as well. ALTHOUGH everything went OK with my 3 Loganair flights I'd not want to risk it. One of the couples in my group was trying that and wound up missing their international flight. They were rerouted thru Boston and then wound up with a night there as well. No big deal as they are both retired so did not have to get back to work but just annoying when you are tired and want to sleep in your own bed, hahaha.

The weak point in the above plan is Campbeltown. If there is any problem elsewhere in the network that is the first 'big ship' route to be cut as the vessel which takes that route is the MV Isle of Arran- she doubles as the fleet big ship relief vessel.
In 2023 the route never ran- it spent all season being cancelled a few weeks at a time, due to CalMac being one ship short all season- a ship whose repairs turned out to be very complex.

There was local uproar, also questions in the Scottish Parliament as the route is a Parliamentary contracted route.

As long as you know that the service is like that you can plan on pivoting via Claonaig instead at short notice, if need be.

Hopefully that situation will not happen again in 2025, but time will tell.

The plan was to get from Rothsay to Cambeltown via Rhubodach/Portavadie and I think the tiny ferries are more predictable, then Cloanaig to and from Arran. We would avoid all the chaos in Androssan/Troon and get to see the ferry terminal in Wemyss Bay (which Steve March loves).

jjgurley, I just got an email that the Bradt guides have come out with a new Orkney guide, in case you're interested. I love their guides; especially the ones for places that other companies pass by. Anyway, here's a link if you're interested: https://www.bradtguides.com/product/orkney-2/

I've settled on an efficient plan I (think) I like. Arrive in Kirkwall on the same day as our longhaul from SEA (very safe 4hr connection), then ferry based car daytrips to Hoy, Eday, and Sanday, then fly, for two nights on Westray, a full day on Westray and a day trip to Papay. Fly back to Kirkwall in time to take a flight to GLA, again, with a comfy layover.

That will leave Stromness, N. Ronaldsay, and the other northern isles, if we ever get back in the area.

That sounds wonderful jjgurley - have a fantastic time.

Looking forward to you doing a Trip Report after you get back home! Would love to hear about your visits to the smaller islands.

This trip is pretty far in the future, so don't be to impatient for the trip report :-)

See this photo on facebook from the Papa Westray ranger of a glorious and rarely seen beach on Papa exposed at a spoot tide- the lowest tide after a full moon- https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1176958040308534&set=a.721421852528824.77

The Ranger also arranges peedie tours of the island- https://www.orkney.com/life/businesses/listing/papay-peedie-tour?fbclid=IwAR3DqOnW4T01vw1hLUrfICWNNQ3Di49SDImbO-bk2OFE9FeUXy8GyZzjUNQ

Peedie on Orkney or Peerie on Shetland translates as small- which seems a dis-service to this very comprehensive tour.

I'm dumping the car before going to Westray/Papay so I was already planning Westraak and Peedie tours. We haven't ever done a guided tour except at the Little Museum in Dublin, so it's ground breaking for us. Next thing you know, we'll be staying three nights in one place!

It's always amazing to see what nature exposes - sort of like the Sanday exposed wooden ship. Here in Oregon, the extreme tides expose old forests of stumps and whale skeletons.