Travel to Orkneys & Shetland Islands

Heidi.
Thats the one area of Britain that I havent seen. Its on my wish list. I do hope you will report back and let us know your experiences (and tips)

I can't help you much with the Shetlands, but I have been to Orkney a couple of times. First, think about getting a direct flight to Kirkwall. I did that from Madison. It was a very long day, but when we go there we were set. My trip was Madison to St. Louis, to Gatwick on American. Then on various connections Gatwick to Edinburgh to Inverness (stayed on the plane) to Kirkwall. This was leaving Madison at 3 PM and arriving in Kirkwall at 6 PM the next day. It was all one ticket. We flew open jaw back from Edinburgh through London to Chicago to Madison. ; ) I am going to recommend that you rent a car on Orkney. The distances are long enough that you really need one to see the sight. Or you will have to sign up for tours. There are some companies on Orkney that have good reputations. There are some local companies that you can rent from. They meet you at the airport. They will even meet you at the ferry when you leave so you don't have to worry about returning the car and still catching your ferry to Shetland. Here is a good website for finding out about local conditions. http://www.orkney.org/ and go to this page to check on local travel. http://www.visitorkney.com/around/index.asp. If you want to learn more about Orkney's heritage go to Sigurd Towrie's site. He's had this site for over ten years and it has lots of interesting information. http://www.orkneyjar.com/index.html I'll post about places to visit in a second post. Pam

There is so much history on Orkney. Of course, you want to see the really ancient sites. Skara Brae, the Ring of Brogdar, the Standing Stones of Steness, Maeshowe and the Eagles Tomb are all fascinating. I suggest that you check out George Mackay Brown's books. He writes about Viking Orkney. Kirkwall itself has the St. Magnus Cathedral and I think it's the Bishop's Palace. Up toward Skara Brae is the Earl's Palace and the Borough of Birsay which play in the Viking history and the Earl's Orkney. Don't forget that the Orkney's were part of Norway before they became Scottish. Other things to do include going over the Churchill Barriers and checking out the Italian Chapel. The Eagle's Tomb is at the tip of South Ronaldsay. I also like the jewelry from Orkney. There are some wonderful designers and other artists. I've not had a chance to do the birding, but you might want to take a tour as I think you want to get over to one of the other islands. Hoy is a great place for walking. You can hike over to the Old Man of Hoy. There are some local musicians that you might want to check on. In particular the Wrigley sisters are wonderful fiddlers. And speaking of fiddlers, one of the best is Aly Bain and he's from Shetland. Let me know if you have any specific questions. Pam

Our trip to this area in August is one day in Kirkwall so is not as extensive as yours. But we are renting a car for the day from Orkney Car Hire as it seemed to have the best rates and is close to the place where we will be arriving. We're hoping it goes well as this will be our first time to rent a car anywhere but the US. I also would like to hear about your experiences when you return. Best wishes!

Although one side of my family still lives on Orkney and Shetland, Pamela knows a lot more about the place than I (or even they come to think of it) could ever hope to. She really is amazing, so my advice would be to heed her advice, at least on all things Orcadian.