Trip Report - The Orkneys & Paris

Day 15 – HIKE OLD MAN OF HOY, HILL OF WHITE HAMARS, LEFTOVERS

The first order of business today, scope out the area around the lighthouse and explore the coastline. I walked around the grounds, taking pics and enjoying the many birds, cows, sheep, ducks, flowers, plants, and my seal companion, who followed me along my coastal walk from the water. Today we have a private guide, Stephen, giving us a bespoke tour of the island. We hiked out to the Old Man of Hoy, learning all about the island’s history and some of its folklore and ghost stories. For lunch, we sat on some heather near the sea cliffs and enjoyed our sack lunch with views of the Old Man and the Atlantic Ocean. We took plenty of pictures and a 10-second video for Monday Night Travels here at the Old Man of Hoy. The hike took about an hour and a half and was not too difficult. On our hike back, we stopped at the Rackwick Museum to visit the Old Schoolhouse (where the teacher was paid in peat) and the Craa Nest, an 18th farmhouse with box beds and a very comfortable Orkney Chair, a design specific to this archipelago. Next, we stopped by the Hoy Kirk & Heritage Centre, which had a pulpit with 17thC wood carvings from a sunken Spanish Armada ship. Very cool! Then, we visited the newly opened Scapa Flow Museum, a place I had visited in 2019 when it was in its temporary location. There were many of the same exhibits from my previous visit, but many new ones as well, including more mechanical displays, lots of info on Lord Kitchener & Winston Churchill, and maps of WWII activities in Hoy. Very interesting museum with a friendly, helpful staff. After the museum, we headed over to see the Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery, which had interesting German graves from WWI and several anonymous graves (unknown but not forgotten) from fallen WWI sailors. It was a beautiful and historic cemetery that was immaculately maintained. Next, we drove to the Hill of White Hamars and hiked along the coast, enjoying views of geos, gloups, sea arches, and many nesting seabirds. There were quite a few baby Fulmars we could see in their seacliff nests. Beautiful! This area is relatively unknown and absolutely gorgeous. We saw Sea Thrift, the rare Primica Scotia, only found in the Orkneys, and of course, lots of birds, including a Curlew and Great Black-Backed Gull. One very interesting feature Stephen pointed out: a piece of rock along the coast that had imprinted on it some fossilized seaweed that was 300 million years old! Fascinating! What a great day of hiking and exploring Hoy. We covered roughly eight miles, and it was worth every centimeter.

“Wow” moment: Seeing the Old Man of Hoy a second time

Day 16 – HOY TOUR, RNLI LIFEBOAT MUSEUM, WWII SITES, STROMABANK HOTEL DINNER

Today we had a different guide, as Stephen was to meet Charles, the Prince of Wales, on Hoy that day! We had the Royals visiting. How exciting! Our guide picked us up again at our lighthouse lodging and took us on another bespoke tour of Hoy. Today we would visit more historical sites, especially WWII sites. Neither I nor my travel buddy had any idea there was so much WWII history on this island. Very interesting! Dougie, our guide, first took us to visit the RNLI, or Royal National Lifeboat Institute, Museum. We enjoyed our time at the museum, including a brief tour aboard the Thomas McCunn. So many unsung heroes here who helped save so many lives on this tiny island. Next was a visit to the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery with its memorial, the Longhope Life Boat, and Moodie Mausoleum. We then visited Longhope Village, and Dougie let us climb aboard the latest high-tech RNLI boat, the RNLB Helen Comrie. As this is a volunteer force, and Dougie was a member, he could show us all the gadgets and gears on this amazing craft and even made me an honorary coxswain (driver) for a few minutes. Pretty cool! We learned a lot about this volunteer force, which is vital to island life. We made a quick stop by St. John’s Kirk and Kirkyard, which is 9thC and has fascinating Viking history but no electricity or running water! They still use oil lamps. The wooden beams in the ceiling came from Viking Longboats. Incredible. We next went up to Wee Fea, an old headquarters building for the Royal Navy on Hoy during WWII, with its panoramic views of Scapa Flow, the large body of water off the north Hoy coast. Dougie also took us into an old WWII bomb shelter, which was a fascinating look into life in those dangerous times. It was also fairly well-hidden; you could walk right by and not know it was there. We then stopped by the Hoy Kirk to escape the rain and eat our sack lunches. Dougie made us a nice pot of tea, and we enjoyed chatting with him while we evaded the bad weather. He then took us out to see the Dwarfie Stane, a Neolithic tomb over 5,000 years old. In good weather, it’s a challenging hike; in rainy weather, it can be a bit treacherous. But it was still fun to see. Dougie also took us to Lyrawa Hill with amazing views of Scapa Flow and told us about WWII activity here. The Royal Navy was quite active here during the war, and when they left, they took the electricity with them! We learned that they did not get it back till the 1960s. Dinner that night was at the only evening restaurant on the island, the Stromabank Hotel. We had an excellent Angus beef filet with peppercorn sauce, chips, and peas and enjoyed views of Scapa Flow. Another great day in Orkney! When we arrived back at the lighthouse, we saw a group of porpoises playing in the water near the coast! The wildlife here is amazing, and we have a new appreciation for Hoy’s role in WWII.

“Wow” moment: Climbing aboard a new high-tech RNLI Lifeboat and sitting in the driver’s (coxswain) seat.

Day 17 – MAINLAND ORKNEY, RING OF BRODGAR, SKARA BRAE, BROUGH OF BIRSAY, BNB DINNER

Today we took the car ferry from Hoy back to Mainland Orkney. While waiting for the ferry, our guide Stephen happened to stop by, and we chatted about his visit with Prince Charles the previous day. He said the prince wore a kilt, looked sharp, and was utterly charming and quite intelligent. They had a lovely visit. After arriving on the mainland, we had some free time before our reserved entry for Skara Brae, so we stopped at the Ring of Brodgar for a visit. This is a stone circle on Mainland Orkney with far fewer tourists than other stone circles in the UK and treated us to lots of blooming heather and fantastic clouds. It was very atmospheric. There is a dry-erase board that has a listing of current wildlife, flowers, and birds one can see at the Ring, with a few sketches of these. Very helpful. After the Ring, we visited Skara Brae; they have timed entries to control the number of visitors, and it wasn’t too crowded here, although this is the main tourist attraction on the island and, therefore, the busiest. It’s best to avoid the tour buses, if possible. We know they will come here in the morning around 10 AM from their cruise ships. So, first thing in the morning is the best time to visit Skara Brae, if possible, or late in the day. This is another Neolithic site in Orkney, predating the Pyramids of Egypt, and quite interesting. Skaill House, next door, is the home of the archeologist that discovered this site. It’s somewhat interesting for local Orkney history. Lunch was at Skara Brae Café and was quite good. I tried their Cullen Skink, a fish & potato cream soup, which was quite good, and filling. Their scones are also quite nice. One important site to visit on Orkney is the Brough of Birsay, on the northwest coast. This is a tidal island, so you must check the tide schedule before coming here. Otherwise, you may not be able to reach the island. It’s a short hike over the stone walkway to the island, which has more Neolithic ruins, a beautiful coastline, great views over to the Mainland and the Yesnaby coast, and a lighthouse on the western side of the island. The hike is a bit steep but totally worth it for the “king of the hill” views of the island and Mainland. The goes along your hike are beautiful, as are the seabirds nesting along the cliffs. Exploring the rock pools is also fun on your trip over or back (probably back since timing is critical). Also, worth seeing nearby is Skiba Geo and the Fisherman’s Hut, a 20–30-minute coastal hike from the entrance to the Brough. After seeing this amazing site, we drove south to visit the Churchill Barriers and the Italian Chapel. The barriers were erected during WWII to help protect Scapa Flow from invading Germans. There are many fascinating stories about these structures. The Italian Chapel was built by Italian WWII prisoners held on Orkney, using only scraps and local materials, whatever they could scrounge up. It’s a beautiful testament to their love of Italy and their skill and persistence. We stayed at a BnB in Evie, whose host has become a good friend. It has views over Eynhollow Sound to the Isle of Rousay, and it’s a nice, quiet retreat from busy Mainland Scotland. She made dinner for us, salmon steaks, and picked fresh veg from her garden to complement it. Delicious! Another great day in Orkney!

“Wow” moment: Making it out to the Brough of Birsay at low tide to explore this amazing island

Day 18 – STRONSAY, PAPA STRONSAY, HELGI’S DINNER

Today, we took the hour-and-a-half car ferry from Mainland Orkney in Kirkwall, to Whitehall village, on the Isle of Stronsay. I’ve never been here before, and it’s a beautiful island to visit. The ferry offered a small café with a few items, but not real full-meal items. More snacks and coffee. Once we arrived on Stronsay, we headed over to the East coast for a fifteen-minute hike out to the Vat of Kibister, a sea arch and gloup on this fascinating island. We were the only people here, coming or going, and this part of the coastline shows off a beautiful part of the island. Along the way, we encountered Shags, Great Black-Backed Gulls, Meadow Pipits, and Fulmars with their nesting babies. This sea arch is part of a gloup, a sea cave whose roof has collapsed. Fascinating structure. The day was beautiful, about 65 degrees, with no clouds and only a little wind. The views were spectacular. The geos along the coast were amazing and plentiful, including Tam’s Castle. This really was heavenly. After hiking back to our car, we drove into Whitehall village, bought some postcards to send home, and a few snacks from the local shop. We sat along the harbour on a park bench, wrote our postcards, and then mailed them from the shop’s postal drop. For lunch, we ate at the Whitehall Fishmart, which was quite good! It is also the only restaurant on the island, apart from the hotel restaurant, which is only open Friday nights. Many Scottish isles have this feature; they’re beautiful, remote, peaceful, and a wonderful break from crazy everyday life, but they might only have one restaurant on the entire island. You have to be prepared for that. I tried the Scampi and chips with salad. The waitress brought over a binder with printed info on the island and made suggestions for our sightseeing time there. How very nice of her! After lunch, we met our pre-arranged contact, Brother Dominic, who took us over to the Isle of Papa Stronsay. This island, a five-minute boat ride from Stronsay, is owned by the Golgotha Monastery, and their order manages the entire island. Brother Dominic was our guide and showed us around the island, but we were not allowed inside the Monastery, but we could take pics of it from the stone wall. It’s a small complex with dorms for the monks and plenty of beautiful, quiet, peaceful places to meditate and pray. He showed us their chapel, main buildings, and greenhouse, though. The greenhouse was massive, and I counted at least ten different fruits and vegetables growing there, including apricots, blackberries, figs, grapes, plums, apples, squash, courgettes, and tomatoes. Most impressive. We hiked to the beach and enjoyed watching the Dunlins, Ringed Plovers, and Oystercatchers run around hunting for their food, then explored more of the island on our own. Finally, Brother Dominic took us back over to Stronsay. Quite an enjoyable visit to this unique place. Once back on Stronsay, we drove to the west coast and visited Rotheisholm (pronounced Rousum) Beach, exploring the rock pools and beach-combing. Only saw one couple on the beach during our whole time there. We also visited St. Catherine’s Bay to see some stunning clouds over the beach and do more exploring. We had the whole beach to ourselves. In August. We stopped by the Heritage Centre, at the suggestion of our waitress, to see some local Stronsay history and then headed back to the harbour to catch our car ferry back to Mainland Orkney at 615 pm. Dinner reservations were at Helgi’s Pub, right on Kirkwall harbour. It was noisy but good.

“Wow” moment: Getting to visit the highly isolated and relatively unknown Papa Stronsay

Day 19 – PAPA WESTRAY, HOLM OF PAPAY, RSPB NORTH HILL, BNB DINNER

One of the coolest reasons to visit Papa Westray is to say you’ve flown the shortest flight in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The entire trip takes roughly 90 seconds. It’s a fun flight, with only 7 possible passengers, and takes no time at all. You can even request a certificate from Loganair showing you’ve flown on the world’s shortest flight. Getting around on Papa Westray can be challenging if you are a tourist; you basically have to hire a private guide or walk the island on your own, which is not practical. There is a ferry that comes over, but I think it is passenger only, and to bring a car, I think you have to be a resident. Papa Westray is not really set up for tourism, but that’s a blessing in disguise. That also means you won’t see hardly any people when you visit, and can enjoy a quiet, peaceful time with your guide. We hired a Ranger to show us around. He was a fantastic guide and knew the island’s history, as well as all the wildlife, flora, & fauna. He is an expert birder as well, so he knew all the possible birds we would see on the island and pointed them out to us. He met us at the airport, took us around for the day, and brought us back to the airport at the end of the day. Since there were just two of us, he took us on a small boat over to the Holm of Papay, an even smaller island than Papa Westray. He showed us its wildlife: dozens of seals, who followed our boat all around the island, some Eider ducks, Arctic Terns, Gannets, Great Black-Backed Gulls, Shags, and Black Guillemots. This trip was wonderful and totally worth it. The seals were fun to watch and bobbed up here and there throughout our boat ride. He arranged a sack lunch for us for a small fee, which provided a sandwich, cake, apple, and a drink, all quite good. After lunch, we hiked out to the RSPB (bird preserve) North Hill and climbed along the northern sea cliffs to catch glimpses of Shags, Gulls, Eider Ducks, and a Black Guillemot with a butterfish in its mouth, and then moving inland, we saw Wheatears, Linnets, and an Arctic Skuas. We next visited St. Boniface Kirk and Kirkyard with its 11thC Norse graves. Interesting! We also checked out the Knap of Howar, which features the ruins of northern Europe’s oldest settlement, older than Skara Brae and the Pyramids. Awesome! We spent our final evening on mainland Orkney with our BnB host, enjoying a home-cooked Orcadian meal. We’ve had an amazing time in Orkney, but it’s never long enough. I want to return when I have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the idyllic lifestyle. This place is a keeper!

“Wow” moment: Seeing all the beautiful wildlife this charming island has to offer

Day 20 – FLY TO PARIS, FRENCH DINNER, 2CV CITY LIGHTS TOUR

Today was a long travel day. I learned a valuable lesson on this trip. Do not try to combine the Scottish Northern Isles with other parts of Europe on one trip; it’s not practical and very hard to traverse. Unfortunately, we were at the mercy of a Delta flight credit from a canceled pre-pandemic trip we had booked. Also, Delta only flies direct to Paris from the US, so it’s quite limiting. I learned long ago, NEVER book a return flight home to the US unless it’s a non-stop flight. Otherwise, you will have a short layover in which you have to depart the airplane, go through customs, however long that takes, get your checked bags, then re-check them, THEN go back through security and then board your next flight. All in 45 minutes! No thanks. Non-stop or nothing for me! For this flight to Paris, we had to fly from Kirkwall, Orkney to Aberdeen, Scotland, then to London, then to Paris. Not a fun day. But, once in Paris, it was a wonderful experience. We checked into Hotel du Cadran, an RSE recommendation and a GREAT one, and asked them about local spots for dinner. They booked us a table at Le Petit Troquet, another RSE tip. It was fantastic! Excellent service, a five-minute walk from the hotel, and mouth-watering food! I would highly recommend this place for dinner. I had the duck & pistachio terrine, Beef Bourguignon, and for dessert, French toast with pineapple confit, salted butter caramel, and pineapple sorbet. Fantastic! That night, we had booked tickets for a 2CV car tour of “Legendary Paris”, a city lights 2-hour tour that began at 10 pm. It was fantastic! Patrick was our guide and took us around town in an orange Citroen with the roof removed but structural bars in place so that we could stand up in the car and have pictures taken of us at famous sites. Awesome! He took us to the Eiffel Tower, just in time for the light show. We had front-row seats a mere few blocks from the base of the tower. GREAT! We visited the beautiful bridge (Pont) Alexandre III, the Champs-Élysées, the Luxor Obelisk with a nearby full moon, Paris Opera House, Pantheon, Notre Dame, Moulin Rouge, up-close, and Montmartre, for another view of the Eiffel Tower, this time from up high. It was an incredible evening and so many incredible photo ops. We took some very memorable pictures tonight!

“Wow” moment: Seeing the Eiffel Tower light show from two angles

Day 21 – SHOPPING/PICS AT GALERIE LAFAYETTE, MUSEE ORANGERIE, SPA

Today we had a quick breakfast in the hotel; it was good but crowded. This hotel attracts a lot of Americans since it has really good air conditioning. We had originally booked a Foodie tour of Paris today, but our tour guide canceled four days ago for personal reasons. The tour company, With Locals, did not provide an alternate guide either; I would not recommend them to anyone. We decided to visit Galerie Lafayette instead. Their rooftop terrace is free to visit and has panoramic views across Paris, including a great shot of the Eiffel Tower from a life-size Je t’aime Paris sign. We started out there, got our pictures taken, and then did some souvenir and gift shopping. This is a venerable department in Paris and has an excellent selection of everything – clothes, gadgets, home stuff, jewelry, travel gear, foodie items, and souvenirs and gifts. They also have a spectacular steel-frame art nouveau glass dome which is ringed by loggias, seven stories high; it looks like an opera house. It features ten panels covering 1,000 meters. Definitely worth a visit while in Paris. They also have an excellent set of cafés, including a Pan-Asian one that’s excellent! On this visit, we chose the Lafayette Café, which offers a wide variety of cuisines, from healthy to fried. They also offer some great desserts! I chose the Tarte Pomme Crème Fraiche, a baked apple tart with frangipane crust and some lovely Crème Fraiche. Both cafés offer excellent views over Paris, as they’re both on the sixth floor. If you arrive early for lunch, you can snag a seat by the window for these stunning views. Today our view was the Palais Garnier or Paris Opera House, and it’s a gorgeous building! After lunch, we headed to the Musée de l’Orangerie, where we had pre-booked reservations for a guided tour. This tour was excellent and gave us a detailed description of the museum, in particular, Monet’s Water Lilies, the three-room multi-panel artwork. There is also a fair amount of works from other artists, including Cezanne, Renoir, Picasso, and Modigliani, to name a few. After the museum, I decided to do a spa treatment at Hotel du Cadran, and it was well worth it. You can book a private spa room, with a dry sauna, whirlpool, and shower, for one hour. If no one else has reserved it, you can use it for longer. It was a great way to relax and re-focus after a busy day in a crowded city. That night I just grabbed a pizza from one of the many street vendors and walked around the City of Lights, enjoying my final night of vacances.

“Wow” moment: Seeing Monet’s Water Lilies in situ.

Day 22 – FLY HOME VIA AIR FRANCE BUSINESS CLASS

The next day, we flew home to DFW airport via Air France. I have learned that, if possible, the best way to fly to Europe is Business Class or First. The extra amenities make the long-haul flight much more manageable and ensure you’re refreshed, well-rested, and ready to tackle Europe as soon as you arrive. The lay-flat beds, hot towels, excellent food, comfortable seats, and plenty of entertainment with noise-canceling headphones also ensured a comfortable trip. I will say that Delta Business Class does not match the quality of American, United, or Lufthansa Business Class. At all. But Air France did a great job on our flight home. Also, another perk to traveling Business Class is expedited security, so it took us almost no time to get through security at CDG, plus check-in was lightning fast. When we landed in Dallas, getting through customs was also quick because I had Global Entry. There was no line when I arrived; I walked up to a kiosk, scanned my face, and then was called up to the customs agent. No line. I had nothing to declare, so he said welcome to America. That was it! It took me a few minutes! I had no luggage to claim, so I was out of the airport in a flash and on my way home. What a fantastic trip!!

“Wow” moment: Enjoying the comforts of business class on a long-haul flight.

Final thoughts:

Most of the attractions and tours we booked went without a hitch. I think it’s a great idea to pre-book tickets for events and museums in advance; otherwise, you risk either delays or not seeing these important sites at all. I would also book reservations for restaurants these days. With the post-Covid effects, many businesses seemed to be short-staffed, which affected either their hours, prices, or services. They seemed to offer fewer tables and had long wait times for dinner if you had no reservations. I’m glad we booked all of ours in advance. We actually forgot to book for Paris, though, but luckily, our hotel came through for us, as previously mentioned. This was the first trip on which I only brought a carry-on suitcase and a backpack, and stuck with that plan for the whole trip. I originally wanted to bring an extra bag for souvenirs and gifts, but with the current nightmare of checked luggage, even on our journey home, I did not want to risk delays or losing any bags. Having only carry-ons worked out beautifully, even on Loganair. NOTE: Loganair states that you can only carry on a bag that weighs 13 pounds and is no more than 15”x13”x7”. However, they allowed my larger backpack. Also, they offer valet service for carry-on suitcases. For example, we flew Kirkwall to Aberdeen on a small Loganair 50-seater plane with no possible way to fit a US carry-on size suitcase overhead. But they allowed us valet service, so we carried the suitcase to the gate; they tagged it and took it as we boarded and gave it to us as soon as we got off in Aberdeen. That way, we could carry on our bags for the rest of our journey to Paris and not have to deal with checked baggage at Charles de Gaulle airport, which saved us from having to deal with a nightmare. This was another fantastic vacation and reminded me how much I missed traveling. This was my first long trip since Covid hit. Good to be back in Europe!

Fascinating! Thanks for your thoughtful narrative.

Love both your trip reports and all the details. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Thank you again. This may be the only TR on this part of the world on this forum. And now, with many parts of the world warming up due to climate change, I know where we can go😜

I really enjoyed your trip report. I have been to both Orkney (just the mainland) and Paris and am planning to go back to Orkney next year. Your Orkney report was most helpful as I hope to get off the mainland next year.

I can’t imagine going directly from Orkney to Paris. I have a hard time adjusting to cities after being in remote places. Glad it worked for you!

Thx for the comments!
Carroll, I totally agree with you. The only reason we went to Paris was because our flight credit from a canceled pre-Covid trip was thru Delta, and they don't fly non-stop to Dallas (or ATL, their HQ) from either London or Edinburgh. So, instead of having a connection in a UK city, we went with spending a few days in Paris, which is always nice, then flying home non-stop to DFW. Made sense at the time, but getting from Orkney to anywhere outside the UK (except maybe Norway) can be a bit tedious, whether overnight ferry, flight, or train, the latter not being an option from Orkney . I learned that lesson. You really have to give up a whole day to get to the continent. Even then, it makes for a long travel day. I should have called RSE and asked for their advice...Next time! :)

Sounds like a great trip in spite of all the less than optimal travel arrangements. :) I like your inclusion of your wow moments.

Hi folks,
Sounds like you're enjoying this trip report. Thanks! I can't say enough good about this location.
In case you're interested, I did write a trip report for my 2019 trip to the Orkneys as well. Here is a link to it: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-for-a-hidden-gem-the-orkneys.

Someone mentioned there not being much on Orkney on this forum. I think there are actually a few posts on the topic if you do a search for Orkney in the travel forum.

Since Rick doesn't offer a tour to Orkney, I originally thought this wasn't the right venue for a trip report. Still, the travel group I recently joined, International (Virtual) Travel Group Meeting, run by Andrea, encouraged me to write up a report anyway, just leaving out the name of the company I used. So I posted that report in July, right before leaving for this trip. That 2019 visit covered both the Orkneys and the Shetlands in two weeks. It was AMAZING! It was a semi-organized tour through a different tour company. I did visit some different places in the Orkneys on the 2019 trip versus the trip this year, so if you want to read more about this area, check out that post. I talk about Westray, Rousay, and more of the mainland. There is a lot to see in this beautiful archipelago. Hope you enjoy it!
MC

What a great finish to your trip! The Orkney's sound wonderful! I love ending in Paris, lol.

I'm not sure you can't discuss the name of your tour provider, particularly since you've done RS tours and can draw comparisons. I've done a number of trip reports for tours I did with Road Scholar and there did not seem to be a problem. I've also read TRs for other areas with people traveling with other tour companies. Just sayin!