Off to the Orkneys!

Wisewoman

Wisewoman

Full Member
Posts
545
Likes
592
Hi all,

I have just booked myself on to a ferry going over to mainland Orkney a week on Monday (2nd August). WC looks as if it will be easy with no issues - is anyone there / recently been there - I just wondered what the top of Scotland is like for traffic atm - I heard that Skye (much further South) was absolutely rammed with rented campervans and motorhomes a couple of weeks ago!

I'm debating whether or not to go over to Hoy on another short ferry for a day - I quite fancy seeing the Old Man of Hoy but I hear it involves a 3 hour round walking trip - not an issue for me but may be for the 10 and 11 year old i will be with!

Any must-not misses?

Lets get this Summer wild camping started! :)

Melissa
 
I think there has just been a WC meet on Orkney Melissa, so you should get a fair response.
 
Orkney is fabulous, we were there last year. Wilding is easy, in Kirkwall there is dedicated overnight parking for motorhomes near the big supermarket. And plenty of places around the islands.

The must-sees include Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar, the Churchill Barriers and the Italian Chapel. The Cave of the Eagles was closed last September so check before trying to visit that.
 
Oh, and avoid calling it ”the Orkneys” if you are talking to residents, they prefer just ”Orkney”.
 
Unfortunately the Tomb of Eagles has apparently permanently closed :( Also, the Tomb of the Otters as well and Maes Howe itself are also closed - though I think these two are just temporary and down to Covid. The Maes Howe visitor centre is open though so we will be visiting that! :)
 
We were there for the camp last month but not wild camping, I'm sure Phil will point you to a couple of spots that he and others camped for a few nights. Tip from Roger, turn right when ye get off the ferry as the road on the left was built for a horse and cart.
 
Scotia said:
We were there for the camp last month but not wild camping, I'm sure Phil will point you to a couple of spots that he and others camped for a few nights. Tip from Roger, turn right when ye get off the ferry as the road on the left was built for a horse and cart.
Click to expand...
We are going Gills Bay to St Margarets - there's another one to Stromness from Scrabster (and another much longer trip from Aberdeen)- which ferry port do you mean? :)
 
Wisewoman said:
We are going Gills Bay to St Margarets - there's another one to Stromness from Scrabster (and another much longer trip from Aberdeen)- which ferry port do you mean? :)
Click to expand...
Shame, you don’t get to see the Old Man of Hoy on the Pentland Ferries route. As you say it is a fair old hike on foot.

Absolutely loads of places to wild camping in Orkney. We live on Westray and I think I’ve stayed or visited at all the Mainland ones on the POI database and wouldn’t expect you to have any problems at any.

Although you wont get hassle at any, I would avoid the ones in Kirkwall on the main drag (I’m thinking the ones at Ayre Mills roundabout towards Hatston and the one at the Ferry terminal opposite the hotels) as the can be noisy until quite late with the boy racers cruising repeatedly up and down trying to impress! Our favourite Kirkwall spot, which we use regularly when over in town for anything is the marked parking bays in the car park opposite Tesco, comparatively quiet and walking distance to a chippy, chinese, and Indian take always.
 
just round the corner from st margarets hope is the wildcamping at sands o wright heavenly after the meet we wilded at birsay crossed the causeway and luckily for us saw 15/20 puffins cormorants and seals , we also found lots of parking near skal brae but be aware places like that your best to book , presumably you know about the italian chapel & churchills causeway
70E06963-36CE-4371-9334-70B4B4F0BA97.jpeg
6CC34415-0B82-4285-9065-A0A782695C75.jpeg
74458534-03AE-498B-BF26-4A151277D823.jpeg
 
in sams fourth picture there is a purple carpet at the end central there is a socket where the rood gates meet this is shaped as a heart & only visible when the gates are open , one of many amazing details in this chapel well worth buying the guidebook
 
Thank you to you all for the tips here ! Have logged it in my brain and notebook and will make a point to look for the heart by the gates in the Italian chapel :)

Think I will definitely check out that causeway at Birsay - I love things like that - there was a really fun causeway on Uist In the Hebrides - over to a little island in the middle of a lake.

i can’t wait ! :)
 
rugbyken said:
just round the corner from st margarets hope is the wildcamping at sands o wright heavenly after the meet we wilded at birsay crossed the causeway and luckily for us saw 15/20 puffins cormorants and seals , we also found lots of parking near skal brae but be aware places like that your best to book , presumably you know about the italian chapel & churchills causewayView attachment 100435View attachment 100433View attachment 100434
Click to expand...
Just keep in mind that you can only cross the causeway at low tide. People have been known to get stranded on the broch due to the rising tide.
 
Philip Tomlinson said:
Big tip for you, don't call it the Orkney's, I got correct. The Orkney Islands.
Click to expand...
The analogy given to me, probably because I’m from Yorkshire, is that Orkney is a county like Yorkshire. Yorkshire consists of North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, collectively they are known as Yorkshire not The Yorkshires.

That said, whilst you might get corrected for calling it The Orkneys, I doubt you would get beaten up. The Orcadians are a very friendly bunch and we’ve never seen anything but in the 20 odd years we’ve live here.
 
I agree that Skara Brae is a must see especially if you have young school age kids with you.

A flight over to North Ronaldsay will also be a great experience and from memory (its a few years back) it was really cheap and a great experience flying over the islands. Plane only takes about 8 or 10 people (I sat next to the pilot) and people were just asking him to drop down to other islands. :D Kids will love that one I suspect. There is an observatory on North Ronaldsay that you can spend the night at also.
 
Hi all - Just to say I had a fabulous trip and am now back in the Midlands. Orkney was very quiet - though as I've never been before I cant say whether it was actually busier than usual - like so many other UK tourist destinations atm!

Unfortunately some of the ancient sites such as Maes Howe and the Cuveen Chambered Cairn, were closed with padlocked gates across them, due to Covid. I was especially impressed by the Ring of Brodgar and that and the delightful place of 'Happy Valley' were my two favourites of the trip. Spent our first night at the Sands of Wright - fabulous spot! No problems at all with WC.

I took the ferry from Gills Bay to St Margaret's Hope - it was totally painless - veritably 'old-fashioned' with its simple paper tickets and simple drive on and drive off process - the crossing was just one hour.

Thanks again for all the tips!
 
Enjoyed the ww2 history....
Less so the older stuff as, most of it was almost obscured with stainless handrails and obtrusive information boards....

Sadly a lot of the Orkney folk also seem to enjoy collecting rusty junk.... (obviously expensive to get stuff back to the mainland when they have finished with it)
 
rugbyken said:
in sams fourth picture there is a purple carpet at the end central there is a socket where the rood gates meet this is shaped as a heart & only visible when the gates are open , one of many amazing details in this chapel well worth buying the guidebook
Click to expand...
Merv told me a story regarding to this Ken ,hairs on my neck were standing on end ,out of respect to merv I shant disclose any info
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top