Orkney is a land of rolling green fields, rugged coastlines and spectacular pristine beaches. It comprises approximately seventy islands and skerries, with up to 20 of those inhabited. Most of the 21,000 strong population live on the largest island, the mainland, though many of the inner and outer islands of Orkney also support thriving communities, each with their own distinct identity.
The Orkney capital is the city and Royal Burgh of Kirkwall, which is home to around 9,000 people, while some 2,000 live in the picturesque harbour town of Stromness, in Orkney's west mainland.
The lush and fertile Orkney landscape supports a thriving agricultural industry, with production of high quality beef cattle. Sheep and dairy farming are also key activities, with the bulk of locally produced milk being used by the islands’ acclaimed cheese and ice-cream makers. The clean seas around Orkney sustain a small but vital fisheries and aquaculture industry, with crab, lobster, scallops and salmon a particular focus, along with oatcakes, fudge, beer, whisky, wine and a multitude of other locally produced treats.
Given Orkney’s incredible scenery, abundant wildlife and mind-boggling wealth of archaeological sites, it’s no surprise to learn that tourism is also a hugely important industry in the islands. Tens of thousands of visitors enjoy holidays and tours in the islands each year and Orkney remains the top UK destination for cruise liners.
The people of Orkney have always been practical, but with a real eye for the aesthetic, which is probably why the islands have the highest concentration of craft jewellers in the UK. Whilst many of the manufacturers draw inspiration for their work from Orkney’s landscape and history, each is unique and the variety of jewellery on offer locally is impressive. Orkney's thriving arts and crafts scene encompasses a huge number of businesses, from pottery and woodwork to textiles, knitwear, artwork and photography.
Recent years have seen Orkney become an important international centre in the emerging renewable energy industry. Wind power, as one might imagine, is a long established technology in the islands, but now Orkney is also at the forefront of pioneering developments in wave and tidal energy. The European Marine Energy Centre, based near Stromness, is the world's first and only full-scale test laboratory for wave and tidal devices, attracting developers from around the globe. This new industry is already having a positive impact in the islands, supporting hundreds of jobs in the marine energy supply chain sector.
The area east and south east of Kirkwall is cattle country, with low lying and fertile farmland. Although the East Mainland doesn't have a World Heritage Site, it does have its own nature reserve, sea caves, beaches, historical sites and attractive villages to explore.
The area of Tankerness has good beaches for watching seals and birds such as Arctic terns, and the Loch of Tankerness where oystercatchers, lapwings and curlews breed. The discovery of a charred hazelnut shell in 2007 in a Bronze Age mound in Tankerness was exciting evidence of Mesolithic activity in Orkney and was dated to 6820-6660 BC. You can also visit one of Orkney's most popular jewellery manufacturers in Tankerness - Sheila Fleet opened her first workshop in 1993 and now employs more than fifty people locally.
On the road to the peninsula of Deerness is Dingieshowe, a sandy isthmus where a mound is the site of a Viking parliament, known as a ting. Deerness has a shop and scattered dwellings. Newark has a fine sandy beach and small boat slipway, which can be used by non-members for a small launching fee.
At the Brough of Deerness is a narrow cliff track to the site of an early monastery and chapel ruins. Carry on along the spectacular cliff path and you reach Mull Head, a scenic headland crowded with seabirds in summer with its World War One gunnery range. Further on again is the Covenanters’ Memorial tower erected to the memory of 200 religious prisoners who were being transported to the American colonies and lost their lives when they were shipwrecked in 1679.
If you head south east from Kirkwall, you'll come to the small harbour village of St Mary’s in Holm. It has a shop and restaurant and was once a prosperous fishing centre for the herring industry. It is now cut off from the North Sea by the Churchill Barriers, built to protect Scapa Flow during the Second World War. Across the first Barrier you can visit the iconic Italian Chapel, built by Italian prisoners of war during the conflict.
Orkney's West Mainland hosts a collection of some of the finest archaeological sites to be found anywhere in Europe. It's home to the Heart of Neolithic Orkney UNESCO World Heritage Site and welcomes thousands of visitors every year.
There are the famous standing stones of Ring of Brodgar and Stenness, and the Maeshowe burial chamber. In recent years the area has continued to shed light on Orkney's Neolithic past with the ongoing excavation work at the Ness of Brodgar.
The west coast from the cliffs of Black Craig near Stromness up to the tidal historic island of the Brough of Birsay is storm-lashed and stunning, with sea stacks, caves, towering cliffs, the Neolithic village of Skara Brae and a gorgeous sandy beach at Skaill Bay. A ten-mile coastal walk takes in all the sites. Sunsets viewed from here are legendary. Inland there are brown trout fishing lochs, bird reserves of moorland and marsh of international importance. Orkney’s only working watermill can be found at Barony Mills. There are two breweries in the area, with the Orkney Brewery offering tours, food and samples. Many craftspeople have their studios in the area too.
Near the village of Orphir with its Viking church and farmstead is the ferry pier at Houton for car ferries to Lyness in Hoy. Other villages with shops and community centres are Harray, Dounby, Finstown and the more scattered communities of Evie and Rendall. The parish of Sandwick is also spread out with farms and country houses. The two farm museums of Kirbuster and Corrigall are in the west too. Birsay has a shop, tearoom, hotel nearby and the ruins of the Earl’s Palace, once the country pile of Robert Stewart, Earl of Orkney, a half brother to Mary, Queen of Scots. His son Patrick, known locally as Black Pat, added to the building. He was executed in 1615 for treason.
The Brough of Birsay can be accessed on foot via a causeway for two hours either side of low tide - tide times are posted at the site and in visitor information centres. It has traces of Pictish buildings, the remains of a Viking monastery and a lighthouse.
Title Image Credit: G Cavers (Image Cropped)