Orkney Attractions List

Barnhouse is a Neolithic village located on the shores of Loch Harray beside the Stones of Stenness circle and just a short distance from the Ring of Brogar.
B9055, Stenness, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW16 3JZ

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The Birsay Earl's Palace is a 16th-century residence on the shores of Birsay Bay, built by Earl Robert Stewart. Extensive walls still stand, though not to any great height. Earl Robert was known for his harsh treatment of his people and may have used forced labour to build his palace.
Birsay, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Birsay Moors is a moorland habitat for Arctic skuas, hen harriers, red-throated divers, and - on the ground - Orkney voles. Best in summer.
nr Finstown, Finstown, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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The Bishop's Palace is a 12th-century hall house, with a tower built in the mid 16th century. You can ascend the tower for wonderful views of St Magnus Cathedral and the rooftops of Kirkwall. Directly opposite is the 17th-century Earl's Palace.
Watergate, Kirkwall, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW15 1PD

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Heritage Highlight: Site of Hakon IV's death in 1263
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Blackhammer Chambered Tomb is a Neolithic chambered cairn dating to approximately 2500 BCE. Entry to the interior reveals an elongated corbeled chamber with upright partitions. The interior is unusually well lit due to a plexiglass skylights inserted in the roof.
Tratland, Rousay, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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One of the finest brochs in Scotland, Gurness stands on the shore looking across to Rousay. The very extensive remains include striking earth ramparts and the remains of several Iron Age buildings.
Aikerness, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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An RSPB nature reserve is located in a spectacular setting beside the Ring of Brodgar stone circle, with Harray Loch on one side and Stenness on the other. This reserve is best for seeing Orkney waders, curlews, snipe, lapwings, dunlins, redshanks and oystercatchers. Best in summer.
Stenness, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

Attraction Type: Countryside - Nature reserve
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Birsay is a tidal island joined to the mainland by a causeway. On the island are extensive remains of both Pictish and Norse settlements, including a 12th-century Norse cathedral. A small museum displays artefacts found during excavations. The location is superb, and the remains of buildings quite impressive.
Brough Head, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Photos of Brough of Birsay
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The remains of a 10th-century chapel stand in a spectacular headland setting on the eastern tip of Deerness, Orkney. Some debate exists whether the site is that of a Norse settlement, early Christian monastery, or Iron Age promontory fort. The Brough has been a traditional site of pilgrimage for centuries.
Deerness, Mull Head, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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One of the great feats of civil engineering in history, the Churchill Barriers are a series of causeways linking South Ronaldsay to Orkney Mainland. They were erected during World War II to prevent the passage of German submarines into Scapa Flow, used as a naval base by the British.
St Margaret's Hope, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

Attraction Type: Historic Property - Bridge
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Click Mill is the surviving horizontal water mill on Orkney. The mill has been restored to full working order. This style of horizontal mill wheel was quite common in Shetland and Isle of Lewis as well as Orkney.
Dounby, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW17 2JB

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Copinsay is an uninhabited island in the Orkneys, famous for its large colonies of kittiwakes, guillemots and razorbills. Fulmars and puffins also breed along the cliffs of Copinsay. The RSPB purchased the entire island as a memorial to naturalist James Fisher.
Copinsay, Isle of Copinsay, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Corrigall is a museum of farming and rural life set in a group of stone 18th-century buildings restored to late 19th-century appearance, giving a glimpse of traditional Orkney life in the Victorian period.
Harray, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW17 2JR

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Cottascarth and Rendall Moss is an RSPB nature reserve north of Finstown. The reserve is a fantastic place to see breeding curlews and a good spot to spot hen harriers, merlins, and short-eared owls.
Finstown, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Cubbie Row's Castle is one of the earliest stone castles to survive in Scotland. It was built around 1145 by the Norse lord of Wyre. The castle is a small rectangular tower, and within the castle enclosure is a ruined 12th-century chapel.
Wyre, Orkney, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Cuween is a chambered cairn, built in the Neolithic period, about 5,000 years ago. It is composed of a central chamber with 4 cells, reached by a low passage. When the chamber was excavated it was found to contain the remains of humans, dogs, and oxen.
Finstown, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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The Dwarfie Stane is a fascinating 5000-year-old block of red sandstone which has been cut to create a burial chamber. The stane lies in a valley near the northern tip of Hoy, between Rackwick and Quoyness. The stane is possibly the only British example of a rock-cut tomb.
Hoy, Quoyness, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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The extensive remains of one of the finest examples of post-medieval architecture in Scotland, located beside the Cathedral and opposite the old Bishop's Palace. The Earl's Palace was built by Earl Patrick Stewart, using forced labour to create a grand residence in French Renaissance style.
Kirkwall, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW15 1PD

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The ruins of a 12th-century monastic church stand on the uninhabited island of Eynhallow, off Rousay. Eynhallow Church was used as a dwelling from the 16th century and was only discovered by accident.
Eynhallow, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Grain Earth House is not a house, but a long underground passage leading to a large chamber. It was probably used as a cold storage area, and possibly as a refuge in times of trouble.
Kirkwall, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Hackness Martello Tower is an impressive early 19th-century defensive tower and surrounding bastions, built to defend the island of Hoy against attacks by the French and American privateers.

Hoy, Hackness, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW16 3PQ

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Three Neolithic cairns stand on the remote, uninhabited island of Holm of Papa Westray. The largest cairn has 12 inner chambers and boasts peculiar carvings on interior lintels.
Holm of Papa Westray, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Heritage Highlight: The south cairn has unusual carvings including 'eyebrow' symbols
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The Italian Chapel is a shrine built by Italian prisoners of war during WWII, using a Quonset hut and salvaged scraps of metal and wood. The chapel is a moving example of the marriage of faith and art under trying circumstances. The interior is beautifully painted and contains lovely ironwork and trompe l'oeil artwork.
Lamb Holm, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW17 2RT

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The Kirbuster Museum is housed in an unrestored traditional Orkney longhouse, dating to at least the 16th century. A stone bed, traditional household furnishings, farm implements, and artefacts of daily life provide a fascinating glimpse of daily life in Orkney over the past centuries.
Birsay, Kirbuster, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW17 2LR

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In 1916 the HMS Hampshire sank off Marwick Head in mysterious circumstances. Among those who lost their lives was Lord Kitchener, minister of war at that time. A memorial was erected atop the cliffs in honour of Kitchener and the others who lost their lives aboard the Hampshire.
Marwick Head, Birsay, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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A pair of remarkable early Neolithic stone houses stands at Knap of Howar. The houses feature stone cupboards and stalls and are believed to be the oldest houses in this region of Europe.
Holland, Papa Westray, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Heritage Highlight: One of the oldest houses in Europe
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Knowe of Yarso is a Neolithic chambered cairn on the south coast of Rousay island, facing across the straits to the Broch of Gurness on Orkney Mainland. The oval cairn is made up of concentric walls around a central chamber divided into three separate compartments.
Rousay, Frotoft, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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The Links of Noltland is an area of sand dunes at the north end of Westray, within which are a rich array of prehistoric sites. The sand has helped to preserve the archaeological remains, which are only now being carefully excavated and catalogued.
Westray, Pierowall, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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A path leads from a small parking area along the cliffs above a narrow geo, or inlet, where a multitude of birds nest. The path joins the coastal walk towards Birsay to the east, or you can descend to the rocks along the shore and look for seabirds and seals. The rock formations are wonderful and the going is quite easy.
Longaglebe, Birsay, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Maes Howe is the finest megalithic tomb in the British Isles, consisting of a large Neolithic mound, 26ft high, 115ft in diameter, encircled by a ditch, covering a stone-built 39 ft passage leading to large burial chamber with 2 cells. The tomb contains the richest collection of Viking runes in the UK.
Stromness, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW16 3HH

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On Marwick Head is an RSPB nature reserve featuring thousands of breeding seabirds in a clifftop location. The views are spectacular. Also on Marwick Head is the Kitchener Memorial, a tower dedicated to the memory of Lord Kitchener who was killed in the wreck of the HMS Hampshire off this coast in 1916.
Birsay, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Heritage Highlight: Kitchener Memorial atop the cliffs
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Midhowe Broch is one of the finest Iron Age brochs in Scotland, located in a superb coastal location directly beside the chambered cairn of Midhowe. The central building measures 30 feet in diameter, with walls still standing to a height of 14 feet. This is easily one of the most impressive sites in the Orkney islands, and well worth the journey to Rousay. A signposted path leads from the broch to Midhowe Chambered Cairn and past numerous other historic buildings along the shore.
Westness, Rousay, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW17 2PT

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Heritage Highlight: One of the best preserved broch settlements in Scotland
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Midhowe is a huge Neolithic chambered tomb in an oval mound with 25 stalls. The monument is protected by a modern building, which has walkways over the tomb, providing excellent views down into the chambers.
Westness, Rousay, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Mine Howe is a mysterious underground chamber near Tankerness, Orkney, accessed by a steep flight of 29 steps. The chamber was built around 200 BC - 500 AD, but its use is uncertain.
Tankerness, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Mull Head is a nature reserve extending to over 200 acres, taking in coastal grassland, heather moorland, spectacular cliffs and coastal scenery. Paths through the reserve provide for circular walks ranging from 3-5 miles.
Deerness, Deerness, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Heritage Highlight: Brough of Deerness ruined chapel
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Noltland Castle is a ruined 16th-century Z-plan tower house near Pierowall, Westray. The tower house was built by the Balfour family and features a large number of gun loops and an impressive staircase.
Pierowall, Westray, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Heritage Highlight: 71 gun holes, most of any Scottish castle
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Probably the best-known RSPB reserve on Orkney - an absolute paradise for bird lovers. Noup Cliffs reserve is the largest seabird colony in Orkney, featuring Guillemots, kittiwakes, razorbills, fulmars, and puffins. Free entry, but donation requested.
Noup, Pierowall, Westray, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW17 2DW

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Orphir Round Church is the last surviving round church in Scotland. Built in the 12th century, probably by Earl Hakon, whose feasting hall is located immediately beside the church. Both sites are located behind the Orkneyinga Centre, where you can learn about the Norse influence on Orkney and the history of the Orkneyinga Saga.
Orphir, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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A ruined and roofless medieval church looks out to sea at Pierowall on Westray Island. The major historic interest here is a small collection of finely carved medieval tombstones. The church, also known as Lady Kirk, was built in the 13th century, but much of what we can see today is the result of rebuilding in the 17th century.
Pierowall, Westray, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Quoyness is a good example of a Neolithic chambered tomb, built around 3000 BC. The tomb stands in a ritual landscape, near another chambered tomb and several smaller Bronze Age burial cairns.
Sanday, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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A striking doocot (dovecote) built in 1648 for the lairds of the Hall of Rendall. It is built in a conical beehive style, with four string courses projecting at regular intervals from the 4-foot-thick exterior walls.
Hall of Rendall, Rendall, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW17 2EZ

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Heritage Highlight: Unusual beehive design
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Rennibister Earth-House is a curious Iron Age underground passage and chamber standing in a farmyard near Finstown. Though probably not intended as a burial chamber, the remains of 18 human skeletons were discovered in the chamber when excavated.
Finstown, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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The Ring of Brodgar is one of the most beautifully situated prehistoric monuments in Britain. The stone circle stands on a low rise beside Loch Harray on Orkney Mainland. The Ring dates to about 2500 BC. There are 27 stones still standing, though it is estimated that there were originally up to 60 stones. The circle is set within a high earthen bank which gives across the loch to the circular burial mound of Maes Howe. A short distance away are the Stones of Stenness, and recent excavations have revealed a huge ceremonial complex of buildings near the circle.
Stenness, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Photos of Ring of Brodgar
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Skaill House is a historic 17th-century mansion situated a short walk from the Skara Brae prehistoric site. The house was built for Bishop George Graham around 1620 but has been the family home of the Lairds of Skaill since.
Breckness Estate, Sandwick, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW16 3LR

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Heritage Highlight: Captain Cook's dinner service is on display
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Skara Brae is the best-preserved group of Stone Age (main periods of settlement between 3100-2500BC) houses in western Europe. Long covered by sand, they were uncovered by a storm in 1850. The stone houses, linked by covered passageways, contain stone furniture. There is a modern museum explaining the history of the site and showing what life was like for the inhabitants 5,000 years ago.
Skaill, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Photos of Skara Brae Prehistoric Village
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A short - and lovely - walk from Birsay brings you to a restored 19th-century fisherman's hut built into the side of a cliff. Deep grooves in the ground called 'nousts' or 'noasts' show where fishermen drew their boats up high onto the shore for protection.
Birsay, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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A superb medieval cathedral begun in 1137 in honour of St Magnus, Earl Magnus of Orkney. The building is mostly Norman in character, built of alternating bands of red and yellow sandstone. The saint's bones are buried within a pillar in the nave.
Broad Street, Kirkwall, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW15 1NX

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Photos of St Magnus Cathedral
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The roofless ruins of a 12th-century church stand in the north-west of the little isle of Egilsay, off the eastern end of Rousay. The church was built in the late 12th century and is composed of a rectangular nave which terminates in a square chancel.
Egilsay, Skaill, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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The first cathedral on Orkney, established in AD 1064 by Earl Thorfinn. Earl Magnus was buried here after his murder in 1116. When miracles were reported at his grave the Earl was canonised as St Magnus and a new cathedral in Kirkwall was built to house his shrine. The church we see today dates from 1664, rebult in 1760.
Birsay, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW17 2LX

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Heritage Highlight: The first burial place of St Magnus Orkney, dating to c. 1064
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The dramatic remains of a stone circle surrounded by remains of a circular earthwork. There are several extremely tall and slender stones, with several small and squat stones. Stenness is sited in a beautiful lochside location, a short walk from the Ring of Brodgar.
Finstown, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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This museum of natural history and maritime heritage includes displays on whaling, fishing, the Hudson Bay Company and the German Fleet in Scapa Flow.
52 Alfred Street, Stromness, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW16 3DH

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Heritage Highlight: Captain Cook objects
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Taversoe Tuick is a very unusual two-storey Neolithic chambered mound with two burial chambers, one on top of the other. This type of tomb has been found in only one other location in the Orkneys. There is a smaller, third chamber, outside the lower chamber. Taversoe Tuick was built about 5000 years ago and only rediscovered in 1898 when the local laird was having a summer seat built for his wife.

Brinian, Rousay, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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This 16th-century town mansion in Kirkwall portrays life in Orkney from prehistoric times. Extensive displays explore prehistoric sites and artefacts found locally, plus domestic life exhibits and a plethora of information on local culture and customs. A good rainy-day stop! Formerly known as Tankerness House Museum.
Tankerness House, Broad Street Kirkwall, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW15 1DH

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Heritage Highlight: 1574 gateway
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Two attractions in one; the Tomb is a chambered cairn dating to approximately 3000 BCE. When excavated it was found to contain the bones of over 340 people, and the remains of sea eagles, pottery, bead, and stone tools. These artefacts can be viewed - and handled - in the modern visitor centre. The Bronze Age Burnt Mound (also known as Liddle Burnt Mound) consists of a burnt stone and refuse mound with an associated dwelling. The dwelling, which had a form of running water, may have been used as a kind of ceremonial sweat lodge. The Tomb of the Eagles is also known as Isbister Chambered Cairn.
Liddle, St Margaret's Hope, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW17 2RW

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Tormiston Mill is a late 19th-century water mill, a good example of a type common in Scotland at that time. Tormiston was probably built in the 1880s. The waterwheel and most of the mill machinery have been preserved.
Stenness, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland, KW16 3HH

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A Neolithic mound in a lochside setting, the mound at Unstan covers a communal stone burial chamber divided into 5 compartments. Pottery was found in the chamber, and the design of the pottery was so unique that it gave its name 'Unstan ware' to similar finds elsewhere.
Stromness, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Westside Church is a roofless 12th-century Romanesque church, one of best preserved medieval churches of Orkney. It was built by an unknown Norse chief, whose farm lies atop the nearby cliffs. The building is simple, consisting of only a nave and chancel. For many years it served as the parish church.
Tuquoy, Westray, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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On a sloping hill at Wideford, between Kirkwall and Finstown, stands the impressive remains of a Neolithic chambered cairn, with a central burial chamber surrounded by three concentric stone walls.
Kirkwall, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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The single track road through Yesnaby ends at the abandoned WWII military establishment on the coast. From here a path leads south along the coast toward Stromness. The cliffs are truly spectacular, encompassing some of the finest coastal scenery you will ever see.
Yesnaby, Mainland, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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Heritage Highlight: WWII anti-aircraft station on the cliffs
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A solitary standing stone measuring over 7 feet in height. Unusually, the stone stands at the bottom of a hill, rather than in an exposed, elevated position where it might more easily be seen. Legend tells that on New Years Day the stone walks down to the nearby loch to drink.

Yetnasteen, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

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