About Orkney

Orkney is the group of islands which lie off the northernmost tip of Scotland.

The archipelago of Orkney consists of around 70 islands, although only 17 of these are currently inhabited. Orkney has a population of around 19,500. The largest island of the group is known as 'Mainland' (divided into West Mainland and East Mainland) and is the location of the two main towns of Orkney - Kirkwall and Stromness.

In the summer months Orkney enjoys long days - where the sun hardly sets. With clean air and beautiful, inspiring scenery Orkney is a wonderful place to visit.

Orkney boasts a rich cultural heritage - impressive archaeology, including the Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, traditional folklore, music festivals. Orkney is also home to a large number of artists and craftspeople.

Orkney is almost totally absent of trees but, with a shore line of approximately 500 miles, its beautiful sandy beaches and rugged sea cliffs more than make up for this.

Eight percent of the land area in Orkney is made up of 11 RSPB reserves. Immense sea cliffs, wetlands and loch shores and the heather covered hills help support the rich variety of Orkney’s bird life

Orkneys location between the North Atlantic and the North Sea enjoys a temperate climate and as such a wealth of sea life. Arguably the most impressive of which are the sea mammals. From seals in their abundance to shy otters and impressive whales and basking sharks.

It is renowned for its locally produced food and drink - from quality seafood and organic beef to local cheeses - and of course, the beer from the Orkney Brewery and the single malts from the Highland Park and Scapa distilleries.

Orkney is easy to get to, by sea and by air. There are regular ferries across the Pentland Firth - and you can fly to Kirkwall from Inverness, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

An internal ferry and air service makes travel to and from the outer isles simple.

> Location of Orkney on multimap.com (new window)

 

Stromness

Stromness is the main diving centre for Orkney. It is a small town, but boasts all the amenities necessary for a weeks diving. The town is centred around the harbour with the majority of facilities within walking distance of the Radiant Queen. A vehicle is not necessary while in Stromness but useful if you wish to go site seeing, however car hire is available.

What Stromness has:

• Pubs! - The Ferry Inn, The Stromness Hotel and The Royal Hotel all serve good beer and food. More information can be found in the accommodation page
• Dive Shop - Scapa Scuba, a fully stocked dive shop, with overnight dry suit and equipment repairs. See www.scapascuba.co.uk for more information
• Banks - Royal Bank and Bank of Scotland, both with cashpionts
• Supermarket - open till 10pm
• Bakery, butchers, and grocers stocked with local produce
• Doctors - Stromness Surgery has HSE approved hyperbaric doctors
• Hyperbaric Chamber - based in Stromness, on call 24hrs a day
• Restaurants - Hamnavoe, Bistro 76, Julia’s Coffee Shop, and ‘the chip shop’
• Petrol station

 

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