Holiday in the Orkney isles

We’ve been looking for an adventurous UK holiday in our campervan and the Orkney isles came up in conversation.  However, I know very little about them.

Plan would be to head up there on the 16th September. We’d spend a week getting there and back from Sheffield, stopping on the way, with a week on the isles themselves.

Is a week sensible and is the time of year likely to causes any issues weather wise?  Is there enough to see and do?  What are the must see’s and places to visit?

I’ve spent quite some time working up there.

It’s a very interesting place.

Skara Brae is unmissable.

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/skara-brae/

If you like Naval stuff the Scapa Flow museum on Lyness is good.

Kirkwall is a lovely little City.

Some good local food as well.

Weather wise it’s a lottery. I’ve been there in the winter and it’s been quite pleasant. been there in July and it’s been awful.

At least by September the midge won’t be a major problem.

There’s a campsite i stromness which is a lovely town.

I love the islands proper wild.  Just go and explore.

We’re just back from a week there.  We had excellent weather which made it fantastic. I even had to take my jumper off once.

The archeological sites are very interesting. Stenness, Brodgar, Skara Brae, Unstan chambered cairn. All worth seeing. This is the last year of the Ness of Brodgar dig. If you are in time to visit it you must before they cover it over again and go off to write up their PhDs. Maes Howe was fully booked until December but they reserve a few tickets for each day which you can get if you turn up in person at 9:30.

Stromness and Kirkwall are worth a half day each.

The Italian chapel

Tidal island ‘Brough of Birsay’ is worth a vist. Accessible 2 hours either side of low tide. Combine with visit to tea rooms (booking highly advisable)

Take bikes and vist some other islands as foot passengers. If taking a vehicle then booking is advisable in summer at least.

Hoy is rugged compared to the other islands and Lyness museum and graveyard are good.

Try the fish

Only been once so far as a works day trip, because we couldn’t get accommodation.

From what I saw it looks great loads to see and do. I will definitely go back for a visit in my own time.

We got the ferry to St Margaret’s Hope from Gills Bay.

I used to visit Orkney regularly cycling and camping and air BnB when I lived in Shetland. A lovely place with plenty set up for tourists. The inter Island ferries are expensive especially if you take the van but it’s definitely worth a trip to Hoy for rackwick bay and the old man of hoy, plus other places like Lyness there.

Midgies have never been a problem there for me (a midge magnet), horse flies/clegs have been.

Weather wise, there’s just no telling, but atleast you should be before the autumn storms are likely to hit.

Had a week sea kayaking there and loved it. The campsite in Stromness is great. Next to the leisure centre and walking distance to shops and restaurants.

The campsite has an indoor sitting area and kitchen which is great when your tent is small and it’s raining.

Take some binoculars for looking at the wildlife.

September – as with all of Scotland in September the weather can be stunning for a week or two, but it can also nosedive into Autumn rather quickly.. But if you’re adventurous enough to get up there, you will cope.

We loved it, loved heading out to some of the islands closer to mainland and plan to go back for the further afield islands at some point.

This thread needs pictures

@matt_outandabout –  Why no photo of the Twatt road sign?

The sign was probably stolen

We took the foot ferry with bikes and cycled round Rousay to visit Mid Howe Broch (chambered cairn). Yesnaby, on the west of mainland Orkney, MOAB’S rock bridge photo, I think, was worth a visit. Had a pint and bought some beer at Orkney brewery.

Marwick Head is spectacular as is pretty much all of it. I found it surprisingly fertile looking and the feeling they are doing well for themselves economy-wise.

We went in July and although it was mostly dry, it was definitely a fleece on a beach kind of place. Amazing amount of daylight in the summer months – I took the photo around 11pm.

@gobuchul
Why no photo of the Twatt road sign?

Because they’ve removed it after it’s been stolen too many times, and have community signs asking people to not be **** and stop for selfies of the Twatt sign…

The sign is definitely up as of a month or so ago. You can buy fridge magnets of the sign as well.

have community signs asking people to not be **** and stop for selfies of the Twatt sign…

They better tell the shops to not sell the badges, socks, patches and fridge magnets as well.

What’s a “community sign”?

Go to the Shetland one instead for the photo. (I have the Orkney one on a slide somewhere).

Try one of the outlying islands and give it a good explore. Had a great week on Sanday once – as you may expect from the name, a prime destination for a fat bike.  Rousay is easily reached and very rich in antiquities.

Just to clarify, I’ve been to Orkney about a dozen times and have never took a selfie with the sign.

Just back from a couple of weeks on the Orkney islands. We tend to stay on a caravan club CL at Evie, towing a caravan with a small camper. If you are happy with your own facilities the CL’s are cheaper than the council run sites. Tend to leave the caravan on the site and take the camper to some of the smaller islands.

The mainland will have more than enough to keep you occupied for a week. The weather is a generally good but with frequent winds. Twenty years ago we had gail force winds and driving rain for five days solid in July, it is a lottery. Still much to do in bad weather.

Rousay and Hoy are good for a day trip. Westray is a gem and has a campsite, Sanday has a couple of campsites and a lovely beach with views of start point lighthouse where the owner allows campers and takes donations for guide dogs for the blind (£5 per night seems to be what he likes)