The Orkneys: A Remote Archipelago of Neolithic Treasures

Located north of the Scotland mainland where the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, Orkney is an archipelago of 70 islands, of which only 20 are inhabited. A visit there may not be on everyone’s itinerary when visiting Scotland, but if you’re looking for something a little more remote, rugged and full of Neolithic treasures, it may be the place for you.

What you won’t find are trees. They can’t survive the winter winds, and it’s this treeless backdrop, along with its Nordic influence, that gives the Orkneys their unique character. Located closer to Norway than London, the Orkneys were once ruled by the Viking kings of Norway and Denmark.

For a two-day, three-night trip, we limited our visit to the Orkney mainland and stayed three nights at the Albert Hotel in Kirkwall.

  • • The NorthLink Ferries leave from Aberdeen on the east coast of Scotland to call on Kirkwall before continuing up to the Shetland Islands. That’s a six-hour trip.
  • • Alternatively, if you make your way up to Scrabster, about three miles north of Inverness in the Highlands, there is a 90-minute ferry crossing to Stromness on the Orkney mainland.
  • • Or you can fly. There are short flights from Edinburgh to Kirkwall, which save considerable time if you’re not interested in the long ferry or touring the Highlands.

We did two hikes in the summer of 2020, amid COVID-19, and plan many more. We’ll update the blog as we go along.

    • Kirkwall

    Kirkwall is worth at least a full day itself, starting with St. Magnus Cathedral, where the bones of St. Magnus (the Earl of Orkney) lie within the walls of the choir. It was founded in 1137 in honor of Magnus and as a place of pilgrimage. Why? The story goes that Magnus shared the Earldom with his cousin Hakon. To settle a dispute, Magnus proposed a peaceful meeting. Hakon agreed but when he arrived he brought eight ships of armed men. Magnus refused to fight and as he prayed, one of Hakon’s men killed him with an axe blow to the head.

    We had plenty of time after our flight got in to explore the cathedral before heading back to the hotel and having dinner at the pub downstairs in the Albert Hotel. You’ll hear the noise of the pub up in your room, but only when the people step outside for a smoke.

     Highland Park Distillery

    The second day was rainy and it was a perfect time for a tour of the Highland Park Distillery, makers of one of our favorite whiskeys. Founded in 1798 by Magnus Eunson, a direct Viking descendent, the distillery’s pride in its Viking legacy is evident in everything they do.

    The peat used in Highland Park is unique. Since trees don’t survive on Orkney, the Highland Park peat has no wood, but it’s rich in heather — densely compacted vegetation over 9,000 years old and four meters deep in places. This gives the whiskey its unique smoky sweetness.

    We signed up for the Connoisseur Tour, which now would be closest to the Viking Harmony Tour, and they sent a car to pick us up at our hotel. The tour took us through the distilling process and back to a private room where we tasted the 12, 18 and 21 year olds, as well as a Lief Erikson. Keep in mind the 18 and 21-year-old have both been named whiskey of the year in recent years. We walked away with a bottle of the 18, which we sipped for the rest of our trip.

    Back in Kirkwall, there are a number of specialty shops carrying Orkney cheese, which is something special, as well as the island’s own oatcakes, meat, fish and beer. After visiting the shops we took advice from a shop owner and went to the Royal Cask Whisky Gin Bar at the Orkney Hotel which has a vast collection of single malts on display for tastings.

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    • Neolithic Orkney

    The sun was shining the next day when we hired Jean Ross to take us on a tour of the historic sites on the mainland and we highly recommend her. Born and raised on Orkney, she’s a green badge tour guide—a designation you should look for.

    She started us at Maeshowe, one of the finest chambered tombs in Europe with its central chamber lit by the setting midwinter sun. It is some 5,000 years old and looks like a large grass mound from the outside. You enter by crawling on hands and knees to the chamber where a guide outlines the history and carvings on the walls.

    On to the Stones of Stenness, also about 5,000 years old, and maybe the oldest henge site on the British Isles. Think Stonehenge, but older and without the crowds or barriers. We were just two of a handful of people, along with a few sheep, who wandered among the ancient stones.

    Our plan was to head right from the summit and take the challenging Jordan Cliffs Trail back to the trailhead, making it a six-mile hike. It was closed, so we opted for a confusing, sometimes steep and often beautiful series of trails, making it nearly eight miles. We started by heading down the way we came and turned right on the Maple Spring Trail for a mile or so, then backtracked northeast for a short while on the Hadlock Brook Trail, and connected to the Amphitheater Trail.

    Finally there was Skara Brae. Located on the southern shore of the Bay o’ Skail, it is one of Europe’s most complete Neolithic village. Occupied from roughly 3180 BC to 2500 BC, its houses and stone furniture provide an insight into the daily lives of Neolithic people. A UNESCOWorld Heritage Site, it is older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids, and has been called the “Scottish Pompeii because of its excellent preservation.

    Orkney’s Italian Chapel

    A more contemporary but fascinating site is Orkney’s Italian Chapel, which was built by a group of Italian prisoners of war sent to Orkney during World War II to work on the Churchill Barriers, a massive series of concrete causeways that seal the eastern approaches to Scapa Flow, the United Kingdom’s chief naval base during the First and Second World Wars.

    Led by the artist Domenico Chiocchetti, the Italians built the chapel, which was later restored, and after the war Chiocchetti returned to restore the paint work of the chapel interior.

    • Check out this guide to Orkney’s Italian Chapel

    The Orkney Brewery

    Along the way, Jean arranged for us to stop for lunch at the Orkney Brewery where we enjoyed the meal and a flight of the local beer. We were partial to the Dark Island and Red Macgregor.

    Itinerary

    Day 1: Arrive and explore Kirkwall

    Day 1: Arrive and explore Kirkwall

    Day 2: Visit Highland Park Distillery and Explore Kirkwall

    Day 2: Visit Highland Park Distillery and Explore Kirkwall

    Day 3: Tour of the Neolithic sites

    Day 3: Tour of the Neolithic sites

    Day 4: Ferry from Stromness to Scrabster

    Day 4: Ferry from Stromness to Scrabster

    Ferry from Stromness to Scrabster and car to Ullapool on the northern west coast of the Scottish mainland.

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