Have I said how amazing Orkney is already? I feel like I haven’t shut up about it all year, but I was genuinely surprised by how much I loved our stay there last Summer. I guess as sexy travel destinations go it’s not, shall we say, the most obvious choice. In fact I seriously doubt whether it even features on a lot of people’s travel lists- it’s relatively difficult to get to, the flights are expensive (it cost more to get here that it did to get me to Madrid and Rome combined), and you don’t want to be placing any sort of bets on the weather. And yet. And yet. The landscapes, the big skies, and most of all, the wildlife, have had me itching to go back. Where else are you be able to spend your evening at your own private seabird colony?
If you’re thinking of planning a visit, I’ve put together a little run down of our top-recommended places and things to do. I’ve added hyperlinks to anything has a full post attached to it, so you should be able to click through. Without further ado- my Orkney top 9:
MAINLAND
(1) VISITING THE SEABIRD CITY OF MARWICK HEAD
Like I said in previous posts– I loved Marwick Head so much that I insisted on going there twice. The bonxies patrolling the skies, the dramatic drops into the churning seas, and the intrepid little guillemots and razorbills that live in such a stunning landscape- yup, yup, yup.
Getting your head around the fact that the Ring of Brodgar has stood for 4,000 years is a difficult one. I’d highly recommend visiting during the day and going on one of the free guided tours (when we were there they were running at 1pm every Thursday), because a bit of context for this sort of thing increases one’s appreciation of it ten-fold. But one of the best moments on the trip was heading back to watch the sun set behind the stones (which, because this is Orkney in July, was genuinely around 10pm)- still, serene, and totally magical.
(3) ORKNEY ICE CREAM
It’s a thing. The Orkney fudge flavour is the very best, and Gerri’s Ice Cream parlour (by the Standing Stones of Stenness) will give you seven scoops of the stuff in it’s colossal Big Dipper cone.
(4) HITTING THE BEACH. ALL THE BEACHES.
I’ve spoken before about that eye-opening feeling when you realise that idyllic, turquoise beaches are not just a feature of the far flung Caribbean. They can be found right here- sure, you won’t be in your bikini, but as someone who gets bored after 30 minutes of sunbathing, this suits me just fine.
From a wildlife perspective, the appeal of Orcadian beaches lies in seeing waders and eiders, but they’re also exciting because, well, here be giants. Orcadian waters are one of the last strongholds of the formidable Common Skate*- the largest skate species in the world, which, despite the name, is in dire straights and critically endangered. They can get to almost three metres long and their backs are covered in yellow speckles like a night sky, and how anyone can fail to think they’re amazing once they know this information is beyond me. I was completely over the moon when we found what I’m pretty sure was an egg case belonging to to one on Evie Beach.
HOY
(5) VISITING THE OLD MAN
I don’t really feel like this needs any more selling- LOOK. AT. THE. PICTURES (you can click through to the full post here if you want some more). Simply one of the most stunning places in the world.
(6) EMILY’S ICE CREAM PARLOUR
This was the perfect place to stop off after a morning’s hike to the Old Man (who’d have thought I’d be recommending two- two– different ice cream parlours on this little set of islands). Anywhere that offers banoffee milkshakes and frequent, close up views of hen harriers gets a thumbs up from me.
(7) FINDING THE SKUA SPA
After the drama of the Old Man of Hoy we didn’t think that any other hikes would be able to match up to it- but the day after we’d visited the sea stack we set off on the Old Post Road towards Sandy Loch. I’ll be honest, we had to keep quite a pace to avoid the copious horse flies, but it was a pleasant surprise to find that the path lead through a sandy, heathy area that was full of glittering tiger beetles and sulphur yellow bog asphodel. And when we finally arrived at the loch, it was to the sight of a huge group of skuas using the waters to preen and bathe- it was like coming across a skua spa, happily situated under the imposing Ward Hill. If you’re someone who enjoys combining your bird sightings with fighting off a haze of blood-lust fuelled dipterans (who doesn’t?), would highly recommend.
(8) WITNESSING THE RETURN OF THE SEA EAGLES
I’m still not sure I’m quite over this. Being in Orkney to see the first Orcadian white-tailed sea eagles to fledge in 140 years was immensely special- but seeing one of the largest birds in the world in any year is always going to be a memorable experience. The RSPB had scopes set up to watch the eyrie at Dwarfie Stone without disturbing the birds, but this is one where I’d recommend following their Facebook page to see what’s happening when you’re visiting.
(9) SPENDING THE AFTERNOON AT OUR VERY OWN PRIVATE SEABIRD COLONY
Ahh, I think this was my favourite thing of the whole holiday. Our first evening on Hoy (or well, technically South Walls) was preceded by a beautiful, calm, golden afternoon, so we took a stroll over to the Cantick Head lighthouse overlooking Scapa Flow. As it turns out, the cliffs surrounding it house a small but perfectly formed colony of guillemots and razorbills, who we hung out with until the early evening. I feel like if this were anywhere else such a beautiful spot would be overrun with visitors; but this is Orkney, so you get these treasures all to yourself. We’ll be back.
* For any taxonomy fans out there, the common skate has now been split into two species- the flapper skate (Dipturus intermedius) and blue skate (Dipturus batis). From what I gather, only the flapper skate appears to be present in Orcadian waters. If you’re interested in finding out more, the Orkney Skate Trust‘s website is a great place to start.
