The Orkney Islands Sightseeing Guide

The Orkneys consist of about 70 islands out of which 16 are inhabited.  The main town of Kirkwall is also known as Mainland. The monument which dominates the town of Kirkwall is the magnificent St Magnus Cathedral, built way back in 1137.Made of red and yellow sandstone, the cathedral was built under the aegis of Rognvald, the nephew of St Magnus; it holds the mortal remains of the two men as well.  

Within the church are a memorial to the men who died when the HMS Royal Oak was sunk by the Germans in WWII, and there are also the graves of other intrepid and illustrious souls- including the doctor John Rae, who went on many expeditions to the Arctic, and William Balfour Baikie, a naval surgeon who had traveled up the River Niger. The cathedral’s a quiet, but interesting place to visit, and one of Kirkwall’s most famous sights.

The natural harbour of Scapa Flow is known to almost any student of World War II as one of the major naval bases of wartime Britain. A huge harbour, Scapa Flow, though quiet today, is the resting place of the HMS Royal Oak, which was sunk here by a U-boat shortly after the start of the war. Also within Scapa Flow are the wrecks of some seven German ships, dating back to 1919. These belonged to the German High Seas Fleet, which numbered some seventy-odd ships; fifty-four of the ships were scuppered by the German admiral to prevent them falling into British hands. 47 of the ships have been recovered from the harbour over the years since, but seven still remain, and are excellent for scuba divers who want to explore the wrecks.

In 1940, landfills were ordered to be made between four of the Orkney Islands, by Winston Churchill. Constructed mainly from concrete and debris from sunk or derelict vessels (remember that this area- particularly Scapa Flow- was an important naval base during World War II), the Churchill Barriers, as these landfills came to be known, were made by using Italian labour- prisoners of war.  

Another building created by the Italian POWs was a Roman Catholic Cathedral,perhaps the most interesting of its kind for hundreds of miles around- it’s almost entirely made of scrap. The chapel is actually made of two Nissan huts, with an exterior painted in white; inside, there are glass windows painted to look like stained glass, and the altar, made of concrete, has been polished to resemble marble. The elaborate iron screen is made of scrap. The candlesticks, the walls- all are ordinary, commonplace things- such as old beef tins, stair rods and the like. Easily one of the most interesting churches you’ll see anywhere.

On the Orkney Mainland, Skara Brae is one of the most important Neolithic sites of the UK. There are plenty of standing stones, rings and other pre-historic houses scattered across the Orkneys, Skara Brae is the most well-preserved. 

Dating back to about 45 centuries ago, the stone houses of Skara Brae, complete with primitive furniture- including stone beds, cupboards and dressers- had been buried, by a violent storm, under sand dunes. When the sand finally shifted (sometime in the 1850s), the settlement was revealed- virtually intact. It is in eerily good condition, and definitely one of the main highlights of a trip to the Orkneys.

 Yesnaby Cliffs are great for hiking, and for getting a feel of nature- a rich ochre in colour, they’re very windy on most days, but afford a fantastic view of the surrounding seas and countryside. 

The cliffs have fossils of pre-historic algae, which once lived in the lake which covered the Orkneys millions of years ago, and if you look closely, you might even see some tiny lichen-eating snails which live in the cracks among the rocks. This is a great place for trekking, so wear good, strong shoes- and a windcheater.

One of the important museums in the Orkneys, Tankerness House is in Kirkwall, and has an excellent collection of artifacts from all across the Orkneys. The main part of the museum has on display items ranging from weapons and tools to jewelry, pottery and even human remains; while other sections of the museum are devoted to runic stones, paintings, later history, and explorations. The museum itself is housed in a building which dates back to the 16th century; it was originally built as a manse for cathedral clergy, but was acquired by the Baikie sometime in the early 1600s, and became a museum late in the 20th century.

Among the other sights on Mainland are the church at Orphir, a medieval one and the only circular church in Scotland; the Corrigal and Kirbister Farm Museums; Marwick Head and the Kitchener Memorial, to the war dead and the 5000-year old Tomb of Eagles, named after the many eagles’ claws which were discovered there. Kirkwall, with its Earl’s Palace and Bishop’s Palace, offers quite a variety of monuments, many of them medieval, while much of Mainland has tombs, rings, and standing stones aplenty.

The Orkneys, and Mainland in particular, are very rich in historical sights- you’ll see sights dating back to pre-history, and places legendary in WWII chronicles. The islands are great for anybody who’s interested in history, and anyone who loves the great outdoors- the land, though virtually treeless, has a beauty all its own.