Monday 9th September – Friday 13th September 2024
Walking is a wonderful way to discover the Orkney Islands. This mysterious place of long days and colourful night skies is home to a wealth of sea life and sea birds, not forgetting the remarkable flora of the islands.
The unique situation and environment of the Isles have combined to create a fascinating cultural and historical tapestry of stone circles, invasions and occupations, isolation and extremity, all of which have left their mark through the ages.
In the company of your highly knowledgeable guide, you will walk in the wildest places of Orkney, with history all around, before returning to enjoy the finest accommodation in the Isles.
You will meet your guide, Rob, in Inverness at the Arnold Clark Garage at 2pm and transfer north. Your journey to the Orkney Islands follows the north-east coast of the Highlands and onwards over the Pentland Firth. Your guide will have picked up your pack lunch which you can enjoy on the journey up to the ferry. You will reach Orkney this evening, where you can settle in and enjoy a relaxing evening before beginning to explore the magical island tomorrow.
Overnight: Stromness | The Ferry Inn
Room Type: Family room for 2 & twin room for solo occupancy
Meals Included: Lunch
Name:
Rob Bushby
Contact Number: +44 (0) 7789 222463
Meeting Place: Arnold Clark Garage | Meeting Time: 14:00
Rob will meet you at the Arnold Clark Garage at 2pm once you’ve dropped off your hire car.
After breakfast, we will head out to visit to the Stone Age village of Skara Brae, discovered in 1850 after a storm cleared away the sand dunes that were covering it. Built 5,000 years ago – long before Stonehenge or the Egyptian pyramids – Skara Brae is the best-preserved Neolithic settlement in Western Europe. After exploring, we’ll head out to Brough Head, a superb walk follows the coast south to Marwick Head – one of the largest seabird colonies in the Northern Isles. Back in Stromness, there’ll be more time to explore its captivating old town.
Overnight: Stromness | The Ferry Inn
Room Type: Family room for 2 & twin room for solo occupancy
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Enjoy learning more about Orkney’s fascinating history this morning as you visit some of its most treasured ancient sites. A short drive will take you to the beautiful and mysterious Ring of Brodgar (Scotland’s largest Neolithic stone circle), the Stones of Stenness and Maeshowe Chambered Cairn. After lunch, we’ll visit the Italian Chapel, two Nissen huts converted into a place of worship by prisoners of war. Arrive back in the pretty stone village of Stromness and pop into a couple of artisanal shops before returning to your hotel.
Overnight: Stromness | The Ferry Inn
Room Type: Family room for 2 & twin room for solo occupancy
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
After breakfast, join your guide for a short drive along the edge of Scapa Flow to catch the ferry to Hoy. The island is distinctive, dramatic and wild with mountainous moorland and glaciated valleys. Enjoy a beautiful coastal hike to the incredible sea stack of Old Man of Hoy, carrying on to St John’s Head – the highest vertical seacliff in the UK. On your return, keep an eye out for skuas and peregrine falcons hunting along the coastline.
Overnight: Stromness | The Ferry Inn
Room Type: Family room for 2 & twin room for solo occupancy
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
This morning, after a leisurely breakfast, wind your way to Stromness to catch the ferry back to the Scottish mainland. On the crossing, enjoy the stunning views of the islands across the white-flecked waves and watch the birds that coast along on the salty breeze. Once back on the mainland, have lunch before returning to Inverness.
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
UK: +44 (0)1479 420 020
US: 866 740 3890
Your guide will meet you at Arnold Clark Garage at 2:00 pm on the first day of your trip.
You will be returned to Penta Hotel Inverness at 5:00 pm on the final day of your trip.
Please see our booking terms here.
10 John Street |
Stromness |
Orkney |
KW16 3AD |
Phone: +44 (0) 1856 850280
Web: ferryinn.com
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Contact Number: +44 (0) 7789 222463
I’ve been fortunate to work in places of nature, grandeur and tranquility, and in roles that introduce and connect people to wild places throughout the UK. This has included the Lake District (and Australia) with Outward Bound, Glen Etive with Venture Scotland, and throughout the UK with the John Muir Trust.
Having done a ‘big trip’ in my youth, I now opt for shorter forays in Scotland and abroad, most recently taking my teenage daughters to India and California – adding another dimension to ‘adventure’. I’m a lapsed distance runner, and I immerse myself in the comedy, theatre and culture of Edinburgh’s Festivals every August.
Monday 9th September – Friday 13th September 2024
