About the Orkney Islands

Orkney is an archipelago of over 70 islands, of which 17 are currently inhabited.

The largest of the islands is simply known as the Mainland, and is home to approx 70 per cent of Orkney's 20 thousand population. Over a third of Orcadians live in the capital town, Kirkwall.

At its most southerly point, Orkney is only six miles from the Scottish mainland and yet enjoys a unique feeling of nearby remoteness.

The climate is temperate, warmed by the Gulf Stream. The driest months are April, May and June, while in mid summer the sun remains above the horizon for 18 hours, giving spectacular sunsets in May and June. After the rugged Highland scenery, and the flat peat-land of Caithness, the Orkney landscape is lush, green and relatively level, giving a feeling of space where countryside merges with sky and sea into a soft confluence of nature.

The island of Hoy is the only exception, which rises to 477 metres and has Britain's highest vertical cliffs, St John's Head standing at 347.5 metres. This diversity provides an excellent range of bird habitats, from cliffs, marshes, moors and maritime heath.

The many sheltered inlets, flat outcrops and beaches around the islands make ideal habitat for Atlantic Grey and Common seals to live. Whales, dolphins and porpoises are also often seen further out in the open seas around the islands.

Orkney makes full use of all the appropriate 21st century's services and facilities, while still retaining a feeling of timelessness, due to the close proximity of so much of its history. We know that people first came to these islands approx 6000 years ago, and started to build a wealth of, what is now some of the best-preserved archaeological sites in Europe, Neolithic villages, burial tombs and impressive stone circles.

The islands place names still echo a strong link with its more recent past. Being so close to Norway, Orkney's fertile landscape made an ideal base for Viking expansion, particularly in a time when the latest technology was sea transport and the Scandinavians were among its greatest experts.

Along with the Shetland Islands to the north, Orkney remained under Norse rule till 1468, the last outposts of a dwindling Scandinavian dynasty to fall under Scottish influence. Not only the place names, but also a pattern of settlement, culture and language are a constant reminder of our Norse heritage.

In the 20th century, Orkney experienced the effects of two World Wars, when Scapa Flow played a strategically important role.

More recently, the oil boom in the North Sea had a major effect on our islands' economy, in addition to encouraging an influx of mainly English immigrants, with the result that the island's population decline experienced in the sixties & seventies has now reversed.