The Kirkwall pier is a place where you really get a sense of the rural life in Orkney. It's…read morebustling with fishermen coming and going and getting on with their work. There are also ferry links to the smaller Isles here and often in the summer time plays host to cruise liners. The yacht marina is a short walk from here, so if you are interested in boats of any sort then this is the place to visit.

The Skaill House is located in Orkney, Scotland. A tour of this house is included with the tour of…read morethe Skara Brae. You could purchase a ticket to only the Skaill House, but I recommend purchasing a ticket for both instead. If you are into history, then you will like visiting Skaill House. Lots of interesting things to see and learn here. The house was built in the 17th century (1620 to be exact). It is a short walk from the ruins of Skara Brae so it is worthwhile to check out. The house has been restored, and it opened to the public in 1997. Enjoy!

Skaill House is an old 17th century mansion originally built by Bishop George Graham. The house…read moreoverlooks the Bay of Skaill and is part of the Skara Brae tour. It is a short walk from the ruins to the house. There have been 12 Lairds (Lords) that have lived at the house. It can be a bit tight when there are a lot of people touring the house. I didn't get to spend much time because there were so many people. The rooms are small and cozy and I loved the library. There is a small shop at the end of the tour (of course) to buy some gifts. They also offer falconry lessons and you can have your wedding there. There are many ghost stories as many skeletons have been found around the grounds some going back to Viking days.

My husband and I had a 3-day private tour on the island of Orkney, being lucky enough to book it on…read morethe cusp of the busy season, with Dr. Caz in April 2023. I cannot recommend her highly enough! Orkney is a fascinating place, with thousands of years' worth of history. And Caz is an incredible guide- she arranged our days to show us such a wide variety of places and types of sites, all while giving us an amazing amount of knowledge and information, to help us put all of it in context. She is a true expert and I was so impressed by her vast knowledge of all the sites, the history, and the islands. She also knows how other tour groups work on the island, so was able to alter our plans sometimes in order to give us a better (and less peoply!) experience. Even before we Californians arrived, Caz was a helpful resource, giving me detailed advice on the clothing to bring. That advice really helped us to be comfortable the entire time, so we could focus on what we were seeing and experiencing. This was truly a once in a lifetime trip. Being at the Stones of Stenness and Ring of Brodgar, stone henges older than Stonehenge, with no one else around, was such a moving experience, and my favorite of the sites we visited. If you are interested in history, anything from the Neolithic to modern time, you will love touring with Caz!

Loved our stay while on Orkney and the hospitality was immeasurable! I would strongly recommend…read morethis Bed and Breakfast for the rooms are awesome and the breakfast is even better. Best it's off the beaten track where you can truly unwind! Sheep nearby as is the Harbour! Enjoy the best of the isles and stay here!

We should have stopped in when we first arrived on the bus - Lots of good information and a nice…read morelittle gift shop.

Had a lovely weekend at Hammersmith - it's centrally located on the Orkney Mainland, making it…read moreideal for exploring the island. We were travelling with my parents and enjoyed sitting in the sunroom both nights after a day of touring, to plan the next day out - with a lovely view of the countryside. Personally, I liked their breakfast menu system - I hadn't seen this before in a B&B, using dry erase markers we picked our breakfasts for the next morning - and the breakfasts were all delicious, we sampled the full cooked (with homemade tattie scones!! and LOVELY mushrooms), the haddock and poached egg, the salmon and scrambled egg and the poached eggs and cheese on crumpets... mmmm - would definitely stay again!

I crossed over from St Margaret's Hope a few days ago on this fast, comfortable little car ferry. I…read morearrived in the islands aboard the Aberdeen ferry but was glad to be returning on one much more comfortable, less crowded and fast.

Pentland Ferries sails between Gills Bay on mainland Britain and St. Margaret's Hope on Mainland,…read moreOrkney. The Pentalina high-speed catamaran (a passenger and vehicle ferry) runs the route in little over an hour, making it the fastest way to access Orkney by boat. Leaving Gills Bay, the Pentalina sails through Pentland Firth and some truly spectacular North Sea scenery. Perhaps most interesting is the small island of Stroma, belonging to Caithness. Until the turn of the twentieth century, Stroma had several hundred residents who farmed the land, but by the 60s, the last two families had left. The stone homes, typical of the Highlands, still stand silently today, as does the lighthouse, church, graveyard and harbor. Locals told us that the island is currently owned by a sheep farmer in Caithness who uses the land to graze his sheep. Otherwise, everything is supposedly preserved within the structures exactly as the residents of Stroma left them when they abandoned the island. A Scottish ghost town. As the ferry passes Stroma, and then Swona (part of The Orkney islands), it's worth braving the whipping wind and chilly North Sea air to keep a lookout for seals and seabirds. Most notable among the wildlife are the adorable puffin, hurtling through the air like feathered missiles. (Once you're sufficiently chilled, there are two lounges below deck in which to relax, plus a tiny window selling hot, homemade soup, burgers and sandwiches.) At last, the Pentalina cruises by Hoy where, if the weather cooperates, passengers can catch a glimpse of the iconic Old Man of Hoy, before the final destination of St. Margaret's Hope comes into view. The quaint village lies like a cobblestone ribbon cutting through the emerald green landscape behind it. The cost of your passage is £14; your car will run you £33. Considering the speed with which you reach the Islands, and the views you're treated to along the way, Pentland Ferries is well worth the price of admission.

My travel companion and I were on a walkabout of Kirkwall and decided we were in need of a…read morerefreshment. We stepped into the Kirkwall Hotel Bar and were very pleased with the ambiance. We debated what to order and the bar tender (Kelvin maybe? such a great gentleman) - suggested trying some local gin.

We really came here solely for the 8 pages of Highland Park scotch they have at the bar and did…read morelunch at the same time to avoid being too tipsy and feed the kids. My wife and I are huge scotch fans and we really wanted to do a Highland Park tasting, but there was no way to do that with our kids. The distillery instead pointed us here, where they supposedly have the biggest selection of Highland Park scotch anywhere in the world and I believe it because they had 8 full pages. We wound up tasting our way through a relatively expensive collection of six different selections going as far back as 1973, which was awesome to do. That said, it was a bit disappointing because we basically had to do the selecting entirely on our own. I would have expected somebody there to be able to help some with what we might like given how extensive their collection is. Also, there were at least a few times where what we asked for wasn't available anymore. We still had a great time drinking very good and rare scotch. Beyond the scotch, the food was good, if not exceptional. My wife and I both got salads we enjoyed and finding a good salad with vegetables in Scotland isn't always easy. Our kids didn't really eat the mac and cheese, but that's sort of par for the course with them. The ambiance with the view of the bay and a very fancy dining room was actually quite nice. The only real downside (beyond wishing there was more Highland Park scotch expertise) was that the whole hotel filled up with people from the cruise ship in the harbor pretty soon after we sat down, which then resulted in very slow service for a while.