The Orkney Club is a private members club situated in Kirkwall, near the harbour. It is a lovely…read moreold building, with quite dated decor. There's a room downstairs which is like being in someone's house - a bit of a strange venue if you're out for a drink. The main bar is much better - comfortable seating, and a relaxed atmosphere. The staff presence can be a bit hit and miss, depending on who is working, but generally the service is fast and the staff cheery. Best of all - the drink is very cheap. Through the back of the bar is the fuction room/games room with a pool table and dart board. The toilets are quite basic - but functional. Upstairs are 2 full sized snooker tables, and regular competitions are held.

This place is shocking! The tanks are way too small for the creatures in them and every tank we saw…read morehad the same kind of fish. In the tank with the eel - there was no room for the creature to turn around comfortably, not to mention they'd stuck a plastic piece of tubing in the tank for him to 'play in'......there wasn't much room for the octapus either - these creatures need space to 'fly' around - they travel great distances in the wild - this was just cruelty. There was a poor eel-type fish - can't remember what it was - stuck in a bio-orb tank which was way too small for it and it nothing for company. The tank with the brown crab had a notice saying 'no spider crab and the brown crab had eaten it!' - why was a small creature put in with a predator in the first place? Then there was the rock pools - where the lobster had it's pincers taped shut - supposedly to stop it escaping - if it had been in a suitable container - or better still where it belonged (the sea) this wouldn't have been necessary! The cost in August 2010 was £6 for adults, £5 for concession and it was not worth the money - the staff were neither helpful or friendly and the fish were in poor condition tanks. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO ANYONE!!

This is a brilliant place to take the kids, especially on a wet day. There's lots to see and the…read morestaff are generally really good at taking the time to explain things to children and let them touch various sea creatures, etc. The aquarium is actually very creative - it's the back of an articulated lorry for transporting live shellfish, etc - it's been really cleverly done. There's a walkway around it - and lots of information up on the walls. There's also the wheelhouse of a ship - complete with captain's hat - for the children to have some fun in. In another room there's various tanks with beautiful flower-like anemones, and fish, and a blue lobster. And there's a shop, full of the type of 'junk' that kids like to spend their holiday money on.

For Scapa (or, now, Shetland) ... just book it! Cabins are…read morebig enough - although you'll need to pack light (and use collapsible bags for kit that you unload) - although there is not much cupboard storage. The bunks are comfortable but quite narrow... and ... bring earplugs as a defence against your diver colleagues :) There is a very nice forward double cabin for couples - if you are a couple, make sure you beat your buddies to that one (although you might end up on pre-breakfast tea & toast duty as it's right below the galley). A little downside it that the toilet and shower facilities (x2) are up on the main dive deck. This means a rather treachorous middle-of-the night accent up a ladder if you need to pay a visit in the early hours. Finally, for this accommodation review, the breakfast that Fiona puts together (for after the first dive) is fantastic! :) Diving - spot on. Ian runs a tight ship and will answer any questions directly and accurately. Drop-offs and pick-ups were always spot on, as were gas mixes and support for tech diving needs. This isn't really the place for in-depth (sorry for the pun) diving review - but as I said at the start, just book it.

When driving along the coast in the very North here you will pass this stunning beach…read more We stayed in nearby Thurso and been here before - but that's 10 years ago. So this time we came back to spend a late afternoon here. Best to park at the Caravan & Motorhome Campsite at the northern end. It's a public carpark with fair parking fees and just steps away from the beach. Also free public toilets here. It was a picture perfect sunny day and we didn't have any problems finding a spot. The beach itself is very wide and over two miles long! It's a very pretty, very clean beach with wonderful soft sand. There were maybe around 20-30 visitors on the beach that day - and that was suprising. We thought - after 10 years - that it got a lot more popular. But nice to still have to beach almost to yourself! Since it's that long and wide, it really feels like you're on your own here. People sunbathing, playing, running, walking. And having fun with their dogs (free to roam). The space is so big, nobody is bothered and it feel really free here. It was nice to just stroll up and down the beach, enjoying the sun and the ocean views. The peace and quiet up here in the north. There is a pretty high number of stranded jellyfish though in summer. So if you're here with your small kids or dog, keep your eyes open. It's really a picture-perfect beach here. And not to be missed when around the area.

While there is not too much competition for a full dive shop in Stromness, Scapa Scuba does excel…read moreanyway. There are a couple of other shops that sell the basics (spools, weights, belts, and other knickknacks) so if they don't have it, somebody will. But... where scapa scuba excel is in the suit manufacture and repair department. They'll turn a suite repair around on the same night (and deliver to your boat in the early hours) so you are ready for the next day's diving. For that reason, alone, they get 5 stars as they can save your holiday (and I have seen them do this on three separate occasions now - none of them me, I hasten to add :) ) They also have a good selection of spares and actually useful items - not some of the trinkets that can be found in other shops.

Can't sing the praises of Scapa Scuba enough. The delivered what I needed when and how I needed…read moreit. Scapa Flow is technical diving so quality is essential. Ben is extremely knowledgeable and well known in the Scope dive community. Katie provided service that far exceeded expectations. At home I am a business traveler and my standards for service are extremely high. Katie and Scapa exceeded the standards I have for my business hospitality providers. This was my first trip to Scapa and I was quite nervous because I wasn't sure what to expect. This is not a position I'm comfortable with since I like to have maximum information. Katie and Scapa Scuba filled in the blanks and brought me significant peace of mind. They provided far more than just tanks, regulators and soda sorb. The helped make this an epic trip. Thank you!!!

This beach gives you an amazing view of the sea, lots of rich sand, an area to camp and a trail to…read morefollow for a walk. When on the beach itself, you are relatively sheltered by the sand dunes and the beach being quite a big stretch of the bay, you can have some quiet time to yourself even if there is other people around. There are public toilet facilities here, which makes it popular for campers in the slightly warmer times of the year. It is also next to a main road which the local bus service passes by, if you want to catch it just stand at the side of the road and stick your hand out.

It was September and I was standing on one of the 40,000 basalt rocks. The wind was blowing, the…read moresea was rough, the sky was over cast and there was a light drizzle of rain. Somehow it all felt like a peaceful, rugged, romantic moment that I will forever remember. I came for the geology and found more. Driving from Dublin took over 2 hours. Belfast is a shorter drive. On approaching the Causeway you have a choice of 3 parking lots. Lot 3 is by far the furthest away. It has been a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE since 1986 and is maintained by the National Trust. There is a tourist info center( audio-visual presentation), bathrooms, gift shop, currency exchange (British Pound), and coffee shop. To get down to the basalt monoliths is about a 15 minute walk along a well kept asphalt road and walkway that takes you down to the hexagon stones. It is steep on the way back up and many people take the shuttle, some both ways. The basalt rocks run from the cliff into the sea. Some areas are difficult to very slippery and difficult to navigate. The spray from the ocean and unpredictable wave heights crashing against the monoliths require your constant attention.. There are paths on the side that allow stunning vistas and photographic opportunities especially on clear sunny days. Unfortunately I was not lucky enough to be there under those conditions.. Bushmills Whiskey Distillery, the oldest distillery in Northern Ireland, is three miles away and Dunluce castle is about the same distance. Combining the three in one day is possible and if your coming from a distance probably a good idea. There is a very quaint pub called the Nook within walking from the visitor's center.

Loved this natural stone formations. A must see if you visit Northern Ireland. Visited the first…read moreday at 5 pm and stayed until 7:30 pm exploring the ocean pathway. The next morning, got up at dawn and hiked the upper trails for another 2 1/2 hours. Totally different perspectives and got amazing photos.

BBC Radio Orkney is a local radio station which broadcasts on the main Radio Scotland channel at…read morecertain times of the day. Every weekday morning throughout the year (except Christmas and New Year holidays) 'Around Orkney' is broadcast between 7.30 and 8am. This is a news programme with a lot else - there's news, weather, travel information, school closures (if the weather is bad this is where you find out which schools are open), a what's on diary and interviews. The presenters tend to use a lot of local dialect words and many of them are Orcadian with strong local accents, so this is a great way to find out the correct pronounciation of many local placenames. There is a short lunchtime bulletin at 6 minutes to 1, which gives the news headlines and weather. If the weather is bad, this is a great one for finding out whether the ferries are cancelled. In the winter, there's a selection of evening programmes. These range from a request programme, to Bruck (where people give away/swap unwanted items and make requests for items they want), to folk music, rock music, interviews with local characters, quizzes and Orkyology (the Orkney archaeology programme). Oh, and I mustn't forget the Dashing White Farmer. Radio Orkney are a real community radio station - adding a lot of value to the local community and participating in local fundraising, primarily through their annual 5 hour live extravaganza for Children in Need, where around £20,000 is raised annually from the people of Orkney.