Orkney June 2026 Birds, history and insects

[davholla]

I am thinking of going to the following :-
Mainland Kirkwall, Skara Brae, Italian chapel plus birds
Papa Westray for history
North Ronaldsay for birds

Am I missing anything? I am planning to travel there by Ferry not sure how to get around Mainland yet, Papa and North Ronaldsay I think walking should be ok.

Are there any Islands I should visit? Particularly anywhere good for rare birds or insects.

 

[Jannyfox]

There's a lot more to Mainland than just Skara Brae and the Italian Chapel plus birds........
You can tick off the Old Man of Hoy from the ferry (I assume it still goes Scrabster - Stromness)
I went there a very long time ago, always intending to go back and never did. Now I don't want to as I don't think it will be the same place I remember and the magic will be gone. Because it was magical and we never felt like grockles.
We went by ferry but took the car. We drove up from the SW (England) with an overnight stop en route. I'm not sure it would have been possible to get around without a car but it could be different now. We went in September or October, I think.

 

[Faith The Healer]

The Italian Chapel is wonderful. Churchill Barriers, Scappa Flow also worth a look from a historic point of view.

The last time I was there was in the 70's so recollection ain't too great . I was young, fun and full------well, you can imagine the rest but the Italian Chapel sticks in my mind.

If you see any forty something folk that look like me tell them I said hi.

FTH

 

[davholla]

There's a lot more to Mainland than just Skara Brae and the Italian Chapel plus birds........
You can tick off the Old Man of Hoy from the ferry (I assume it still goes Scrabster - Stromness)
I went there a very long time ago, always intending to go back and never did. Now I don't want to as I don't think it will be the same place I remember and the magic will be gone. Because it was magical and we never felt like grockles.
We went by ferry but took the car. We drove up from the SW (England) with an overnight stop en route. I'm not sure it would have been possible to get around without a car but it could be different now. We went in September or October, I think.

I fear you are right about the car - I wonder what is cheaper going there by public transport and hiring a car or driving all the way.

What did you see in Hoy and Mainland?

 

[Jannyfox]

I fear you are right about the car - I wonder what is cheaper going there by public transport and hiring a car or driving all the way.

What did you see in Hoy and Mainland?

We didn't go to Hoy but had a great view of the Old Man from the ferry. On the mainland Ring of Brogar, Stones of Stenness, there's a whale skull on a post somewhere NW (?) mainland. Scapa Flow, Churchill Barriers and the old block ship that arrived a day too late to prevent the sinking of the Royal Oak. There's lots of other places we either didn't get to or I've forgotten about. If you're into history you're tripping over thousands of years of it. Sadly I didn't take huge numbers of photos back then as film was expensive.
'Public transport'/car hire used to be silly money. We looked into it once. Again, that was a long time ago, when there were no cruise ships. The A9 is nice once you get past Inverness

 

[Tringa]

Good suggestions already. The walk to the Old Man of Hoy is about 6 miles there and back but it is easy going and well worth a visit. There were fulmars nesting on the cliffs opposite the Old Man when we were there.

Maeshowe is excellent but you have to take a guided visit. When we were there they did not allow photography inside but it is still worth seeing.

Close to Maeshowe is the Ring of Brodgar. You can wander around by yourself but we had a guide which was really interesting and very well presented.

A visit to the island of Rousay is worth a trip. There are a number of chambered cairns you can get into and and the extensive remains of Mid Howe broch.

Agree about a car it is, IMO, essential.

Orkney is a brilliant place with birdlife in spades.


Dave

 

[Norseman]

June is high season so prices are at their highest as is pressure on accommodation and car hire. Orkney gets a lot of cruise ships so the "best" sites may be very busy at times. Try orcadian.co.uk or orkney.com as a starting point to get local information.

 

[davholla]

June is high season so prices are at their highest as is pressure on accommodation and car hire. Orkney gets a lot of cruise ships so the "best" sites may be very busy at times. Try orcadian.co.uk or orkney.com as a starting point to get local information.

Do you know how reliable the ferries are? If I were to get a ferry from another Island to Kirkwall arriving at 3pm is it reasonably probably that it would arrive before the 11pm ferry to Aberdeen? How often are they cancelled in June/July?

 

[Faith The Healer]

Do you know how reliable the ferries are? If I were to get a ferry from another Island to Kirkwall arriving at 3pm is it reasonably probably that it would arrive before the 11pm ferry to Aberdeen? How often are they cancelled in June/July?

Don't think the ferry is cancelled very often. I travelled on 5 January (1975) in a storm. Was a bit lumpy but no major issues so I doubt there'll be cancellations due to weather in the summer.