Just across the harbour from Whitehall is the small island of Papa Stronsay, where Earl Rognvald Brusason was murdered in 1046. The island is owned by a monastic order, the Transalpine Redemptorists; the monks will provide boat trips across to visit the island by prior arrangement.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
27.59 MILES
Predating Stonehenge and the pyramids of Giza, extraordinary Skara Brae is one of the world's most evocative prehistoric sites, and northern Europe’s best…
23.76 MILES
Constructed about 5000 years ago, Maeshowe is an extraordinary place, a Stone Age tomb built from enormous sandstone blocks, some of which weighed many…
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17.59 MILES
Constructed from local red sandstone, Kirkwall's centrepiece, dating from the early 12th century, is among Scotland's most interesting cathedrals. The…
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18 MILES
Six miles from the ferry on Rousay, mighty Midhowe Cairn has been dubbed the 'Great Ship of Death'. Built around 3500 BC and enormous, it's divided into…
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17.73 MILES
By the seashore, this sturdy stone-built farmhouse and storeroom are solidly built testimony to crofting life on Papa Westray island…5500 years ago. An…
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18.08 MILES
This distillery, South of Kirkwall's centre, is great to visit. Despite a dodgy Viking rebrand, it's a serious distillery that malts its own barley; see…
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28.59 MILES
This superb museum, run with great passion, is full of knick-knacks from maritime and natural-history exhibitions covering whaling, the Hudson's Bay…
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23.26 MILES
This eclectic museum is a great visit, combining some excellent 360-million-year-old Devonian fish fossils found locally with a well-designed exhibition…
Nearby Orkney attractions
5.18 MILES
There are several archaeological sites on Sanday, the most impressive being this chambered tomb, similar to Maeshowe and dating from the 3rd millennium BC…
2. Eday Heritage & Visitor Centre
7.04 MILES
Set in a former church, this place has a range of local history exhibits, as well as an audiovisual display about tidal energy initiatives: there's a big…
7.31 MILES
This museum in the former temperance hall has intriguing displays on various aspects of island history, including fishing, WWI, archaeology and shipwrecks…
9.18 MILES
About 4 miles from the Shapinsay pier, at the far northeastern corner of the island, is Iron Age Burroughston Broch, one of the best-preserved brochs …
11.82 MILES
Egilsay is the larger of the two islands off Rousay, and is accessed from the same ferry. The RSPB have a base here; listen for the corncrakes at the…
12.52 MILES
Right at Sanday's northeastern tip, this is a major prehistoric funerary complex with over 500 graves from the Bronze Age as well as burial cairns and…
13.59 MILES
Wyre is just off Rousay, and accessed from the same ferry. It was the domain of the Viking Baron Kolbein Hruga (known as ‘Cubbie Roo’). The substantial…
14.32 MILES
This is one of Orkney's largest private houses, undergoing some much-needed repair at the time of research. The grounds, with their thicket of native…