Orkney and Shetland

[DM]

It’s a long time since I’ve posted a trip report here but we heading home from a fantastic 3 week trip to the. Northern Isles and I thought our experiences might be of interest to others planning a trip. Rather than a day by day account I’ll post on basis of some themes. At the moment I’m thinking of things like:

• Getting there
• Inter-island ferries
• Campsites
• Wild camping
• Weather
• What to do
• What to avoid
• From a dog’s perspective
• Festivals
• What we’ll do different next time

Feel free to make any suggestions as to other aspects of our trip that you’d like to hear about.

 

[DM]

1. Planning

We are not the world’s best planners. We decided to go to the Orkney and Shetland back in January but didn’t get around to locking in dates or booking ferries until after Easter - way too late! As we discovered there is limited ferry capacity particularly to and from Shetland so booking early - very early is a must. The Islands are also pretty good at self promotion to pull in visitors - we ended up in Orkney during the folk festival and in Shetland during their vintage car festival. These events result in spikes on the ferries and some dates may be unavailable a year in advance. We ended up having to pick dates around the Shetland ferry availability. Cabin availability is particularly premium - if you are happy to slum it overnight on a seat for 12-14 hours then there is more flexibility but vehicle spaces are also premium. Northlink offer a flexible policy for changes but given the fact that they’ll be fully booked the options. For change at short notice are very limited.

What else is there to plan? Maybe campsites if that’s your preference. We intended to mix wild camping with a few campsite nights for showers, waste, water etc. We weren’t going to book anything in advance but at the last minute I realised that we’re arriving in Orkney during the folk festival and there were absolutely no campsites spaces available in west mainland. So we booked a couple of nights at a CAMC certified location nearer to Lerwick to be safe. More about sites and wild camping in a future post but if you prefer sites and are there at a busy time then probably best to book at least some of them. We were there in June. Apparently July and August are busier.

And that was the extent of our planning! We don’t even buy a guidebook until we were on the ferry. We naively assumed that tourist sites and activities would be available whenever we wanted them. Wrong - there are some highlights that where advance booking is essential. The main one is the Maeshowe chambered cairn on Orkney. It was fully booked for our whole 9 day stay so we didn’t get. It’s probably also worth booking Skara Brae as it seems to get fully booked at times. One of the highlights on Shetland is a Noss wildlife boat trip. More about it later but we were lucky to find a space within a week.

The other thing to plan in advance is gas. Assuming you use a 907 make sure you have enough for your trip. We didn’t have to buy any but I imagine it could be hard. We did have to buy any water container and I think we bought the only one in Orkney!!!

 

[KevH]

1. Planning

We are not the world’s best planners. We decided to go to the Orkney and Shetland back in January but didn’t get around to locking in dates or booking ferries until after Easter - way too late! As we discovered there is limited ferry capacity particularly to and from Shetland so booking early - very early is a must. The Islands are also pretty good at self promotion to pull in visitors - we ended up in Orkney during the folk festival and in Shetland during their vintage car festival. These events result in spikes on the ferries and some dates may be unavailable a year in advance. We ended up having to pick dates around the Shetland ferry availability. Cabin availability is particularly premium - if you are happy to slum it overnight on a seat for 12-14 hours then there is more flexibility but vehicle spaces are also premium. Northlink offer a flexible policy for changes but given the fact that they’ll be fully booked the options. For change at short notice are very limited.

What else is there to plan? Maybe campsites if that’s your preference. We intended to mix wild camping with a few campsite nights for showers, waste, water etc. We weren’t going to book anything in advance but at the last minute I realised that we’re arriving in Orkney during the folk festival and there were absolutely no campsites spaces available in west mainland. So we booked a couple of nights at a CAMC certified location nearer to Lerwick to be safe. More about sites and wild camping in a future post but if you prefer sites and are there at a busy time then probably best to book at least some of them. We were there in June. Apparently July and August are busier.

And that was the extent of our planning! We don’t even buy a guidebook until we were on the ferry. We naively assumed that tourist sites and activities would be available whenever we wanted them. Wrong - there are some highlights that where advance booking is essential. The main one is the Maeshowe chambered cairn on Orkney. It was fully booked for our whole 9 day stay so we didn’t get. It’s probably also worth booking Skara Brae as it seems to get fully booked at times. One of the highlights on Shetland is a Noss wildlife boat trip. More about it later but we were lucky to find a space within a week.

The other thing to plan in advance is gas. Assuming you use a 907 make sure you have enough for your trip. We didn’t have to buy any but I imagine it could be hard. We did have to buy any water container and I think we bought the only one in Orkney!!!

This is on our 'one day perhaps' list and your experience is exactly what we need to make it doable.

 

[nigpdreadingfc]

I spent 3 weeks going round Orkney. What a fabulous trip it was

 

[acer]

Feel free to make any suggestions as to other aspects of our trip that you’d like to hear about.

Midges!

 

[DM]

Not a single one - the wind keeps them away!!! You’re never far from a sea breeze!! ️ I’ll post more about the weather later.

 

[Rololux]

We spent a week each on Orkney and Shetland last July. Truly one of the best trips we’ve ever done. I agree about booking ferries ahead - we booked in January. For to and from Shetland I recommend booking the best class of cabin you can get - they are very comfortable, although depending on your luck, maybe some engine noise.

Campsites on Orkney are ok, good in places. On Shetland, they are very basic - usually simply a carpark with access to toilets and showers, which are often boat clubs. We booked the sites in Orkney at Stromness and Kirkwall, as these are very popular, but for the others probably no need, but might be worth phoning ahead.

The archaeology on both islands is fantastic - so good in fact that it inspired me to start studying archaeology, which I have been doing since September. Going on my first dig next week! Definitely book Maes Howe as places are very limited - you meet at the visitor centre and they take you to the site on a minibus - around 12 people per visit, 4 or 5 visits per day. Skara Brae only necessary to book at peak times. Best place of all was Jarlshof in Shetland - just turn up and take the optional audio tour - extremely well put together.

One thing to look out for on both islands is cruise ships. Avoid them like the plague for obvious reasons!

We had no midges, despite very hot weather while on Orkney, but we had prepared by taking midge spray and nets just in case!

Overall, a highly recommended destination..