Exploring the North Isles as you travel | Travelling Orkney by ferry

Experience Orkney as you travel

The journey is just as important as the destination. Travelling by ferry to Orkney’s North Isles you’ll pass historic landscapes and seaways, mysterious uninhabited islands, and an array of captivating seabirds and wildlife.

Use this website while you travel to discover more about the fascinating heritage and history of the islands, creating your own self-guided tour of highlights along the way. A ferry journey in Orkney is more than just a means of getting from A to B, it’s an experience in itself. We hope you enjoy the journey.

These pages are designed to help you make the most of your ferry journey to Orkney’s north isles. For timetables and booking, please visit Orkney Ferries website

Find out more about life in Orkney's north isles

Nature

The North Isles of Orkney and the sea channels between them are a wildlife haven. Coastal habitats range from rocky shores to steep sea cliffs, sand dunes, sheltered bays and deep tidal channels. Many important wildlife sites in the North Isles are protected for their conservation value on a local, national, European, and even global level. On your journey you might pass near important seabird breeding and migration sites; haul-outs where grey and common seals have their pups and your ferry will share its waterway with cetaceans such as minke whale, risso’s dolphin, harbour porpoise and orca. If you keep your eyes peeled you might be lucky enough to see some.

Industry

Since long before the herring boom of the early twentieth century, the seas around the North Isles of Orkney have been a hive of industry. In the twenty-first century your ferry journey may pass by salmon aquaculture cages; areas where local creel boats catch brown crab, lobster and velvet crab and you might pass by scallop diving vessels, sustainably harvesting the sea’s rich bounty. You’ll also pass areas where the strength of the local tides and wind speeds are being harnessed in renewable energy projects, both established ones and those technologies in their infancy.

Archaeology

Visitors flock to Orkney each year to experience some of the UK’s most enchanting archaeological sites. The North Isles of Orkney are no exception. Your ferry might take in views of Iron Age broch sites or stone age funerary structures such as mysterious chambered cairns. There is a high chance you’ll pass through water which was once plied by Viking longboats as they traversed their northern earldom and you might see locations which feature in the Orkneyinga Saga, written in Iceland almost 1000 years ago. Keep a look out for old boat nousts, like scars cutting into the island coastlines. You might even see an ancient graveyard or ruined church on your journey, giving you inspiration for places to visit on your island trip.

History

Your ferry will take you within sight of many historically significant places. You’ll be able to see built heritage on almost every island you pass, giving an insight into the lives of some of the island’s long-gone inhabitants. You might pass grand dwellings such as Balfour Castle in Shapinsay or Trumland House in Rousay. Some of the UK’s most unique lighthouses can be seen from the ferry routes, such as Start Point lighthouse in Sanday, the only one in the UK to have vertical stripes. You’ll see remains of structures which point a unique way of life in the isles, such as North Ronaldsay’s circular sheep dyke or buildings related to burning kelp, when seaweed was an industrial export of the past. Keep your eyes peeled for sites which hark from Orkney’s important role in wartime defence, with tall concrete watchtowers and looming gun emplacements standing sentinel over the seaways.

Geology and Landscape

The coastlines of the North Isles bear clues to ancient landscapes, with the main rocks being formed almost 400 million years ago when Orkney was part of a huge landmass near the equator. The enormous Lake Orcadie filled with layers and layers of sandstone and mudstone, which can be seen in the cliffs around Orkney. As these cliffs are battered by the sea, they form caves; sea arches and sea stacks. But not all of the North Isles are rugged, and your ferry may take you past long sandy bays fringed with grassy dunes. Jutting into the sea you might see rocky skerries and reefs, which have caused many ships to run aground in bad weather over the centuries.

Underwater

As your ferry makes its way to your destination, pause to have a think about what lies under the waves. The stretches of water between the North Isles are home to some of the most important marine habitats in Europe. If you’re heading to Rousay, Egilsay or Wyre you’ll pass through a ‘Marine Protected Area’, designated for its beds of ‘maerl’ - a pink seaweed with a chalky coral-like skeleton. Your boat might pass over shipwrecks which now form artificial reefs and teem with life. When your ferry is coming into shallower water, you might even catch glimpses of the kelp forest below, which provides a haven for a multitude of colourful marine creatures.

Folklore

Orkney has a rich storytelling tradition and nowhere is that stronger than in the North Isles. According to Orcadian folklore, the seas here are home to many supernatural creatures: mermaids; sea monsters; selkies (seals which had the power to assume human form); sea witches and fin folk (magical folk who lived in an undersea home called Finfolkaheem). Some of the settings for these stories might be visible from your ferry, so read along and allow yourself to become immersed in the mystical world of Orkney folklore.

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