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The Modern Antiquarian Forum » Orkney » Best base for Orkney trip? |
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CianMcLiam 1067 posts |
Feb 09, 2017, 21:14
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Hi folks, I'm going to Orkney for four days this Spring and would be interested in your experiences on places to stay. Kirkwall or Stromness? Somewhere else entirely? Also, if I hire a car at the airport, what's the best way to see one or two of the islands? Bike hire? Thanks for any pearls of wisdom!
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tjj 3606 posts |
Edited Feb 10, 2017, 08:58
Feb 09, 2017, 23:21
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CianMcLiam wrote: Hi folks, I'm going to Orkney for four days this Spring and would be interested in your experiences on places to stay. Kirkwall or Stromness? Somewhere else entirely? Also, if I hire a car at the airport, what's the best way to see one or two of the islands? Bike hire? Thanks for any pearls of wisdom! I went to Orkney seven years ago though only briefly - spent the night (which never really got dark) on an overnight ferry to Shetland. Stromness was the first place I saw and liked it a lot - only there for a couple of hours but found a great bookshop where I bought the The Collected Poems of George Mackay Brown. The group I was with did spend some time in Kirkwall later on and I was quite impressed by St Magnus Cathedral - beautiful stained glass windows. It was from Stromness we traveled to Skara Brae, the Ring Brodgar and Stenness - so it may be a good place to base yourself. Sorry I can't help with specific B&Bs but am sure someone here will be able to.
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Evergreen Dazed 1881 posts |
Feb 10, 2017, 00:18
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CianMcLiam wrote: Hi folks, I'm going to Orkney for four days this Spring and would be interested in your experiences on places to stay. Kirkwall or Stromness? Somewhere else entirely? Also, if I hire a car at the airport, what's the best way to see one or two of the islands? Bike hire? Thanks for any pearls of wisdom! We went in 2014 and stayed at the Ferry Inn in Stromness. We usually let a house when we go on holiday, but we decided to give the pub a go because we wanted to be in the town and it was convenient for meals (and drinks!). The Ferry Inn was comfortable enough, no frills, but they do have the occasional band on so if you're looking for total peace and quiet maybe consider a house let or b&b. After poring over maps and reading up about Orkney beforehand Stromness seemed the ideal base as it was closer to all the monuments at the ness and skara brae etc than Kirkwall and also good if you want to get the ferry over to hoy. You're probably right, a bike would be a good idea! I was doing some recording while I was there and it was easier for me to be on that side of the mainland. We'd taken a car up with us so I can't advise on public transport, but I'd advise hiring a car if you do stay in Stromness and want to get down to South Ronaldsay to see the tomb of the eagles or banks (the latter I strongly advise visiting). Having the car made getting to the monuments very easy, I imagine it'd be a struggle to get round to a lot of them without one (Wideford for example), but not impossible. We went to Kirkwall on one of the days and had a nice meal there in the evening. It's much bigger than Stromness, more shops etc and definitely worth a visit. I suppose it depends on your priorities but I'd advise Stromness as the best option simply because of it's proximity to the ness (brodgar, maes howe, stenness, unstan, barnhouse etc). It meant that we drove past those monuments many times on trips out and therefore saw them in all sorts of light and weather. Great for photography. I remember we were driving back to Stromness one afternoon and when we got to near the ness there was a fog rolling in over the ring of brodgar, but the sun was also shining brightly, illuminating it. i'd never seen anything like it in my life. Brodgar was shrouded in some sort of otherworldly glowing mist, it was a bit of a 'moment'! I stopped the car and got out and just stood there taking it all in. Will never forget that. Wherever you stay you can't go too wrong, and i'm sure you'll have a fantastic time. Orkney really is a magical place. ps. Check out the Hamnavoe in Stromness, we had a really lovely meal there. A tiny little place tucked away up a side street. Make sure you phone ahead as it gets booked up quickly.
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spencer 3069 posts |
Feb 10, 2017, 01:40
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Put this as a topic on the Pump too: cast net wider. Iirc jb lamptoast-morsley is well versed, may be wrong
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Fitter Stoke 2608 posts |
Feb 10, 2017, 11:22
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I'd agree with tjj and Evergreen that Stromness is your most convenient stop for the best sites. I stayed at The Ferry Inn last year. It was okay, nothing more - they weren't very flexible with Shetland ferry arrival times (when I was refused a drink at the bar at 11pm) or with early ones either (I had to miss out on breakfast on my last day) and that, with a very indifferent evening meal in the bar, made for a shall we say compromised experience. On my previous visit I stayed at the Stromness Hotel which was more expensive but worth the extra cost, especially if you can get one of the front facing rooms: excellent views. If you can afford it, I recommend staying there. Kirkwall is a nice town with plenty of good bars to keep you busy in the eve, but the hotels are dearer.
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goffik 3926 posts |
Feb 10, 2017, 11:23
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We stayed in a couple of nice places. If you go to the page of a site you want to be near - eg Ring of Brodgar http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/388/ring_of_brodgar.html - there's a dropdown for "Facilities". On that page you'll find a few recommendations. :) Mine are Lochend (with views of the Stones of Stenness and Maes Howe among other stuff) and Atlantis Cottages. We loved both. :) G x
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CARL 511 posts |
Feb 10, 2017, 12:21
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Stromness is nicer than Kirkwall, although Kirkwall is more central for travel
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tiompan 5758 posts |
Feb 10, 2017, 12:30
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Maybe a bit of a luxury if you are pushed for time , but the cliff walk on Hoy is a cracker , the bonxies can be attentive .
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CianMcLiam 1067 posts |
Feb 10, 2017, 12:58
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Thanks tjj, I'm leaning towards Stromness and will keep those bits in mind!
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CianMcLiam 1067 posts |
Feb 10, 2017, 13:01
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Brilliant, thanks for all this info. I'll be hiring a car at the airport but am not sure if there's a car ferry service between the islands or if there is it's no doubt an expensive way to travel across. I was thinking Kirkwall because it's less of a drive between there and the Ness sites northwards or Tomb of the Eagles southwards, but maybe it's small enough for this not to matter much.
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