Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
EATING AND DRINKING
Ferry Inn
10 John St
T
01856 850280,
W
ferryinn.com.
Situated opposite the ferry terminal,
this is the most popular and welcoming pub in town,
serving up classic pub grub as well as local scallops,
Grimbister cheese and spicy Orkney crab cakes, all for
under £10.
Daily 9am-midnight; food served until
9.30pm.
Hamnavoe Restaurant
35 Graham Place
T
01856
850606.
Offers the town's most ambitious cooking,
concentrating on local produce, such as grilled sole or
peppered monkfish - main courses start at around £15
and booking is essential.
May-Sept Tues-Sun only.
Julia's Café and Bistro 20 Ferry Rd
T
01856 850904.
Daytime café right opposite the ferry terminal, with a
sunny conservatory and tables outside if the weather's
good enough. It's comfort food for the most part, but you
can get a decent fish pie, all for under £10.
Mon-Sat
9am-5pm, Sun 10am-5pm.
West Mainland
he great bulk of the
West Mainland
- west of Kirkwall, that is - is fertile farmland,
fenced off into a patchwork of fields used either to produce crops or for cattle-grazing.
Fringed by a spectacular western coastline, West Mainland is littered with some of the
island's most impressive prehistoric sites, such as the village of
Skara Brae
, the standing
Stones of Stenness
, the chambered tomb of
Maes Howe
and the
Broch of Gurness
, as
well
as
one of Orkney's best preserved medieval castles at
Birsay
. Despite the intensive
farming, some areas are too barren to cultivate, and the high ground and wild coastline
include several interesting
wildlife reserves
.
15
Stenness
he parish of
Stenness
, northeast of Stromness along the main road to Kirkwall,
slopes
down from Ward Hill (881ft) to the lochs of Stenness and Harray: the first is tidal, the
second is a freshwater trout loch. he two lochs are joined by a short causeway that may well
have been a narrow isthmus around 3000 BC, when it stood at the heart of Orkney's most
important Neolithic ceremonial complex, centred on the burial chamber of
Maes Howe
.
Stones of Stenness
Guided tours
June-Aug Mon, Wed & Fri 10am • HS • Free •
T
1856 841732
he most visible part of the complex between lochs Stenness and Harray is the
Stones
of Stenness
, originally a circle of twelve rock slabs, now just four, the tallest of which is
a real monster at over 16ft, and remarkably slender. A broken tabletop lies within the
circle, surrounded by a much-diminished henge (a circular bank of earth and a ditch)
with a couple of entrances.
Ring of Brodgar
Guided tours
June-Aug daily 1pm • HS • Free •
T
01856 841732
Less than a mile to the northwest of the Stones of Stenness, past the huge
Watch Stone
which stands beside the road at over 18ft in height, you reach another stone circle, the
Ring of Brodgar
, a much wider circle dramatically sited on raised ground. Here there were
originally sixty stones, 27 of which now stand; of the henge, only the ditch survives.
Maes Howe
April-Sept daily 9.30am-5pm; June-Aug until 8pm; Oct-March Mon-Sat 9.45am-4.30pm • £5.50; HS •
T
01856 761606
Maes Howe
, one of Europe's most impressive Neolithic burial chambers, lies less than a
mile northeast of the Stones of Stenness. Dating from 3000 BC, its excellent state of
preservation is partly due its construction from massive slabs of sandstone weighing up
to thirty tons. Visitors must first buy a
timed ticket
for a guided tour, in advance or
direct from Tormiston Mill by the main road, which houses the
ticket o
ce
, toilets and
interpretive display.
