Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
overlooking the old harbour and out to sea, this is a clean
and comfortable hostel with just eight beds. Washing
machine an
d tu
mble dryer available, plus free wi-fi.
April-
Oct.
Dorms
£15
Pickaquoy Campsite
Ayre Rd
T
01856 879900,
W
pickaquoy.net.
Central and well-equipped, since it is
behind (and run by) the l
ocal le
isure centre, but not exactly
picturesque.
April-Oct.
£7.15
/pitch
SYHA Hostel
Old Scapa Rd
T
01856 872243,
W
syha.
org.uk.
A good 10min walk out of the centre on the road to
Orphir - f
riend
ly enough, but no beauty outside or in.
April-Oct.
£17
/person
EATING AND DRINKING
Helgi's
14 Harbour St
T
01856 879293,
W
helgis.co.uk.
A
popular modern pub on the harbour front which serves nicely
presented bar food, from burger/fish and chips to fajitas (all
for under £10). Free wi-fi.
Mon-Wed 11am-midnight,
Thurs-Sat 11am-1am, Sun 12.30pm-midnight.
Lucano
31 Victoria St
T
01856 875687,
W
lucanokirkwall.com.
Busy, bright, modern, authentic
Italian - a real find in Kirkwall - offering pizza, pasta and
risotto with an Orcadian angle. It's popular so book ahead.
Daily 9am-9pm.
Real Food Café
25 Broad St
T
01856 874225,
W
www
.judithglue.com.
Cheery cream and sky-blue wood-
panelling decor at this small snacky café at the back of
Judith Glue's gift shop opposite the cathedral. Try the
Westray crab claws and bere bannocks (all dishes under
£10).
June-Sept daily 9am-10pm; shorter hours in the
low season.
Ì
The Reel
6 Broad St
T
01856 871000,
W
wrigleyandthereel.com
. The old customs house near
the cathedral is now a fabulous, laidback self-service café,
run by the musical Wrigley Sisters, serving great coffee,
sandwiches, pizzas and cakes, and offering free wi-fi and
regular live music (Wed, Thurs & Sat).
Mon-Fri
8.30am-6pm, Sat 9am-1am; in summer also Sun
10am-5pm.
Trenabies Bistro
Albert St
T
01856 874336,
W
trenabiesfairtrade.co.uk.
This cosy, old-fashioned café
with booths is a classic Kirkwall institution - order Cajun
fries
15
and
a
panini
for
around
£5.
Mon-Sat
8.30am-5.30pm, Sun noon-4pm.
ENTERTAINMENT
Cinema
Pickaquoy Centre Pickaquoy Rd
T
01856
879900,
W
pickaquoy.net.
As well as serving as one of the
town's main large-scale venues, the “Picky” a short walk west
of the town centre, also contains the New
Phoenix
cinema.
Lamb Holm, Burray and South Ronaldsay
Southeast from Kirkwall, the narrow spur of the
East Mainland
juts out into the North
Sea and is joined, thanks to the remarkable Churchill Barriers, to several smaller
islands, the largest of which are
Burray
and
South Ronaldsay
. As with the West
Mainland, the land here is heavily farmed, but it contains fewer of Orkney's famous
sights. hat said, the
Tomb of the Eagles
is one of the most enjoyable and memorable of
Orkney's prehistoric sites.
Lamb Holm: the Italian Chapel
Daily dawn-dusk • Free
Special camps were built on the uninhabited island of
Lamb Holm
, to accommodate the
1700 men involved in building the Churchill Barriers, 1200 of whom were Italian
POWs. he camps have long since disappeared, but the Italians left behind the
extraordinary
Italian Chapel
, by the main road (A961). his, the so-called “Miracle of
Camp 60”, must be one of the greatest adaptations ever, made from two Nissen huts,
concrete, barbed wire and parts of a rusting blockship. It has a great false facade, and
colourful trompe l'oeil decor, lovingly restored by the chapel's original architect,
Domenico Chiocchetti, in 1960.
Burray
he largest of the little islands between the Mainland and South Ronaldsay,
Burray
has
a population of around 400. he main village expanded in the nineteenth century
