Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By bus
A minibus usually meets the ferry and will take folk
over to Rackwick or further afield. A Hoy Hopper bus service
(mid-May to mid-Sept Wed-Fri only), which departs from
Kirkwall, also calls at Moaness.
ACCOMMODATION
Burnside Bothy
T
01856 791316.
You can camp in the
dry-stone wall field beside this beautiful but basic heather-
thatched bothy by the beach - toilets,
cold water and
a
driftwood fire available inside the bothy.
Donations box
Hoy Centre
T
01856 873535 ext 2417.
A council-run,
SYHA-a
liated hostel in an old school. Situated in Hoy
village, this place is large and modern, with a well
equipped kitch
en, w
ashing and drying facilities and all
rooms en suite.
£17
/person
Rackwick Outdoor Centre
T
01856 873535 ext 2417.
April-Sept. Housed in Rackwick's tiny little former
schoolhouse, this simple hostel has just eight beds in two
rooms and a small kitchen, but has a gr
eat situ
ation in
Rackwick village itself - camping permitted.
£13.50
/person
EATING AND DRINKING
Beneth'ill Café
T
01856 791119.
Friendly, simple
café, a short walk from Moaness pier, offering Cullen
skink, fresh local crab, home-made puddings and proper
coffee - they'll even do you a packed lunch and an
evening
meal
on
a
Friday.
May-Sept
daily
15
10am-6.30pm
.
Lyness
Along the sheltered eastern shore of Hoy, high moorland gives way to a gentler
environment. Hoy defines the western boundary of Scapa Flow, and
LYNESS
played a
major role for the Royal Navy during both world wars. Many of the old wartime buildings
have been cleared away over the last few decades, but the harbour and hills around Lyness
are still scarred with the scattered remains of concrete structures that once served as
hangars and storehouses during World War II, and are now used as barns and cowsheds.
Lyness also has a large
naval cemetery
, where many of the victims of the various disasters
that have occurred in the Flow now lie, alongside a handful of German graves.
Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum
May-Sept Mon-Sat 9am-4.30pm, Sun open according to ferry; March, April & Oct Mon-Fri 9am-4.30pm • Free •
T
01856 791300 •
W
scapaflow.co.uk
he old oil pump house, standing opposite Lyness ferry terminal, has been turned into
the
Scapa Flow Visitor Centre
, giving a fascinating insight into wartime Orkney - even the
café
has an old NAAFI feel about it. As well as the usual old photos, torpedoes, flags,
guns and propellers, there's a paratrooper's folding bicycle, and a whole section devoted to
the 1919 scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet and the 1939 sinking of the
Royal Oak
.
he pump house also retains much of its old equipment used to pump oil off tankers into
sixteen tanks, and into underground reservoirs cut into the neighbouring hillside.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
LYNESS
By ferry
The roll-on/roll-off car ferry to/from Houton on
the Mainland (Mon-Fri 6 daily, Sat & Sun 2-5 daily;
35min-1hr;
T
01856 811397), sometimes calls in at the
oil terminal island of Flotta, and begins and ends its daily
schedule at Longhope.
ACCOMMODATION
Ì
Wild Heather B&B
T
01856 791098,
W
wildheatherbandb.co.uk.
The most outstanding
accommodation on Hoy lies just beyond the naval
cemetery. It's a converted mill with just two en-suite
rooms, both with sea views and a
lov
ely breakfast
conservatory; evening meals on request.
£65
ENTERTAINMENT
Gable End Theatre
W
hoyorkney.com/getco.html.
Established in the old North Walls school buildings, this
community-run theatre (with its own wind turbine)
shows regular films and puts on the occasional theatre
piece and music gig - check their Facebook page for the
latest information.
