Orkney - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 358

Holm of Papa
To arrange a boat Community Co-operative • T 01857 644321
If you're here for more than a day, it's worth considering renting a boat to take you over
to the Holm of Papa , an islet of the east coast. Despite its tiny size, the Holm boasts
several Neolithic chambered cairns, one of which, occupying the highest point, is
extremely impressive. Descending into the tomb via a ladder, you enter the main
rectangular chamber, which is nearly 70ft in length, with no fewer than twelve
side-cells, each with its own lintelled entrance.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE PAPA WESTRAY

By plane You can fly direct from Kirkwall to Papa Westray
(Mon-Sat 2-3 daily, 1 on Sun; 25min) for a special return
fare of £21 if you stay overnight. Papay is also connected to
Westray by the world's shortest scheduled flight (Mon-Sat
1 daily) - 2min in duration, or less with a following wind.
By ferry Papay is an easy day-trip from Westray, with a
passenger ferry service from Gill Pier in Pierowall (3-6
daily; 25min), which also takes bicycles.

Car ferries On Tuesdays, the car ferry goes from Kirkwall
to Papa Westray via North Ronaldsay, which means it takes
over four hours; on Fridays, the car ferry from Kirkwall to
Westray continues on to Papa Westray; at other times, you
have to catch a bus to connect with the Papa Westray ferry
from Pierowall. The bus should be booked ahead, while on
the Westray ferry ( T 01857 677758); it accepts a limited
number of bicycles.

7

GETTING AROUND AND INFORMATION
By minibus Papay's Community Co-operative ( T 01857
644321) has a minibus, which will take you from the pier
to wherever you want on the island on request, and can

arrange a “Peedie Package” tour including lunch (Wed & Sat;
£30) - you can even do it from Kirkwall as a 12hr day-trip.
Tourist information W papawestray.co.uk.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Beltane House T 01857 644224, W papawestray.co
.uk. The island Co-op offers B&B, a two-room, sixteen-bed
hostel, a place to camp, and a shop, all housed within the
old estate-workers' cottages at Beltane, east of Holland

House. Beltane House opens its “bar cupboard” every
Saturday night from 9pm, wi th b ar meal s availa ble - a
great wa y to meet the locals. £70 ; hostel £13.50 /person;
camping £5 /person

Eday
A long, thin island at the centre of Orkney's northern isles, Eday shares more characteristics
with Rousay and Hoy than with its immediate neighbours, dominated as it is by
heather-covered upland, with farmland confined to a narrow strip of coastal ground.
However, Eday's hills have proved useful in their own way, providing huge quantities of
peat, which has been exported to other peatless northern isles for fuel, and was even, for
a time, exported to various whisky distillers. Eday's yellow sandstone has also been
extensively quarried, and was used to build the St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.
Eday is sparsely inhabited, with a population of around 160, the majority of them
incomers, and there's no main village as such; the island post office, petrol pump and
community shop all cluster in Hammerhill. The ferry terminal is at the south end of
the island, whereas the chief points of interest (and most of the amenities) are all in
the northern half, about four miles away. The name Eday comes from the Norse for
“isthmus” and, indeed, the island is almost divided in two by its thin waist. On either
side are sandy bays, between which lies the airfield (known as London Airport). To the
south, around Flaughton Hill (328ft), there's a large breeding population of whimbrels.

Eday Heritage Centre and HMS Otter
April-Oct daily 9am-6pm; Nov-March Sun 10am-5pm • Free • T 01857 622263
Eday Heritage Centre , in an old Baptist chapel a mile north of the island's airport, has
historical displays on Eday, with information on the island's tidal energy testing centre