Orkney and Shetland

Scotland's northern isles feel closer to Scandinavia than to Edinburgh, and in Shetland's case they are. Orkney is green, gentle and full of prehistoric sites. Shetland, much further north, is wilder, with huge seabird cliffs and summer nights that never quite get dark.

Last checked 11 November 2026. Timetables, prices and opening dates change: check the operator before you travel.

Getting to Orkney

Loganair flies to Kirkwall from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness. Times are approximate; check the operators for current timetables.

Orkney

The Heart of Neolithic Orkney is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: a group of monuments around the lochs of Stenness and Harray built about 5,000 years ago.

• Skara Brae (HES), a Neolithic village of stone houses with stone furniture, uncovered by a storm in 1850. Book ahead in summer, especially on days when cruise ships are in Kirkwall.
• The Ring of Brodgar, a great stone circle on a strip of land between two lochs. Free and open at all times.
• The Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ness of Brodgar excavation nearby.
• Maeshowe (HES), a chambered tomb whose passage is lit by the setting sun around the winter solstice. Visits are by guided tour only and have been affected by closures at times; check HES and book ahead.
• St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, a red sandstone cathedral founded in 1137.
• The Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm, built by Italian prisoners of war from two Nissen huts, next to the Churchill Barriers.
• Yesnaby cliffs and the tidal Brough of Birsay, which can be reached on foot only around low tide. Check tide times.
• Two whisky distilleries, Highland Park and Scapa, near Kirkwall.

Three or four days is a good stay. Orkney combines well with a trip along the north coast.

Getting to Shetland

NorthLink runs an overnight ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick, about 12 to 14 hours depending on whether it calls at Kirkwall. Cabins sell out in summer. Loganair flies to Sumburgh from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Kirkwall, about 1 hour 30 minutes from Edinburgh or Glasgow.

Shetland

Shetland is about 100 miles long and made up of more than a hundred islands, of which around 16 are inhabited. No point is more than three miles from the sea. Shetland Islands Council runs small inter-island ferries to Yell, Unst, Whalsay and others.

• Lerwick, the main town, with a good museum at Hay's Dock.
• Jarlshof, near Sumburgh, a site with layers of settlement from the Bronze Age to the Norse period.
• Sumburgh Head RSPB reserve, where puffins nest by the lighthouse from about late April to early August.
• Mousa Broch, the best-preserved Iron Age broch in Scotland, reached by a seasonal boat. Night trips in summer show storm petrels returning to nest in the walls.
• Eshaness, volcanic sea cliffs and stacks in the north-west.
• St Ninian's Isle, joined to the mainland by a sand tombolo.
• Hermaness on Unst, the northernmost part of the UK, with huge gannet colonies and great skuas.

In June, Shetland has around 19 hours of daylight and a long twilight locals call the "simmer dim". In winter, days are very short, but the northern lights are sometimes seen. Up Helly Aa, Lerwick's fire festival, takes place on the last Tuesday of January.

Allow at least four days for Shetland, more if you want to reach Unst.