UK & IRELAND ORKNEY DESTINATIONS
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Brodgar RIGHT:
Stromness harbour
FAR RIGHT:
Lynnfield Hotel BELOW:
Skara Brae
SAMPLE PRODUCT
Shearings has a six-night Orkney Explorer tour, which includes four nights’ accommodation in Kirkwall and trips to sites such as Skara Brae and the Churchill Barriers. The tour includes flights to Inverness and ferry transfer to Orkney, from £1,254 per person. shearingsagent. com
McKinlay Kidd offers a three- night Orkney fly-drive option, including flights from Glasgow or Edinburgh, car
hire, an Explorer Pass, and B&B accommodation. Prices start at £545 per person. mckinlaykidd. com
18 October 2018
travelweekly.co.uk 59
w STAY: SMALL SCALE Orkney isn’t big on chain properties, so don’t expect to see many (or any) familiar names among the listings. Instead the focus is on independent places, many of them long-standing and traditional, with sizes ranging from cottages or B&Bs to hotels with about 40 rooms. Stromness is arguably the more
attractive of the two main settlements, and has some decent options. The 38- room Stromness Hotel overlooks the harbour, while the 10-room Royal Hotel is a short walk along a cobbled street. Both are set in period buildings, and have a bar and restaurant. The same is true of the atmospheric 12-room Ferry Inn, which is the best pub in town. Towards Kirkwall, meanwhile, one of the standouts is the 10-room Lynnfield Hotel, a four-star stay with a country-house feel, while the eight- room Foveran nearby bills itself as a “restaurant with rooms” – its smart
The weeks either side of the summer solstice have a special magic to them, when the islands have an otherworldly quality
accommodation complements the excellent, local-produce menu nicely. On the island of Burray, the Sands
Hotel was once a herring store but now offers eight four-star rooms and suites. Those looking to stay on Westray, meanwhile, can consider the six-room, three-star Pierowall Hotel or, for somewhere with a touch more character, the three-room Chalmersquoy B&B. Here, as elsewhere, the generous Orcadian breakfasts are unlikely to leave you underfed.
It’s worth noting that there is good- quality self-catering accommodation on most of the inhabited islands.
w SELL: SUMMER LOVIN’ If clients want to see the islands at their best, it makes sense to avoid the wet, windy winters. The period between Easter and the end of autumn is the most attractive – although, Britain being what it is, it makes sense to pack both sunglasses and waterproofs regardless of the season. The weeks either side of the summer
solstice have a special magic to them, partly because of the pagan traditions associated with the neolithic sites and partly because, on a sunny day, the beauty of the islands has an almost otherworldly quality. In terms of reaching the islands, flying is the most logical approach for many travellers. Loganair, Flybe and British Airways are the key carriers. There are regular flights to Kirkwall
PICTURES: VISITSCOTLAND/COLIN KELDIE, KENNY LAM
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