Stromness
Orkney's second-largest town, with a flagstone main street winding along the harbour, old houses clustered around the piers, and the ferry port for Hoy and the Scottish mainland.
Stromness was a supply port for Hudson's Bay Company and whaling ships in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its narrow flagstone main street runs along the harbour for about 1.5 km, and the stone houses on either side each have their own small pier behind them. The town has the Pier Arts Centre, the Stromness Museum, and cafés, and it is good for a half-day of leisurely wandering. The North Link ferry sails from here to Scrabster near Thurso on the mainland, and passenger boats run to Hoy. It is about 25 km from Kirkwall.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Pier Arts Centre
- Stromness Museum
- Unstan Chambered Cairn
- Ring of Brodgar
- Dwarfie Stane
- Yesnaby
- Skaill House
- Standing Stones of Stenness