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Standing stones of Stennes

The imposing neolithic standing stones of Stennes are thought to have been erected between 3000 and 2500 BC. Twelve standing stones originally formed the stone circle at Stennes but only four remain today, the tallest of which is over 5.5 metres high. The Stennes stone circle was surrounded by a ditch 6 m wide and [...]

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Blast is Champion Beer

Highland brewery’s Orkney Blast is named CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Scotland 2010. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), has announced that Orkney Blast produced at the Highland brewery of Birsay,  has been crowned ‘Champion Beer of Scotland’ for 2010 at the Scottish Real Ale Festival. Orkney Blast, a 6% ABV strong bitter, is described in [...]

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Orkney Beef Cattle

Agriculture is one of the mainstays of the Orkney Islands and Orkney beef is renowned for it’s tenderness and full flavour. Cattle in this region need to be quite robust as Orkney summers are short, with temperatures often peaking around 18 or 19 degrees and from October, light is lost from around 3.00pm with sunrise [...]

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Stromness Parish church Barometer

Housed within a concrete and glass frame outside a church in Orkney, is a public barometer. Standing around 1m high and kept under lock and key the scientific equipment is an unusual sight to see amongst all the other street furniture. Incorporated into the boundary wall of Stromness Parish Church in Orkney the thermometer and [...]

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Kirkwall lifeboat

Officially established in 1972 ,the Kirkwall lifeboat station is a relatively recent addition to Scotland’s coastal rescue services. The first 30+ years have seen long and arduous rescues carried out to leisure craft, fishing vessels and larger commercial vessels. In 1988 The Arun class lifeboat, Mickie Salvesen was placed on service. A new mooring berth was [...]

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Groatie Hoose, Kirkwall

Within the high walls at the rear of Tankerness House, the home of the Orkney Museum, is the unusual building called the Groatie Hoose.

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Marwick Head

The clifftops of the western coast of Orkney are home to many sea birds and Marwick Head is one of the three RSPB nature reserves on the Orkney islands.

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Orkney Seal Rescue

Orkney is one of the most important breeding sites of two species of seal, the Common seal and the Grey seal. They are often found basking on many of Orkney’s shores and they face an array of environmental pressures in their struggle for survival. Seals are locally known as Selkies and legends which originated in [...]

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Arable farming on Orkney

The windswept lands of the Orkney Isles lend themselves to limited agricultural practices. Apart from the raising of beef cattle, the only arable crops likely to be grown in Orkney are Oats, Barley and Wheat.

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Kitchener Memorial, Marwick Head

A long, narrow grass footpath wends it’s way to the imposing stone Kitchener memorial at the top of the Marwick Cliffs on the West Mainland.

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