List of Orkney islands

Orkney islands map

This is a list of Orkney islands in Scotland. The Orkney archipelago is located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) north of mainland Scotland and comprises over 70 islands and skerries, of which 20 are permanently inhabited. In addition to the Orkney Mainland there are three groups of islands. The North and South Isles lie respectively north and south of Mainland. The Pentland Skerries are a group of small islands in the Pentland Firth, a dangerous stretch of water between mainland Scotland and the larger islands of Orkney, through which run the strongest tidal streams in Britain. ^[1] The Island of Stroma is often mistakenly included with the Orkney Islands, but is part of Caithness.

The definition of an island used in this list is that it is 'land that is surrounded by seawater on a daily basis, but not necessarily at all stages of the tide, excluding human devices such as bridges and causeways'. ^[2] There are four islands joined to the Orkney Mainland by a series of causeways known as the Churchill Barriers. They are South Ronaldsay, Burray, Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm. In addition, Hunda is connected to Burray by a causeway. ^[3] The barriers were constructed by Italian prisoners-of-war as a means of preventing enemy submarine access to the vast natural harbour of Scapa Flow after the sinking of HMS Royal Oak by a German U-boat in 1939 with the loss of 883 lives. The Italian prisoners constructed a small Roman Catholic chapel on Lamb Holm as a place of worship during their incarceration. ^[4]

Most of the islands have a bedrock formed from Old Red Sandstone, which is about 400 million years old, and was laid down in the Devonian period. ^[5] The islands have good agricultural qualities and have been continuously inhabited for thousands of years, ^[6] as evidenced by the World Heritage Site of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney. The archipelago is exposed to wind and tide, and there are numerous lighthouses as an aid to navigation. ^[7] The European Marine Energy Centre, which is located at Stromness, is currently testing various wave and tidal energy devices from Billia Croo on the Mainland and Eday. ^[8] The islands all fall within the Orkney Islands Council area. Most of the larger islands have development trusts that support the local economy. ^{[9] [10]}

The total population of Orkney increased from 19,245 in 2001 to 21,349 at the time of the 2011 census ^[11] and was 21,958 in 2022. ^[12]

Main list

Ward Hill, Hoy

This is a list of islands with an area greater than 15 hectares (approximately 37 acres) or which are inhabited. Records for the last date of settlement for the smaller uninhabited islands are incomplete, but all of the islands listed here would have been inhabited at some point during the Neolithic, Pictish or Norse periods.

'Ward Hill' or a variant thereof is very common as the name of the highest point on the island. These locations are named after those high places used for the lighting of warning beacons. ^[13]

Bishop's Palace, Kirkwall, Mainland.

Start Point lighthouse, Sanday

Midhowe Broch, Rousay

Westray Skiffs racing in the Bay of Pierowall

Island	Group	Area (ha) [14]	Population [15]	Last inhabited [16]	Highest point [17]	Height (m) [18]
Auskerry	North Isles	85	2		West Hill	18
Brough of Birsay	Mainland	16 [19]	0	unknown	Brough Head	42
Burray	South Isles	903	445			80
Calf of Eday	North Isles	243	0	unknown		54
Calf of Flotta	South Isles	16 [19]	0	unknown		16
Cava	South Isles	107	0	1993		38
Copinsay	South Isles	73	0	1970s	Broad Lee	70
Damsay	North Isles	18 [20]	0	unknown		11
Eday	North Isles	2,745	102		Ward Hill	101
Egilsay	North Isles	650	17			35
Eynhallow	North Isles	75	0	1842–90		30
Fara	South Isles	295	0	1960s	Thomson's Hill	43
Faray	North Isles	180	0	1940s		32
Flotta	South Isles	876	77		West Hill	58
Gairsay	North Isles	240	6			102
Glimps Holm	South Isles	55	0	unknown		32
Graemsay	South Isles	409	21		West Hill	62
Helliar Holm	North Isles	35 [19]	0	1967		28
Holm of Faray	North Isles	27 [19]	0	unknown		19
Holm of Grimbister	North Isles	16 [19]	2			8
Holm of Huip	North Isles	24 [19]	0	unknown		18
Holm of Papa	North Isles	21 [19]	0	unknown		15
Holm of Scockness	North Isles	22 [19]	0	unknown		18
Hoy	South Isles	13,468 [20]	392 [21]		Ward Hill	479
Hunda	South Isles	100	0	unknown		41
Lamb Holm	South Isles	40	See below	1945		20
Linga Holm	North Isles	57	0	1842–90		18
Muckle Green Holm	North Isles	28 [19]	0	unknown		28
Muckle Skerry	Pentland Skerries	34 [19]	0	1994		20
North Ronaldsay	North Isles	690	59			23
Orkney Mainland	Mainland	52,325	17,779		Mid Hill	271
Papa Stronsay	North Isles	74	9			13
Papa Westray	North Isles	918	95		North Hill	48
Rousay	North Isles	4,860	236		Blotchnie Fiold	250
Rysa Little	South Isles	33 [19]	0	19th century [22]		20
Sanday	North Isles	5,043	491		The Wart	65
Shapinsay	North Isles	2,948	299		Ward Hill	64
South Ronaldsay	South Isles	4,980	984		Ward Hill	118
South Walls	South Isles	1,100 [19]	See Hoy [21]		Gallow Tuag	57
Start Point	North Isles	24	0	unknown	Mount Misery	8
Stronsay	North Isles	3,275	321		Burgh Hill	44
Switha	South Isles	41	0	20th century? [23]		29
Sweyn Holm	North Isles	17 [19]	0	unknown		15
Swona	South Isles	92	0	1974	Warbister Hill	41
Westray	North Isles	4,713	566		Fitty Hill	169
Wyre	North Isles	311	8			32

The population of the tidal islet of Holm of Grimbister was not recorded by the 2001 census, ^[24] although it was inhabited in 2010 and probably earlier. ^[25] It did appear in the 2011 tables ^[11] and again in 2022.

The population of Inner Holm in 2011 was one ^[11] but it was not recorded as inhabited in 2022. ^[15]

Lamb Holm was "included in the NRS statistical geography for inhabited islands but had no usual residents at the time of either the 2001 or 2011 censuses". ^[11]

Papa Stronsay had usually resident population of 10 in 2001 ^[24] but was apparently not permanently inhabited in 2011. ^[11]

Smaller islets and skerries

The Old Man of Hoy

Saeva Ness Lighthouse, Helliar Holm

This is a continuing list of uninhabited smaller Orkney islands (many of which are called "Holm" from the Old Norse holmr, meaning a small and rounded islet), ^[26] tidal islets only separated at higher stages of the tide, or skerries which are only exposed at lower stages of the tide.

In the vicinity of:

• Auskerry: Lunga Skerries, Oessen Skerry, The Clett.
• Calf of Eday: Lashy Skerries, The Bow.
• Cava: Barrel of Butter.
• Copinsay: Black Holm, Corn Holm, Horse of Copinsay, Scarf Skerry, Sow Skerry, Ward Holm.
• Eday: Green Holm, Red Holm, Rusk Holm.
• Egilsay: Kili Holm.
• Eynhallow: Sheep Skerry.
• Gairsay: Holm of Boray, Holm of Rendall, Little Seal Skerry, Skertours, Taing Skerry.
• Glimps Holm: Dulse Skerry, Glimpsholm Skerry.
• Graemsay: Middle Skerry, Skerry of Cletts, Sour Skerry, Sow Skerry.
• Hoy: Grassy Cletts, Inner Skerry, Middle Skerry, Old Man of Hoy, Outer Skerry, The Needle.
• Mainland: Bo Skerry, Bow Skerries, Braga, Brough of Bigging, Holm of Houton, Holm of Rendall, Iceland Skerry, Inner Holm, Kirk Rocks, Little Skerry, Mirkady Point, Nevi Skerry, Outer Holm, Oyster Skerries, Puldrite Skerry, Quanterness Skerry, Scare Gun, Seal Skerry, Skaill Skerries, Skerries of Clestrain, Skerries of Coubister, Skerries of Lakequoy, Skerry of Work, Skerry of Yinstay, Smoogro Skerry, Thieves Holm, Whyabatten, Yesnaby Castle.
• Muckle Skerry: Clettack Skerry, Little Skerry, Louther Skerry.
• North Ronaldsay: Altars of Linnay, Green Skerry, Hoe Skerries, Reefdyke, Seal Skerry.
• Papa Stronsay: Jack's Hole, Jack's Reef.
• Papa Westray: Cairn Head, Muckle Quoy.
• Rousay: Little Brig, Muckle Brig.
• Sanday: Baa Gruna,
• Shapinsay: Broad Shoal, Grass Holm, Skerry of Vasa.
• Stronsay: Holms of Spurness, Ingale Skerry, Little Linga, The Bow.
• Swona: Selki Skerry, South Clett, The Tails of the Tarff, West Wini Skerry.
• Westray: Holm of Aikerness, Shell Holm, Skea Skerries, Wart Holm.
• Wyre: Wyre Skerries.

The remote islets of Sule Skerry and Sule Stack, which lie 37 miles (60 km) west of the archipelago form part of Orkney for local government purposes.

See also

• Scottish Islands portal
• Scotland portal
• Islands portal

• List of places in Orkney
• List of Shetland islands
• List of Outer Hebrides
• List of islands of Scotland
• List of the largest islands in the North Sea

References and footnotes

General references

• Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN   978-1-84195-454-7.
• General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003) Scotland's Census 2001 – Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands . Retrieved 26 February 2012.

• National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland's Inhabited Islands" (PDF). Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland Release 1C (Part Two) (PDF) (Report). SG/2013/126. Retrieved 14 August 2020.

• Omand, Donald (ed.) (2003) The Orkney Book. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN   1-84158-254-9

Specific references and notes

1. Lawrence, Martin (2003) The Yachtsman's Pilot: North and East Scotland. St Ives. Imray, Laurie, Norie and Wilson, p. 108.
2. Various other definitions are used in the Scottish context. For example the General Register Office for Scotland defined an island as 'a mass of land surrounded by water, separate from the Scottish mainland' but although they included islands linked by bridges etc. this is not clear from this definition. Haswell-Smith (2004) uses "an Island is a piece of land or group of pieces of land which is entirely surrounded by water at Lowest Astronomical Tide and to which there is no permanent means of dry access". This is widely agreed to be unhelpful as it consciously excludes bridged islands.
3. Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm are also occasionally referred to as 'Lambholm' and 'Glimsholm'. See for example Wenham, Sheena "The South Isles", in Omand (2003) p. 210.
4. Wenham, Sheena "Modern Times" in Omand (2003) pp. 108-9.
5. McKirdy, Alan Gordon, John & Crofts, Roger (2007) Land of Mountain and Flood: The Geology and Landforms of Scotland. Edinburgh. Birlinn.
6. "Walk in Scotland: Orkney and Shetland" Archived 21 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine Visit Scotland. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
7. "Lighthouse Library" Archived 3 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
8. "EMEC Orkney" Archived 27 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine European Marine Energy Centre. Retrieved 3 February 2007.
9. "Directory of Members' Archived 2010-07-19 at the Wayback Machine DTA Scotland. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
10. "Orkney Communities are doing it for themselves" Archived 2015-12-27 at the Wayback Machine (23 August 2007 et seq) Orkney Today. Retrieved 15 September 2007.
11. National Records of Scotland (2013)
12. “Local Authority: Orkney Islands”. Scotland’s Census. Scottish Government. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
13. "Orkney Placenames - natural elements" Archived 16 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine Orkneyjar. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
14. Haswell-Smith (2004) Scottish Islands save those indicated with a separate footnote.
15. "Scottish Islands Data Dashboard". RESAS/Scottish Government. 2025. p. 6. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
16. For uninhabited islands indicates the last known date of permanent, year round settlement. Information is from Haswell-Smith (2004) Scottish Islands save those indicated with a separate footnote.
17. Haswell-Smith (2004) Scottish Islands and Ordnance Survey maps.
18. Ordnance Survey maps. Note that the maps mark the height above sea level of a high point on most islands, but in a small number of cases, this may not be the highest point.
19. Rick Livingstone’s Tables of the Islands of Scotland Archived 29 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine (pdf) Argyll Yacht Charters. Retrieved 12 Dec 2011.
20. An estimate based on Ordnance Survey maps.
21. Neither the 2001, 2011 nor 2022 censuses list South Walls as an island, but include the population total in Hoy.
22. Wenham, Sheena "The South Isles" in Omand (2003) p. 208.
23. Haswell-Smith (2004) maintains there is no written record of any post-Neolithic habitation, although Sheena Wenham ("The South Isles" in Omand (2003) p. 208) states the island supported a community "into the 20th century".
24. General Register Office for Scotland (2003)
25. Ross, Calum (3 Mar 2010) "Tory candidate pulls out of race for city seat at general election". Press and Journal. Aberdeen. Retrieved 26 Feb 2012.
26. Waugh, Doreen J., "Orkney Place-names" in Omand, (2003) p. 119.