Orkney, also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north of the coast of Caithness and has about 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, the Mainland, has an area of 523 square kilometres (202 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. Orkney’s largest settlement, and also its administrative centre, is Kirkwall.
Kirkwall is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland.
The Mainland, also known as Hrossey and Pomona, is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections.
Westray is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a usual resident population of just under 600 people. Its main village is Pierowall, with a heritage centre, the 15th-century Lady Kirk church and pedestrian ferry service to nearby Papa Westray island. Westray has a number of archeological sites dating from 3500 BC, and remains of several Norse-Viking settlements. The spectacular sea cliffs around Noup Head are home to thousands of seabirds.
Papa Westray, also known as Papay, is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, United Kingdom. The fertile soil has long been a draw to the island.
St Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is the most northerly cathedral in the United Kingdom, a fine example of Romanesque architecture built for the bishops of Orkney when the islands were ruled by the Norse Earls of Orkney. It is owned not by the church, but by the burgh of Kirkwall as a result of an act of King James III of Scotland following Orkney's annexation by the Scottish Crown in 1468. It has its own dungeon.
The Bishop's Palace, Kirkwall is a 12th-century palace built at the same time as the adjacent St Magnus Cathedral in the centre of Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland. It housed the cathedral's first bishop, William the Old of the Norwegian Catholic church who took his authority from the Archbishop of Nidaros (Trondheim). The ruined structure now looks like a small castle.
The Bishop of Orkney was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Orkney, one of thirteen medieval bishoprics of Scotland. It included both Orkney and Shetland. It was based for almost all of its history at St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall.
Westray Airport is an airport at Aikerness, on Westray in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. It is best known for being one of the two airports joined by the shortest scheduled flight in the world, a leg of Loganair's inter-island service, to Papa Westray Airport. The distance is 2.8 km (1.7 mi) and the scheduled flight time, including taxiing, is two minutes. As well as the Papa Westray flights, services to the main Orkney town of Kirkwall are offered.
Papa Westray Airport is located 22 NM north of Kirkwall Airport on Papa Westray, Orkney Islands, Scotland. The facility is best known for being one of the two airports joined by the shortest scheduled flight in the world, a leg of Loganair's inter-island service, to Westray Airport. The distance is 2.8 km (1.7 mi) and the scheduled flight time, including taxiing, is two minutes.
Orkney Ferries is a Scottish company operating inter-island ferry services in the Orkney Islands.
Pierowall is a village of Westray in the Orkney Islands, off the coast of the northern Scottish mainland. The village is the island's largest settlement and lies near its northern end, around Pierowall Bay. It has a variety of historical remains dating from the Neolithic, the Iron Age, the Middle Ages, and later, including a large pagan Norse cemetery. In 1961 it had a population of 108.
MV Earl Sigurd is a Ro-Ro vehicle ferry operated by Orkney Ferries. It was built in 1989 by McTay Marine in Bromborough. It is normally used on Outer North Isles services, connecting Kirkwall with Eday, Sanday, Stronsay, Westray, Papay, and North Ronaldsay.
MV Varagen is a Ro-Ro vehicle ferry operated by Orkney Ferries.
Rapness is a settlement on the island of Westray in Orkney, Scotland. The slipway is the ferry terminal for the Orkney Ferries crossing from Kirkwall on the Mainland of Orkney and to/from the nearby island of Papa Westray. The B9066 road runs from Rapness to Pierowall.
The Loganair Westray to Papa Westray route is the shortest scheduled passenger flight in the world. Flights on the route are scheduled for one and a half minutes, and actual flying time is closer to one minute. The record for the fastest flight is 53 seconds. The route is flown by Loganair, a Scottish regional airline that serves Scotland's Highlands and islands. It is also part of a connector flight that links the island of Westray and the town of Kirkwall, the central and most populous town of the Orkney Islands.
Kirkwall Grammar School is a secondary school in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland. It was established in c. 1200. The current school building was opened in 2014.
The Orkney Museum, formerly Tankerness House Museum, is a history museum in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland. Run by Orkney Islands Council, the museum covers the history of the Orkney Islands from the Stone Age through the Picts and Vikings to the present day.
