The Ring of Brodgar is a Neolithic henge and stone circle about 6 miles north-east of Stromness on Mainland, the largest island in Orkney, Scotland. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.
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.
The Standing Stones of Stenness is a Neolithic monument five miles northeast of Stromness on the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. This may be the oldest henge site in the British Isles. Various traditions associated with the stones survived into the modern era and they form part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. They are looked after by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.
The Neolithic Barnhouse Settlement is sited by the shore of Loch of Harray, Orkney Mainland, Scotland, not far from the Standing Stones of Stenness, about 5 miles north-east of Stromness.
Loch Ruthven is a large loch which lies to the southeast of Loch Ness in the Highland region of Scotland. It is 2.25 miles (3.62 km) long, extends over an area of 368 acres (149 ha) and is up to 42 feet (13 m) deep. The most important breeding site in the UK for Slavonian grebes, it has one of the highest populations of this species in Europe. These rare birds can also be found in several other local lochs. The RSPB has established a reserve at Loch Ruthven.
Stenness is a village and parish on the Orkney Mainland in Scotland. It contains several notable prehistoric monuments including the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar.
The Loch of Harray is the largest loch of Mainland Orkney, Scotland and is named for the parish of Harray. It lies immediately north of the Loch of Stenness and is close to the World Heritage neolithic sites of the Stones of Stenness and Ring of Brodgar. In Old Norse its name was Heraðvatn.
The Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological site covering 2.5 hectares between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site in Orkney, Scotland. Excavations at the site began in 2003. The site has provided evidence of decorated stone slabs, a stone wall 6 metres (20 ft) thick with foundations, and a large building described as a Neolithic temple. The earliest structures were built between 3,300 and 3,200 BC, and the site had been closed down and partly dismantled by 2,200 BC. It was the main subject of a 2016 BBC Scotland documentary, Britain’s Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney, presented by Neil Oliver, Chris Packham, Shini Somara, Andy Torbet and Doug Allan. For preservation, the site is closed during the winter months and covered in polyethylene plastic and tyres to protect it from the environment.
Hoy Sound is a body of salt water subject to tidal currents situated south of the town of Stromness in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland.
The Loch of Boardhouse is a freshwater loch in the parish of Birsay in the north west of the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. It acts as a reservoir for public water supply and is popular for trout fishing. Nearby are the Loch of Hundland and the Loch of Swannay.
The Loch of Bosquoy is a small, shallow, rhomboid shaped loch on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland situated just off the north east corner of the Loch of Harray. The loch was surveyed during 1903 by Sir John Murray and later charted as part of The Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland 1897–1909.
The Loch of Kirbister is a small, shallow, somewhat triangular shaped loch on Mainland Orkney, Scotland, in the parish of Orphir. It lies 5 mi (8.0 km) south west of Kirkwall on cultivated land between two hills. There is a small turf-covered islet known as the Groundwater of Holm just off the eastern shore of the loch. It shows traces in stone of an oval structure and small projecting pier. The loch is popular for trout fishing and the Orkney Trout Fishing Association has a hatchery at the Kirbister pumphouse on the loch edge.
The Loch of Skaill is a small somewhat triangular, freshwater loch in the parish of Sandwick, Orkney on Mainland Orkney, Scotland. It lies 0.5 mi (0.80 km) south east of the Bay of Skaill close to Skaill House and the World Heritage neolithic site Skara Brae.
Muckle Water is a long, narrow fresh water loch on Ward Hill on Rousay, Orkney, Scotland. It is the biggest loch on the island and is popular for fishing. It can be reached by a track from the roadside. The Suso Burn on the north eastern shore drains the loch into the Sound of Rousay.
The Loch of Hundland is a shallow freshwater loch in the parish of Birsay in the north west of the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. The loch lies between the larger lochs of Swannay and Boardhouse and acts as the main water catchment for Loch of Boardhouse. It has a great variety of aquatic plants including species that are unusual locally and nationally, and many types of birds including waders, gulls, larks and ducks that nest or use the loch. It is also popular for trout fishing.
The Loch of Swannay is the most northerly loch on the mainland of Orkney and lies within the parish of Birsay in the north west of the island. It is an elliptically shaped, freshwater loch and is close to the lochs of Hundland and Boardhouse. The grassland at the shore of the loch is the main feeding area for a wintering flock of rare Greenland white-fronted geese and the rare flat-stalked pondweed is found in the waters. Many varieties of birds use and nest in the loch including mute swans, skylarks, meadow pipits, twites, gulls and sedge warblers. It is also popular for trout fishing.
Hoglinns Water is a small freshwater loch in the south of the island of Hoy, Orkney. It drains in to Heldale Water via Hoglinns Burn. The loch was surveyed in 1906 by Sir John Murray and later charted as part of the Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland 1897-1909.
Hoy and West Mainland is a national scenic area (NSA) covering parts of the islands of Hoy and Mainland in the Orkney Islands of Scotland, as well as parts of the surrounding sea. It is one of 40 such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection by restricting certain forms of development. The Hoy and West Mainland NSA covers 24,407 ha in total, consisting of 16,479 ha of land with a further 7928 ha being marine.
