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Iron Age broch
Midhowe Broch
One of at least nine brochs on Eynhallow Sound, well preserved inside, with a water tank, fireplace and room partitions still visible.
A mini guide to
North Isles: Rousay, Westray & beyond: things to do
Places worth your time in North Isles: Rousay, Westray & beyond
Top places
Things to do in North Isles: Rousay, Westray & beyond
Landmarks, museums, parks and viewpoints in and around the area.
Neolithic tomb
Midhowe Chambered Cairn
The largest of Rousay's 15 chambered cairns, a stalled tomb inside a modern hangar, seen from raised walkways; at least 25 people were buried here.
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Neolithic tomb
Taversoe Tuick Chambered Cairn
Unusual Rousay cairn with two burial chambers, one above the other, and a third small chamber downhill.
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Neolithic tomb
Blackhammer Chambered Cairn
Stalled cairn about 5,000 years old with a long chamber divided into seven compartments; excavators found just two skeletons.
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Neolithic tomb
Knowe of Yarso Chambered Cairn
Hillside cairn where excavations in 1934 found the remains of at least 29 people and the bones of 36 red deer.
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Norse church
St Magnus Church, Egilsay
Roofless church of about 1136 on the island where Earl Magnus was killed; its round bell tower once stood nearly 20 metres high.
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Norse castle
Cubbie Roo's Castle and St Mary's Chapel
Ruined stone castle on Wyre that the Orkneyinga Saga says Kolbein Hruga built in 1145, with a small 1100s chapel nearby.
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Castle
Noltland Castle
Unfinished fortress-house on Westray built for Gilbert Balfour, master of Mary Queen of Scots' household; its walls have 71 gun holes.
Museum
Westray Heritage Centre
Accredited museum in Pierowall on Westray's history from the Neolithic to the Vikings, home of the Westray Wife; open daily May to September.
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Lighthouse
Noup Head Lighthouse
Lighthouse built by David A Stevenson in 1898 on Westray's north-west headland, above cliffs that hold thousands of seabirds.
Archaeological site
Links of Noltland
Large Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement on Westray's north coast, where the Westray Wife figurine was found in 2009.
Neolithic houses
Knap of Howar
Two linked stone houses on Papa Westray, lived in more than 5,000 years ago, with stone cupboards and stalls still in place.
Neolithic tomb
Holm of Papa Westray Chambered Cairn
Cairn about 5,000 years old on an uninhabited islet, with a 20-metre chamber entered by roof hatch and ladder; boat trips run from Papa Westray.
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Historic farm
Holland Farm
Laird's farm on Papa Westray built in the early 1800s, with a threshing barn, kiln, smithy, dovecote and the Bothy Museum.
Neolithic tomb
Quoyness Chambered Cairn
Sanday tomb about 5,000 years old, entered by crawling along a 9-metre passage into a central chamber still 4 metres high.
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Neolithic tomb
Vinquoy Chambered Cairn
Chambered cairn on Vinquoy Hill in the north of Eday, a scheduled monument.
Lighthouse
North Ronaldsay Lighthouse
Built in 1854 by David and Thomas Stevenson; at 139 feet it is the tallest land-based lighthouse tower in Britain.
Orkney
More areas to explore
12 sights · 22 places to eat
Kirkwall & central Mainland
Orkney's main town: St Magnus Cathedral, the palaces, the Orkney Museum and Neolithic tombs close by
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21 sights · 12 places to eat
Stromness & the West Mainland
Skara Brae, Maeshowe and the stone circles, Stromness harbour and the cliffs of Birsay and Yesnaby
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13 sights · 7 places to eat
Scapa Flow, the South Isles & Hoy
The Italian Chapel and Churchill Barriers, St Margaret's Hope, and Hoy's hills, Old Man and wartime Lyness
Open the mini guide →Photo credits
- North Isles: Rousay, Westray & beyond (area photo): MichaelMaggs, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Midhowe Broch: Bronwy Chomitz, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Midhowe Chambered Cairn: MichaelMaggs, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Taversoe Tuick Chambered Cairn: Stephen McKay, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Blackhammer Chambered Cairn: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Knowe of Yarso Chambered Cairn: MichaelMaggs, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- St Magnus Church, Egilsay: Otter at Dutch Wikipedia (Original text: Hopmans), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cubbie Roo's Castle and St Mary's Chapel: Bob Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Noltland Castle: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Westray Heritage Centre: Sandy Gerrard, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Noup Head Lighthouse: Use:JBellis~commonswiki, Public domain, source
- Links of Noltland: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Knap of Howar: Drew Corser, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Holm of Papa Westray Chambered Cairn: hayley green, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Holland Farm: Rob Burke, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Quoyness Chambered Cairn: Callum Black, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Vinquoy Chambered Cairn: Chris Downer, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- North Ronaldsay Lighthouse: John Tustin, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kirkwall & central Mainland: Robert Scarth, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Stromness & the West Mainland: Dr. John F. Burka, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Scapa Flow, the South Isles & Hoy: Gregory J Kingsley, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits
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