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Chapel
Italian Chapel
Two Nissen huts turned into an ornate chapel by Domenico Chiocchetti and fellow Italian prisoners of war who built the Churchill Barriers.
A mini guide to
Scapa Flow, the South Isles & Hoy: things to do
Places worth your time in Scapa Flow, the South Isles & Hoy
Top places
Things to do in Scapa Flow, the South Isles & Hoy
Landmarks, museums, parks and viewpoints in and around the area.
Wartime causeways
Churchill Barriers
Four causeways, 2.3 km in all, built from 1940 to 1944 to guard Scapa Flow and open as roads since May 1945.
Museum
Orkney Fossil and Heritage Centre
Orkney fossils and geology going back 350 million years, at Burray; the museum reopens around Easter 2027 and the Relic Cafe stays open.
Directions Website Report a problem with Orkney Fossil and Heritage Centre
Village
St Margaret's Hope
Village of about 550 people on South Ronaldsay, Orkney's third-largest settlement and the Pentland Ferries port.
Neolithic tomb
Tomb of the Eagles
Clifftop tomb on South Ronaldsay found by farmer Ronnie Simison; the community-owned site and visitor centre are closed until 2027.
Museum
Scapa Flow Museum
Museum in the former naval base at Lyness on Hoy telling Orkney's part in both world wars, with more than 250 artefacts.
Sea stack
Old Man of Hoy
Old Red Sandstone sea stack 137 metres high near Rackwick Bay, one of the tallest in the UK; first climbed in 1966.
Rock-cut tomb
Dwarfie Stane
Tomb hollowed out of one huge block of sandstone, with a passage and two small cells; graffiti outside includes Persian script dated 1850.
Crofting township
Rackwick
Small crofting township on the north-west coast of Hoy, close to the Old Man of Hoy.
Hill
Ward Hill
At 481 metres the highest point in Orkney and the Northern Isles, rising between Moaness and Rackwick on Hoy.
Napoleonic fort
Hackness Martello Tower and Battery
Battery and Martello tower on South Walls, built in the Napoleonic Wars to protect merchant ships; closed in autumn and winter.
Directions Website Report a problem with Hackness Martello Tower and Battery
Grave
Betty Corrigall's grave
Lonely grave on Hoy of a woman buried unmarked after her suicide; her body was found 150 years later.
Lighthouse
Cantick Head Lighthouse
Active 19th-century lighthouse at the end of Cantick Head on South Walls, overlooking the Pentland Firth and the Sound of Hoxa.
Orkney
More areas to explore
17 sights · 5 places to eat
North Isles: Rousay, Westray & beyond
Rousay's tombs, Westray's castle and cliffs, the Knap of Howar and the lighthouses of the outer isles
Open the mini guide →
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
Open the mini guide →
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
Open the mini guide →Photo credits
- Scapa Flow, the South Isles & Hoy (area photo): Gregory J Kingsley, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Italian Chapel: Mike Pennington, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Churchill Barriers: Bewahrerderwerte, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Orkney Fossil and Heritage Centre: N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- St Margaret's Hope: Bob Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tomb of the Eagles: Hayley Green, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Scapa Flow Museum: Richard Harvey, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Old Man of Hoy: Anne Burgess, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Dwarfie Stane: Grovel at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Rackwick: Rob Burke, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ward Hill: Original uploader was Grinner at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hackness Martello Tower and Battery: Ian Bruce, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Betty Corrigall's grave: Chris Downer, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cantick Head Lighthouse: Calum McRoberts, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- North Isles: Rousay, Westray & beyond: MichaelMaggs, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits
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