Orkney Neolithic Village History

Orkney Neolithic Sites

There are so many well preserved Neolithic and Viking sites on Orkney that there's not enough space here to write about them all. They range from the well organised famous Historic Scotland sites where an entrance fee usually means an exhibition or guided tour are also included, to a range of free entry sites and less well known private sites often accessible on footpaths. Historic Scotland produce useful guide books to help you interpret or remember what you've seen.

The main cluster of these historic sites are around Stenness as you head out of Stromness on the A965 then head north on the B9055. Here you'll first come across the three remaining Stones O'Stenness which together with the surrounding area including Maes Howe, Barnhouse Stone, the Watchstone on the main road, the Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae make up the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site.

If you're planning on visiting more than three of the Historic Scotland sites it's worth investing in the Explorer Pass which gives you access to several of their sites all over Orkney and saves you some money on individual entrance fees. The coach parties hit the Stones O'Stenness, Ring of Brodgar and particularly Skara Brae so timing your visit early or late in the day means you'll have some time to reflect away from the crowds.

The smaller privately owned sites in the area are also not included on many of the coach tour routes. Check the links right for more information on a range of sites.

Maes Howe Neolithic Chambered Tomb

Maes Howe is just off the A965 but you have to book onto a guided tour as visitor numbers are strictly controlled. Book at the 19th century Tormiston Mill opposite the main road from the tomb. There is an interpretive exhibition, examples of the old meal mill mechanisms, toilets, shop and cafe in the mill. The car park is small so it does get full quickly during peak times.

The tomb itself is well worth a visit. It is the finest chambered tomb in north-west Europe and is more than 5000 years old. However, due to marauding Vikings who are thought to have cleared out the tomb's contents, there is still a lot of uncertainty about its use and origins. Its age and construction are something to marvel especially as it's so intact, but the Viking graffiti and its meaning really does bring the history you'll hear about all over Orkney alive.

Photography is not allowed in the tomb but there is a helpful booklet that covers all the sites in the World Heritage Site area.

You can find out more about the history of Orkney and its inhabitants through the ages by visiting the Orkneyinga Centre in Ophir, just off the A964. This summarises some of the Orkneyinga Saga which was compiled between the 12th and 13th centuries by an Icelandic tribe. The Viking runes at Maeshowe make reference to characters mentioned in the Saga. Open 9am-5pm. Admission is free.

Cuween Hill Cairn - Ring of Brodgar - Skara Brae Neolithic Village Orkney

Another, perhaps less visited cairn, is Cuween Hill Cairn just along the main road towards Kirkwall at Finstown. You have to crawl through the low passage into the pitch black tomb. A torch is helpfully left available for visitors to use while visiting the cairn. This has a main central tomb with four chambers leading off that. Human bones and 24 dog skulls were found during excavation.

The Ring of Brodgar further up the B-Road from the Stones O'Stenness has a car park across the road from the site and there's a pleasant walk around some sweet-smelling fen, across the road and up to the heathland site where you can clearly see the ring of 27 stones that make up this stone circle. Their actual date is uncertain but it is believed they were erected between 2500 BC and 2000 BC and would originally have been made up of 60 megaliths. The RSPB own the land adjacent to the site and have cultivated this as a traditional hay meadow in which are a huge diversity of flowers, beautiful in the summer.

Continuing north and the signs for Skara Brae will eventually bring you to the most popular of the Neolithic sites. The Visitor Centre has a good exhibition on Skara Brae and there is a reconstructed dwelling that shows what an intact Neolithic village house would have looked like. Then you walk on down to the 5,000 year old Neolithic village itself that was revealed after a storm in 1850 blew off the turf that had covered it in the intervening years.

A guide is on hand if you have any questions and it is useful to consult them to get your head around what you're seeing. Some are obvious round houses with a hearth and tanks for fish. Others take a little more imagination, but all are linked by low passageways. It is incredible to think these have survived in such a good state up until the present day. Included in the entrance fee is access to Skaill House nearby which was home to the 7th Laird of Breckness who discovered Skara Brae in 1850. It has been preserved with many of the family's household items to give you an idea of how they would have lived. Skara Brae Visitor Centre Tel: 01856 841815. Open 1 April to 30 September Mon-Sun 9.30am-5.30pm. 1 October-31 March Mon-Sun 9.30am to 4.30pm.

Brough of Birsay, Broch of Gurness

On the north west coast of West Mainland are two other important Neolithic sites. The Brough of Birsay is a small island just offshore of the village of Birsay. This is a fun visit for all the family as to access it you have to walk over the shore across a causeway that is only accessible around low tide. The rocks here run in long lines to the sea and there are hundreds of rock pools to explore. You can check the tide times at Skara Brae tel 01856 841815, the Earl's Palace, Birsay 01856 721 205 or at Tourist Information Offices. This was once the centre of political and religious power in Orkney. Once over onto the island you can walk around the remains of a Pictish and Viking settlement. Most of what is visible is Norse that the Vikings built over the Pictish settlement.

The island is topped with a Stevenson lighthouse and it makes a pleasant walk around it with views out to sea and seabirds either nesting on the cliffs below or fishing on the open sea. If you make your visit in May/June the slopes of the island are pink and blue with sea thrift and spring squill.

Nearby in Birsay is St Magnus Church where the miraculous happening started that led to the canonisation of St Magnus and the ruined Earl's Palace another of the Stewarts stately homes that are more of a symbol of oppression to the Orkney people.

Over on the north east coast near Evie is the Broch of Gurness, often another haven from coach tours. This is set right beside the sea where you can spot seals bobbing about in the waves and get views of Rousay and Wyre islands. The site contains a broch and associated village that dates from around the 1st century AD. It was only discovered in 1929 when Robert Rendall was sketching the knowe and his stool sank into the grassy mound on which he sat. After removing some stones he found a spiral staircase leading down into the mound. The best view of the broch is from the east where you can see the broch from the long avenue up to the main entrance. It thought a community of around 40 families would have lived here.

Coastal Walks & Nature Reserves

Orkney is renowned for its excellent opportunities for bird watching either warders on the moor or seabirds on the cliffs. The Birsay Moors in the centre of the western part of Mainland, Marwick Head over on the west coast and Hobbister down east of Ophir are all RSPB reserves. More information is available from the link right. Marwick Head is excellent in spring and early summer to see all the nesting seabirds crowding the cliffs as well as the clifftop grassland flowers. The Loons and Loch of Banks is another marshland reserve nearby.

Yesnaby is another good place for coastal walks and where you can see some dramatic cliffs, geos and stacks as well as rare wildlife in the clifftop grassland such as the pretty white flower of grass of Parnassus or the extremely restricted Scottish primrose. You often see the bonxies, great skua, flying overhead. The views south are to Hoy and you can see the Old Man of Hoy on a clear day. The Atlantic crashing against the cliffs make this a dramatic walk any time of year.

There are also coastal walks around the headland from the Brough of Birsay along the Skiba Geo Footpath where there are some interesting geological features.