We have visited here before and have had a similar amazing experience. The Cathedral is such a lovely place full of history and my partner has relatives buried here so we always come here to pay our respects. The church records staff are very helpful and the detached community centre hosts information sessions. Visit here if you are in Kirkwall.

St Magnus Cathedral is one of those places that quietly takes your breath away. The red sandstone is awesome, and the craftsmanship is just unreal considering it was built in the 1100s. You don’t need to be religious to feel the history here, it’s peaceful, solemn, and beautifully preserved. I loved wandering through the quiet corners and noticing the Viking touches in the architecture. If you are visiting Kirkwall this is absolutely worth your time.

We were staying in Kirkwall and walked easily to this. Cathedral was warm and peaceful inside, lots of interesting information and was in her for at least 45 minutes. Bet it looks especially lovely at Christmas 🎄 time. Photo hasn't come out but the orange and yellow circular stained glass window was mesmerising with the autumn sunlight streaming through it.

St Magnus Cathedral and cemetery in Kirkwall, Orkney. “The Riding of the Marches” the 2nd Sunday in Aug, horses & riders gather in front of the Cathedral. They ride through the streets of Kirkwall to carry a standard along the old boundary of the town. A wonderful event to see! A magnificent cemetery surrounds the cathedral. Several of my relatives are buried here, great to find their graves. It is worth the walk through the graveyard to see all the old gravestones. It is free to enter the Cathedral. They offer a wonderful tour of the upper floors of the Cathedral, you can see the bells and go to the top of the Bell tower, which offers a wonderful view over the whole town of Kirkwall. The tours are 15 pounds per person and only on Thursdays and Saturdays 11 AM and 2 PM. and space is limited. You can book the tour by phone only. If you haven’t booked and you just show up at the tour time and if there’s space you can join in. There are also ground level tours and graveyard tours.

A small,compact wonderful cathedral that was central to life in Kirkwall since been built in the 12th century and it still dominates the skyline 800yrs later . We took the Cathedral roof tour which is very recommended as you got an hour long tour right to the top of the bell tower by a very knowledgable guide who told us lots of history and fables about the cathedral while showing some of the relics that cant be put on display in the main body of the cathedral , we also got to go outside for some greast views over Kirkwall . The catghedral is a must visit when in the town and will leave a lasting impression .

This is a very unique Cathedral that's surrounded by 17th-19th century graves. Inside is beautiful and historic.

Incredible actually stunning and a complete surprise. The cathedral is huge inside and in great restored condition.

The Highland Park distillery has recently been reopened after a year long renovation. The tour is lovely and you get to see an actual working malting floor, which is quite rare to see in distilleries these days. Only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is because we paid for The Cask Strength experience, and I don't believe the value was worth the price. Half the whiskies we tried weren't available for purchase. In my opinion, you're better off getting the cheap tour and paying for fancy whisky to taste at the end. The tasting room IS pretty excellent, so it's worth doing the cheaper formal tasting.

I booked the early slot and was the only one there – so it was basically a private tour with Paul. His enthusiasm for the Highland Park Distillery was inspiring, and he explained everything in great detail. Special highlight✨: For those driving who can't do the tasting on-site, they kindly bottle the whisky samples to take away – this way, you can still enjoy all the variants later. Truly a nice service :) Felt completely welcome, comfortable the entire time and I can recommend the tour to everyone!

Great tour thanks to Sara, she was very helpful, informative and friendly. Her description of the whisky making up tasting really brought them alive. Plus thanks to Lee for the shuttle bus ride, again very friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble Overall one of the best distillery tours we have done, highly recommended.

Excellent distillery and what i drink at home. I drove around scotland and added orkney via ferry just for highland park. I did the archive experience which was the £300tour. The tour was excellent if you like experiences, if you just based on the alcohol maybe not so much. Tastings were the 18 yr, warehouse 12, freya, thor, light and dark. All samples were 15ml or 1/2 ounce. They do have a drivers kit (little sample bottle) so you can take them all with you if you’re driving. Tour also came with a rocks glass and a signed Britain in a bottle guide book.

Amazing tour of this distillery. Staff are amazing and did everything they could to include me as part of the group even though I was using my wheelchair. Very friendly and very knowledgeable but was explained in a way everyone could understand and not all technical talk. Overall I can’t recommend this highly enough. We did the first level tour but it was amazing. Definitely worth it

We booked a very interesting tour of the distillery and were very impressed by the guided tour and subsequent tasting. Unfortunately, we couldn't buy any pins as they were out of stock :-) We then stocked up on some exclusive whiskeys in the shop. Special service: Our tour guide drove us to the city center so we could get back to our accommodation!

Wow what a place and what a tour. We are given the history of the land and how long they've been in service. We learned about how they processed all their food and how they did everything and it was quite spectacular to see the hundreds of barrels of whiskey waiting to be consumed and bottled. The tasting we did was definitely worth the price. We had some incredible spirits. We enjoyed our guide. He took us through the whole property and then at the end we were give it an opportunity to buy some limited edition. Whiskeys. Definitely give yourself an hour check to place out. You will definitely love it

This is a must visit museum, it is well laid out friendly and very interesting, the whole of Orkney's history is there to see and read amazing artifacts and relics from archaeology digs from all over the island.

A wonderful educational and esthetic tour of history, culture of Orkney. From stone age through Picts to Roman times. Many extraordinary items. Well worth your time.

A highly recommended and free way to spend a few hours in a wonderfully eclectic building highlighting Orkneys history from 5000 yrs ago right up to the present day , from prehistoric man to the vikings to the medieval earls to WW2 and to the oil industry of the 20th century each exhibit is beautifully laid out and described in detail with loads to see , hear and in the case of Ragna you can interact with a viking from a 1000yrs ago

Really lovely museum. Free to enter but they do suggest a £5 donation wjchbis well worth it anyway. Some amazing exhibits showing Orkney life from the begging to the present. Well set out and good information on everything. Definitely go if your in town

Fantastic place. Lovely friendly staff had time to chat and explained about the history of exhibits. Incredible Bronze age, Iron age and Viking artifacts. All in a beautiful building with lovely old floorboards. Wanted to see the Pierowall Viking sword. Saw it... wasn't disappointed. Well worth a visit, and see all Orkney history still alive and telling it's story.

It is like a Tardis! There are many floors in many buildings, all connected and all of which are amazing historic buildings. They allowed my assistance dog, but normal dogs are not allowed. FREE! they ask for a donation. Great staff and very good gift shop, but a very pricey! Well worth more than one visit!

Good exhibition about neolithic remains and also local information. Half-day toilets and access to the pretty gardens behind. Look out for display about the ba' game.

Interesting place if relatively minimally interpreted, so quite a quick experience. Good view from top of bishop's palce in cathedral

had a quick tour round both palaces after buying tickets from the knowledgable guide in his wee box,not much info boards in place but plenty of places to take great pics most of which didnt come out for me because tech issues so heres a few taken from the top of St Magnus

We had a good time visiting the palaces which span across a street, with the Bishop’s on one side of the road, and the Earl’s on the other. You buy your tickets from the little hut on the Earl’s side, further away from the cathedral. Only a 5 minute walk from the center and town, this is a fun spot to walk around, and you can see a variety of rooms and learn how they were used centuries ago.

Amazing historic place, not too many turists around and you can take amazing photos.

Located by the St. Magnus Cathedral, this large but in ruins castle, is waiting for you to explore! You explore most areas of the castle, including climbing the winding steps of the partially standing tower. Parking is a bit limited on the road. There is an admission fee. Bathrooms are a couple of blocks down the street in City Hall.

This was our first historical stop on Orkney. We were able to pick up or Discovery Pass here. The person that was working at the ticket office was exceptionally helpful and gave us the full run down on his recommendations for the short two days that we would be on Orkney. The castles themselves were interesting because we were able to explore all of it - no ropes or “no-go” zones - the entire place is open for exploration. We spent about an hour here. Very much recommend a visit!

The buildings are very interesting, but it was closed when i got there. You can view them from outside but i would have enjoyed to go inside and have a look around. Be aware of the season and the open times, and phone ahead.

Fabulous museum on the wonderful world of wireless & all it’s different forms. From handsets over the years to ship radios & beyond. Just brilliant.

We walked in just to take a break from the rain, but it ended up being one of the highlights of our trip. The passion of the staff was truly amazing - he could talk about these electronics in so much detail and with such enthusiasm, it was truly a pleasure. Now I was too young or non-existent when many of the items here were popular, but there were loads of ones that would be exciting to learn about, as well as some more recent ones that triggered a trip down memory lane. This was easily our favourite experience in Kirkwall and I would strongly recommend you visit it if you're even remotely into electronics.

Small but very interesting, and the volunteers that run it have interesting stories to tell about the museum and the local history.

What a wonderful quirky yet fascinating museum - entry by donation. It places wireless and radio into the local context from early radio to wartime uses in the many sites you see on a trip round the isles. Volunteer curator was so happy to discuss and explain the ancient radios interspersed with grandchildren’s heavy metal music. Brought it to life fabulously. Popped in while girls went shopping and was dragged out an hour later! Brilliant place to visit with children if weathers unkind

A charming space. My late father was involved with Lancaster bombers so he would have seen the radio transmitter set-up on display in the museum. I loved this museum.

If you’re into Radio, this is one of the best places in the world to visit. Early radio as well as World War II stuff. They used to have a ham radio station on site but unfortunately right now.

Very interesting to see how radio has advanced through the years only donations asked for

Booked Helgi's on Saturday night. The bar was very busy, but the lass caught our eye and checked our booking confirmation 👍 she then advised that table eleven was upstairs. Within a couple of minutes, we had a member of staff taking our drinks order, and they were brought to our table within 5 minutes she then took our food 🍽 & wine 🍷 order and about ten minutes later our food 🍽 & wine 🍷 were on our table.. I had the chicken 🐔 curry 🍛 and my wife had the steak sandwich 🥪 and chips 🍟 both dishes were well presented hot and delicious 😋 so much so that I'd eaten the chicken 🐔 curry 🍛 before I could take a pic 📸. Staff were very warm, welcoming, friendly, polite, and attentive....all in all we had a great experience.

We had a nice meal at Helgi's during our visit to Orkney and couldn't recommend it enough. I easily booked online (it gets full quick!). Service was fast, the staff were lovely without being overbearing, the food was fantastic and portions were BIG. The prices were also very fair for how much food you get. Added bonus is that there's free parking outside on the street or multiple free car parks nearby.

Had an absolutely delicious meal here! The burgers were huge and the haggis loaded fries absolutely delicious! Lovely location right on the front too.

Very cozy pub with an awesome viking-ambience! The beer was great, the staff super nice and the dishes surprisingly good! We came back for a total of 3 times during our stay on Orkney and would have gladly done so again, if it wasn‘t for the ferry …

Ok Good things first , the food was great , starter and mains were cooked perfectly and beautifully presented , we had a window table upstairs so it was nice and quiet and had a lovely view over the harbour, unfortunately the service was terrible and considering how good it was in every cafe and restaurant we went into in our week on Orkney this was almost certainly an off day for the young lad who served us .He was surly and monosyllabic and didnt have the happy face you saw elsewhere in Kirkwall, almost impossible to know what he was muttering we followed him upstairs and then never saw him again for 20mins , we went down stairs to get a drink order raised and remind them they had customers upstairs , meal and drinks arrived and we enjoyed that but even though the lad was in the room serving others not once were we asked how it was or if we needed new drinks , just basic hospitality stuff , eventually we had to go downstairs to the bar to pay the bill as we werent going to get a second drink and thats a shame as the bar is quite cosy and it was our first night in Kirkwall but our waiter made the decisiion to go back to the bnb easier than it should have been ,all in all hopefully it was an off night from the staff as the food is really good

Nice place close to ferry terminal. Good choice of local beers from the tap/pump. I did not have chance to try food as they were fully booked so I sat by the bar. To avoid dissapointment I would suggest to reserve table in advance.

We visited Helgi’s for some traditional Scottish pub food. The haggis fries were the standout, rich and flavorful. The haggis burger was hearty, and the fish and chips were fresh and crisp. They also offered homemade desserts for takeaway, which was great! The beer selection was to be expected, with enough variety. The atmosphere was comfortable, albeit a little plain, again as expected in a sleepy harbour town in Orkney. Overall, Helgi’s is a solid choice in Kirkwall with excellent haggis fries and solid dishes.

We spent the weekend in Kirkwall. Naturally, we had to visit the Scapa distillery. I must admit that I had never tried Scapa whisky before. I was not disappointed! The tour and tasting experience were fantastic. The tasting room is the most beautiful I have ever seen. I don't think it could be bettered. Unfortunately, we couldn't take a bottle with us as we were only flying with hand luggage. Thank you very much for the insight and the excellent whisky.

Did The Scapa Experience tour. Well worth money, William our tour guide was knowledgeable, quick with a joke and happy to answer questions. Whisky tasting was great, got to taste a wide variety of Skapa whiskies, all of which were fantastic. Distillery is in a beautiful location, would recommend walking round to the Scapa beach to get a picturesque view of the distillery. Would definitely visit again!

Great tour, took the hour and fifteen minutes - guide was knowledgeable and friendly! End of tour sampling was 10, 11 and 12 year old with small bottles so drivers can take samples away. Would definitely recommend.

Calle gave us a tour. It was very informative and fun. All the staff at the distillery were great and very friendly. Was impressed by the whiskey and even more by the distiller, specially the new addition “the noust” which is their new tasting room.

The Orcadian visit was a beautiful experience.The welcome from the team of three gentlemen was very pleasant. We did the whole tour with Jim. A great guy from the Orkneys! The explanations were so interesting that time flew by and we didn't look at our watches once. Our 19-year-old daughter followed us around the whole tour. Our 16-year-old daughter joined us later at the magnificent location of The Noust. With its breathtaking view and warm atmosphere, we wanted to stay there forever. Jim is attentive and shared his knowledge of the Orkneys with us. The entire tour was very interesting. We started with the barrel warehouse, the mill, and the distillery. The whiskey tasting was very well organized. The aromas and flavors were both exceptionally delicate and powerful. For newcomers, men, women, and lovers of excellent unpeated whiskeys, this is the place to discover! Thank you, Jim! See ya in 2 years !!

visited about 2 weeks ago. there were varied interests in our group of friends and some were not interested in whisky. Glenlivet has a very nice sitting area with comfy couches, so those in the group( including the all important wives ) who were not in for the tour could sit, chit chat and have a drink( of the non alcoholic kind ). intangible but made for a most relaxed and amazing tour for those of us who signed up for it.

Had a fantastic experience at Scapa Distillery, made even more memorable by our guide, Willy. His passion for whisky and deep knowledge of Scapa’s unique heritage truly brought the tour to life. Willy’s storytelling, warm personality, and ability to answer every question with insight and enthusiasm made the visit both educational and enjoyable. You could tell he genuinely loves what he does—and it shows. Thanks, Willy, for making our time at Scapa so special!

This lovely restaurant is part of the Foveran Hotel. The spacious dining room is beautifully decorated with comfortable, modern furniture accompanied by a gorgeous view overlooking the bay. The food was absolutely delicious and service wonderful. Staff were really lovely. Highly recommend eating here and probably staying here too when in this part of the world. 👍👍👍

A beautiful location with great views, formal-but-friendly service and top quality local produce, prepared and presented with real care. We had starters of scallops and also Cullen Skink - the skink was the winner, the scallops were a bit bland. Main courses were seafood risotto (best) and lamb in a redcurrant gravy. City-dweller tourists take note: this is a very good traditional restaurant with a kind-of eighties quality-hotel vibe. The flavours are more rich and saucy and French influenced than I'm used to - I generally lean toward the Mediterranean. I would have liked to see more fish (grilled), more salad and more vegetarian. But The Foveran delivers excellent food in a great setting with courtesy and smiles and it's easy to understand why it has the reputation of being Orkney's best

The view is amazing. Love that they make you meal a experience instead of rushing you through dinner. Nice menu.... Ordered the steak that was way over the mid rare that was ordered but the view and service made up for it..... It's Orkney, enjoy the laid back quite the island has to offer

We are so glad we stayed here. It was only 10 minutes drive out of town and had wonderful views. The staff were so helpful and thoughtful. The restaurant served an excellent variety of meals and all were a high standard and this was complimented with a good wine selection and beer selection. I would highly recommend the experience.

Gorgeous views over the bay. We got some drinks once we arrived and sat in the lounge to order the food. I asked for a window spot when booking and by the time we got seated, there were some available due to the late time slot we booked - however, they left them unoccupied which seemed a bit odd. Anyway, the views are great on the tables in the „second row“ too! The food was excellent and creative, the starters are rather small portions (£15 for 2 scallops seems overpriced, knowing the local fish prices). The service was friendly and fast. Sometimes even too fast, we would have liked a bit more of a break between starter and main. All in all, I would recommend this restaurant due to its views and food!

We had heard good reports about the food here, and when passing in the early evening, we tried our luck for a free table, and were pleasantly surprised at being given a lovely window table looking out to Scapa Flow. The service was friendly and efficient. And the food was delicious. The local scallops were wonderful, and the slow-cooked lamb shoulder was one of the best lamb dishes I've had. The drinks choice was extensive but we were cycling, so just sampled the excellent house wines.

Fine dining with top notch service, wonderful food and drink and amazing views. The restaurant decor looks very fancy but although the service was excellent, it was very approachable, not stuffy. If you are looking for a special meal in Orkney, you cant go wrong with the Foveran.

Quiet. Order drinks online, they are brought to covered, open air tables. Portacabin toilets. Its ok.

I went when it was very quiet, but the bar staff were friendly and the atmosphere cosy.

Found by chance as Distillery was closing but glad we did. Food was lovely, quick service, good atmosphere,

Nice place Tastey pint Staff ok, could have been more cheerful and welcoming but other than that, I enjoyed it and will be back

Cute space behind the distillery. Lovely folks inside and service.

Great selection of drinks, cocktails are AMAZING. Dont have a long wait time

An amazing night was had. Great staff and atmosphere

Food was not tasty and average experience, Waiter was rude he told us that and I quote "you know we close at 2pm right?" "Chef will leave soon" etc. NO MANNERS OR SERVICE QUALITY

Booked last minute after considering a takeaway, the four of us had a warm welcome & were shown our table. A basket of prawn crackers as good as we've had were waiting. Starters & main meals all arrived with calm efficiency & tasted great. There was no rushing, exemplary manners and service, & sensible pricing. Drops a star for atmosphere as it was quiet, but plenty were picking up takeaways (and it was a Tuesday evening). If we were here another week, we'd definitely be back.

It’s not the best place for traditional Chinese food, but it’s quite a good place. Even though the food wasn’t the best, the workers, atmosphere and service was the best we’ve ever had. It is also really ( when I say really, I mean REALLY ) clean and has very good WiFi. Very cheap!👍

A good British Chinese restaurant, serving British Chinese food. Lovely rib-sticky saucy food which comes in Man v Food portions. Unfortunately, on this occasion, food won. Solid.

Food we had was very good. Service - waiter was efficient with everything we asked for. Atmosphere was marked as a 3 as we were only people in the restaurant at that time.

Absolutely beautiful food, well presented and truly tasty - the staff are friendly, proffesional and accomodating - definitely will be visiting again! Xx

Had a delicious meal (family of 4). Very quick service, friendly staff and nice restaurant