A friend and I drove up in mid-Sept 2015 and were damn lucky. It was almost hilariously windy with a good swell when making an evening crossing from Scrabster to Stromness. Once there, the rain was horizontal and the wettest I've ever known.

Come the next morning it was blue skies and sunny all day and we managed to drive around and see many of the sites. We also had a night on Westray, but had to go as foot passengers as it was full of vehicles (only a tiny ferry). The crossing back to the main island the next day is the best boat ride I've ever had. We sat on the floor with our legs dangling over the side and watched the sky and sea changing. It was like a giant kaleidoscope of blues, whites and greys. Beautiful.

Still, I'm quite hardcore. Just been to Tromsø ;-)