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CianMcLiam wrote: Hi folks, I'm going to Orkney for four days this Spring and would be interested in your experiences on places to stay. Kirkwall or Stromness? Somewhere else entirely? Also, if I hire a car at the airport, what's the best way to see one or two of the islands? Bike hire? Thanks for any pearls of wisdom! We went in 2014 and stayed at the Ferry Inn in Stromness. We usually let a house when we go on holiday, but we decided to give the pub a go because we wanted to be in the town and it was convenient for meals (and drinks!). The Ferry Inn was comfortable enough, no frills, but they do have the occasional band on so if you're looking for total peace and quiet maybe consider a house let or b&b. After poring over maps and reading up about Orkney beforehand Stromness seemed the ideal base as it was closer to all the monuments at the ness and skara brae etc than Kirkwall and also good if you want to get the ferry over to hoy. You're probably right, a bike would be a good idea! I was doing some recording while I was there and it was easier for me to be on that side of the mainland. We'd taken a car up with us so I can't advise on public transport, but I'd advise hiring a car if you do stay in Stromness and want to get down to South Ronaldsay to see the tomb of the eagles or banks (the latter I strongly advise visiting). Having the car made getting to the monuments very easy, I imagine it'd be a struggle to get round to a lot of them without one (Wideford for example), but not impossible. We went to Kirkwall on one of the days and had a nice meal there in the evening. It's much bigger than Stromness, more shops etc and definitely worth a visit. I suppose it depends on your priorities but I'd advise Stromness as the best option simply because of it's proximity to the ness (brodgar, maes howe, stenness, unstan, barnhouse etc). It meant that we drove past those monuments many times on trips out and therefore saw them in all sorts of light and weather. Great for photography. I remember we were driving back to Stromness one afternoon and when we got to near the ness there was a fog rolling in over the ring of brodgar, but the sun was also shining brightly, illuminating it. i'd never seen anything like it in my life. Brodgar was shrouded in some sort of otherworldly glowing mist, it was a bit of a 'moment'! I stopped the car and got out and just stood there taking it all in. Will never forget that. Wherever you stay you can't go too wrong, and i'm sure you'll have a fantastic time. Orkney really is a magical place. ps. Check out the Hamnavoe in Stromness, we had a really lovely meal there. A tiny little place tucked away up a side street. Make sure you phone ahead as it gets booked up quickly. Reply | with quote |  10th February 2017ce 00:18 In reply to: Best base for Orkney trip? (CianMcLiam) |
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