Walking on Orkney

Orkney is the perfect destination for a Slower Adventure and this tour allows you to explore the Orcadian culture, eventful Viking heritage, remarkable standing stones, and natural beauty at a comfortable pace. To fully appreciate its Scottish yet Scandinavian feel, there should be no rush. We have chosen a selection of walks that we know you’re going to love with plenty of opportunities for side visits. Linger long enough for great wildlife encounters and to take in the view before tucking into a hearty homecooked meal at your comfortable accommodation.

Slower Adventures | Where walking and cycling meet easy-going exploring, our Slower Adventures are the perfect combination. Most days are filled with picturesque journeys with some free time to dive into the destination and experience the people, local food and culture as you go.

Multi Centre Walking | With a mix of loop and point-to-point walks stay 2 or 3 nights in one place which offers the chance to slow down and really explore a destination.

Solo Travellers

As a guide, we would suggest that the minimum age of traveler this tour would be suitable for is: 16 Years

This trip is graded easy to moderate. The trails include daily distances of around 5 to 9km (3 to 6 mi) and it is generally a low-level (albeit undulating) walk with elevation levels never exceeding 250m. The walks are gentle and manageable and can be completed at your own pace. If you would like to increase your distances, this is possible and transfers can be eliminated, please read “Choice of Walks” below.

The routes follow a combination of footpaths, coastal trails, and tracks through open fields, and occasionally you'll walk along quiet country roads in rural Orkney. Some walks take in clifftop paths and therefore this trip isn't suitable for those with severe vertigo. You could tailor the trip to avoid these sections or walk off the path further from the clifftop if your vertigo is less severe, speak to one of our specialists if you have any questions.

If you are thinking of travelling solo, please consider that mobile phone coverage may be patchy along remote sections of the trail.

This route is suitable for most regular walkers of average fitness. You should train by walking some daily walks of similar daily distances to your planned itinerary.

You will be spending three nights in Stromness and two nights in Kirkwall. We have carefully selected 3-4* boutique hotels and comfortable B&B's that we know you're going to love. You can expect a warm welcome from friendly hosts, a good night's rest, traditional hospitality, and delicious breakfasts.

Single Rooms & Solo Walkers

This holiday is available to solo walkers and if you require single rooms within your party we will try our best to accommodate your request (subject to availability).

Meals

Breakfast is included each morning while lunch and dinner are not included so you are free to choose from the available options. Your accommodation may be able to provide a packed lunch on request, otherwise, there are some small supermarkets/delis where you can buy lunch and snacks for your walks. Dinner is not included so you are free to choose from the available options each night. Staying in central locations means that you are never far from local restaurants and bars. One of the highlights of this trip is the fantastic food and drink on offer. Some of our favourites include dressed Orkney crab, Cullen Skink (Scottish fish soup), smoked mackerel, Bere Bannocks (a thick scone that is unique to Orkney), and meats from North Ronaldsay (the most northerly of the isles, where a flock of rare sheep thrives on a diet of seaweed).

Extra Nights

Many of our guests choose to add extra nights and these can be added at the time of booking.

The walks are partially waymarked and easy to follow. Navigation is straightforward as you can use the Macs Adventure Smartphone App which has maps, GPS tracks, Points of Interest, and daily route information. Simply download the GPS tracks for offline use and follow the route on your phone with the assurance that navigation will be simple, and you can’t get lost.

You will find more information on downloading the app in your Macs Adventure Account.

This walking holiday is best enjoyed between early April and mid-October. Orkney has a cool temperate climate and being an island in the far north you can expect to experience changeable weather from sunshine to windy days and rain.

In our opinion, one of the most beautiful times to visit is in spring when colourful wildflowers bloom forming a beautiful contrast with the landscape. Travel between April and early August to be in the best chance of seeing puffins on the Isle of Westray. July and August are the busiest months and accommodations tend to fill up fast. At this time of year, Orkney enjoys the longest hours of daylight in Scotland! For a quieter experience, the ideal months are May/June and September. We recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment, especially when travelling in a group.

Isle of Westray guided day tour: keep in mind that this excursion is dictated by the ferry timetable between Kirkwall and the Isle of Westray. Therefore, it is not possible to start this holiday on a Tuesday or Wednesday in 2023 as this will coincide with the day tour falling on a Saturday or Sunday respectively. Unfortunately, the tour isn't possible on these dates due to a limited ferry timetable. In addition to this, if you are thinking of starting your holiday on a Friday, your guided tour will fall on a Tuesday. The ferry leaves Kirkwall even earlier on this day than other weekdays (7 am) and returns to Kirkwall 3 hours earlier, meaning the guided day tour becomes a half-day tour. The tour can still go ahead, depending on your preference. Please speak to our Destination & Adventure Specialists if you have any questions about this. 

Orkney is remote yet very accessible and can be reached by plane to Kirkwall, or by ferry to Stromness. There are no direct international flights to Kirkwall Airport so we recommend flying from Glasgow (duration: 1h15m), Edinburgh (duration: 1h15m), Aberdeen (duration: 50m), or Inverness (duration: 45m). The flights to Orkney are typically in small planes with few passengers with Loganair, a Scottish regional airline.

If you would like to travel from Kirkwall Airport to Stromness by public transport, you can use the island bus service. The local bus takes you from the airport into Kirkwall (duration: 10 min), then Stromness (duration: 30 min). If you would prefer getting a taxi transfer from Kirkwall Airport to your accommodation in Stromness we can organize this for you. Please speak to one of our specialists if this is of interest.

If you are planning on traveling to Orkney by ferry to Stromness, NorthLink Ferries operates services between Aberdeen and Kirkwall (duration: 6h) and between Scrabster and Stromness (duration: 1h30m).

Your baggage will be transferred from your accommodation in Stromness to Kirkwall on Day 4 so it can be moved onto your next overnight accommodation. You won't need to carry more than a day bag on your walks. We ask you to limit your luggage to one bag of up to 20 kg per person.

At Macs Adventure, we work in partnership with many luggage transfer providers who set a limit on how many bags/suitcases they will transfer per person, and also the weight of the bag/suitcase.  Your booking includes a transfer of 1 bag per person. It is important that you read the luggage information specific to your tour before departure. If you do not adhere to these limits, there is a great possibility that you will be charged locally both for extra bags or if they are too heavy. This limitation can be a challenge, especially as airlines generally have limits that are higher. However, our luggage providers have reasons for these limits (usually due to the Health and Safety of their employees), which we must respect.