Scotland: Highlights of Orkney and Shetland 543

We depart from our designated departure points and travel to Aberdeen where we board the Serco NorthLink Ferry (Hrossey or Hjaltland) overnight sailing to Lerwick (departs 19.00hrs). Once on board we shall check in to our comfortable, twin-berth cabins which all have en-suite facilities. The ship has a delightful restaurant, where dinner is served this evening, together with a bar and lounges where you can relax. There is also a well-stocked gift shop for souvenir shopping or essential items.

Our ship is due to arrive in Lerwick at 07.30hrs. After breakfast on board (available from 07.15hrs) we will leave the ship and commence our tour of Shetland. Our first stop is in Scalloway, the former capital of Shetland, where we visit the ruined castle built in 1600 by the infamous Earl Patrick Stewart. As we continue north towards the spectacular cliffs of Eshaness, look out for the ‘Otters Crossing’ sign at the narrow isthmus known as Mavis Grind, where it is said to be possible to throw a stone from the North Sea to the Atlantic. Later we will transfer to our comfortable accommodation where dinner will be served in the evening.

Today we will start with a visit to the outstanding Prehistoric and Norse Settlement of Jarlshof, with over three acres of remains, spanning 3,000 years since the days of the Stone Age, including oval-shaped Bronze Age houses, Iron Age broch and wheel houses, Viking long houses and medieval farmhouses. From there we travel to the southern tip of mainland Shetland, Sumburgh Head, where the North Sea on the east meets the Atlantic Ocean on the west. Here we visit the RSPB Reserve, which is home to thousands of seabirds, including puffins, guillemots and razorbills. In the afternoon we travel through small communities such as Gulberwick and Cunningsburgh before we explore the island’s capital town of Lerwick, where we have some free time and an opportunity to visit the state of the art Shetland Museum for more detail on this special set of islands. We will rejoin our ship, which sails at 17.30 hours for Orkney. Dinner is served on board. On arrival in Orkney (expected 23.00hrs) we will transfer the short distance to Kirkwall to our accommodation at the Kirkwall Hotel.

After breakfast today we have an all-day excursion of mainland Orkney visiting the many archaeological sites including the great stone circles of Brodgar and Stenness, which lie to the north side of the Orphir Hills. To this day the monuments’ ages remain uncertain, however they are generally thought to have been erected between 2500 BC & 2000 BC. We continue to Maeshowe, the finest chambered tomb in Western Europe. Built before 2700 BC, Maeshowe was raided by Vikings in the 12th century. It houses the largest collection of runic inscriptions to be found in any one place in the world. A visit to Skara Brae is also included, with its new visitor’s centre depicting the history of this world-famous monument. Dinner will be served at the hotel in the evening.

Today we will have some free time to explore Kirkwall and its environs at leisure. Places of interest include St. Magnus Cathedral, one of Europe’s greatest architectural masterpieces, its red and yellow sandstone still vibrant after 886 years, and the adjacent Bishop’s Palace. Spend some time shopping and enjoy lunch (not included). In the afternoon, we will depart on a tour of the south end of mainland Orkney, crossing the Churchill Barriers which were built after the sinking of HMS Royal Oak in October 1939. The causeways are built of five and ten ton concrete blocks and have good roads on the top connecting Burray and South Ronaldsay to the Orkney mainland. We also stop off at the beautiful Italian Chapel, built on the site of a former prisoner of war camp. Several hundred Italians, captured during the North African campaign of World War II, were sent here to work on the Causeways and converted two huts into a chapel. The marvellous paintings in the interior were done by Domenico Chiocchetti, one of the prisoners who returned several times to restore and repaint parts of the building. We return to our hotel, where dinner is served this evening.

After breakfast today we check out of the hotel and transfer to Stromness where we will board the late morning Northlink ferry to Scrabster. On arrival we will then begin our journey back to our original pick-up points, where we expect to arrive in the late afternoon-early evening.