I.

Introduction

Orkney Islands, archipelago and island administrative region, Scotland, comprising some 90 islands and islets located 32 km (20 mi) off the north-east coast of the Scottish mainland, and bounded on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by the North Sea, and on the south by the Pentland Firth. The Orkney Islands local government administrative area is coterminous with the archipelago, and was established under the Scottish local government reforms of 1975. It has an area of 972 sq km (375 sq mi). The administrative centre and largest town is Kirkwall, on Mainland (or Pomona).

The islands are treeless, low lying, and the 18 that are inhabited are given over to agriculture. The islands to the west have rocky shores, the others have sandy shores. Mainland is the largest of the islands. Other major islands are Hoy, Sanday, Westray, Stronsay, and South Ronaldsay.

II.

Land and Resources

With the exception of a small granite area near Stromness, on Mainland, the islands are formed from old red sandstone rich in rare fossils. Glacial erosion has left low, undulating hills covered in glacial deposits. Through long cultivation, wet peaty soils have been transformed into fertile agricultural land. Hoy is the only hilly island; the highest of its heather-clad uplands is Ward Hill (477 m/1,565 ft). Caithness and Fair Isle can be seen from there. St John's Head is 347 m (1,140 ft) high, and is reputed to be the highest sheer cliff in Great Britain. The Old Man of Hoy is a 137 m (450 ft) stack of sandstone. Skuas and other seabirds abound and seals are prevalent.

The climate of Orkney is moderate relative to its latitude. Temperatures are modified by the warm Gulf Stream. Winters are comparatively mild and the summers cool. Strong westerly gales are frequent. Average annual rainfall is 940 mm (37 in).

III.

Population and Administration

The population of the Orkney Islands is about 19,245 (2001). The inhabitants are of partly Scots and partly Scandinavian descent, and few speak Gaelic. Kirkwall (population, 1991, 6,469) is the largest town as well as the administrative centre for the islands. It is also the seat of the sheriff court. Kirkwall has a strong resemblance to Norwegian towns, with its narrow streets of thick-walled houses with small windows and stepped gables; its cathedral is similar to that of Trondheim. The port of Stromness (1991, 1,890), also on Mainland, is the other major settlement and is the main ferry terminal for services to the Scottish mainland.

Orkney is administered by an all-purpose unitary authority, the Orkney Islands Council, which was established under the local government reforms implemented in 1975. The council was not affected by the administrative changes implemented on April 1, 1996, under the Local Government Etc. (Scotland) Bill 1994, which introduced a unitary system of local government to the Scottish mainland.

IV.

Places of Interest

The islands are a paradise for birdwatchers, and anglers come to fish for brown trout in Orkney’s lochs. Many mountain climbers also visit; the Old Man of Hoy is a particular challenge. Tourist visitors also come to see the abundant archaeological remains. Two of the best known are the Stone Age village of Skara Brae and the chambered great cairn of Maes Howe, which dates from 2700 bc. An exhibition of 4,000 years of life on Orkney is housed at the museum in Kirkwall. Many of the islands have brochs, or ancient Pictish stone towers. On North Ronaldsay the local sheep feed on seaweed on the beach; a dry-stone dyke runs around the island, preventing the sheep straying from the beach to the land.

V.

Economy

Traditionally, the economy has relied on agriculture, with beefstock rearing and dairying, fishing, boatbuilding, distilling, knitwear, and crafts. To these have been added servicing the oil industry. The Flotta oil pipeline landfall and tanker terminal in Scapa Flow was opened in 1977. Tourism plays a growing part in the economy.

Mainland is linked to Burray and South Ronaldsay by causeways. These were constructed during World War II to prevent enemy submarines entering the naval base of Scapa Flow. The principal means of access to Orkney is by car ferry to Stromness from Scrabster, near Thurso on the Scottish mainland; it takes two hours. Ferries also run from Aberdeen. There are also inter-island connections. There is an air service between Kirkwall and mainland Scotland.

VI.

History

The islands appear to have been in continuous habitation since the Stone Age. The Neolithic monuments of Maes Howe, Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar, and the Stones of Stenness were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. In the same year, a Bronze Age underground chamber with 29 well-preserved stone steps was excavated at Minehowe. In addition to the numerous prehistoric remains, parts of a Viking settlement and a medieval monastery have been found. Overrun by the Vikings towards the end of the 8th century, Orkney was under Norwegian and then Danish control until the 15th century. Coexisting with Irish missionaries from the beginning of this time, the Vikings began to be converted to Christianity much later; St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall was built in the 12th century. In 1472 the islands came under Scottish control (as did the Shetland Islands) through the marriage of James III of Scotland to Princess Margaret of Denmark. The islands were involved in both World Wars, when the sheltered waters of Scapa Flow were used as a naval base. In 1919 the German navy scuttled its ships that had been held there since the end of the war; in 1939 a German U-boat sank the British battleship Royal Oak that was anchored there. Since the late 1970s the pipeline landfall from the Piper and Claymore oilfield complex has been a major source of employment in the Orkneys. A new oil area was opened up north-west of Orkney in the mid-1990s; oil from the field at Fionaven, is brought to the Flotta terminal by shuttle tanker—the terminal handles around 10 per cent of the United Kingdom’s offshore oil production.