Walking the Orkney Coastal Path in Small Stages

By Watching Seals and Otters Along the Orkney Shore
Comments 35
27 Jul 2026

Walking the Orkney Coastal Path in Small Stages

Why Orkney Rewards the Slow Walker

Orkney has around 500 miles of coastline spread across some seventy islands, and the walking along it is some of the finest in Britain. On a map, the archipelago looks as though it could be trotted round in a fortnight. In practice, the weather, the ferries and the sheer number of things worth stopping for make that a silly ambition. The coast path here is not a route to be conquered; it is a string of excellent afternoons.

The ground is rarely technical. Expect grassy clifftop paths, sheep-trodden turf, the occasional boggy patch, a few stiles and a great deal of standing still. What makes a walk demanding is the wind rather than the terrain. Ten to twelve kilometres makes a satisfying day; six to eight makes a generous half-day. Break the coastline into stages of that size and you gain time for a slow breakfast, an hour in a museum, a soak in a bath and a pint before dark.

Base Yourself Well: Guest Houses as Walking Hubs

A good guest house is the single most useful piece of kit you can pack for an Orkney walking holiday. The best ones offer a drying room, a packed lunch if you ask the night before, flasks filled at breakfast, and a host who knows precisely which stretch of coast is sheltered when the wind swings round to the north-west.

Stromness suits the west Mainland, with the coast path beginning more or less at the harbour. Kirkwall works better for the east, and for ferries north to Rousay, Westray and Sanday. Staying three or four nights in one place beats moving every morning; you unpack once, learn the lanes, and let the forecast decide your direction. Many hosts will happily run you to a start point or collect you at the end of a linear stretch, which turns a logistically awkward section into an easy day.

Five Stretches That Work as Half-Days

Stromness to Yesnaby, via Warebeth — around eight kilometres of flagstone paths, geos and wave-cut platforms. The sea stacks at Yesnaby, including the hollow-spired Yesnaby Castle, are worth the last climb. Return the same way or arrange a lift.
Yesnaby to the Bay of Skaill — six or seven kilometres south past the Hole o' Row, dropping to the beach and the stone-age village at Skara Brae. Fulmars ride the updraught the whole way.
Marwick Head and the Brough of Birsay — a cliff-top path through a seabird reserve to the Kitchener memorial, then on to Birsay. The tidal causeway to the Brough is crossable roughly two to three hours either side of low water, so check the tables before you set out.
Mull Head, Deerness — a six-kilometre circuit on grassy clifftop, with the Gloup memorial and plenty of hauled-out seals. Easy underfoot and pleasant even in a stiff westerly.
Hoy: Rackwick to the Old Man — five or six kilometres each way, steep in places, beneath 350-metre cliffs. Rough, exposed and unforgettable. Boots are essential.

Add Rousay if you have a spare day: the circuit from the ferry pier takes in broch, cairn and clifftop in a single loop, and the island is quiet enough that you may see nobody at all.

Reading the Weather, the Tides and the Light

Orkney's weather changes faster than any forecast admits. Wind speed matters more than rain; a damp south-westerly is far kinder than a bright northerly. Check the inshore waters forecast rather than a phone app's cartoon sun, and treat gusting as a reason to pick a low, inland-leaning section.

Tides govern several of the best walks, particularly the Brough of Birsay and any beach route. Carry a tide table, not just a screenshot. Midges are mercifully rare here, but exposure is real: a hat and gloves in June are not absurd. In midsummer the light lingers until nearly eleven at night, which makes late evening walks a genuine pleasure. In winter, start early and plan short.

Wildlife Along the Way

Between May and July the cliffs turn into cities. Guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes crowd Marwick Head and Noup Head, with puffins in burrows on the softer slopes. Arctic terns screech overhead, great skuas patrol, and hen harriers quarter the moorland. Seals are almost guaranteed; otters are not, but dawn and a flat calm give you a chance. Orca pass through in late spring, and basking sharks cruise offshore in summer.

Watch from a distance, keep to the path above nesting ledges, and give hauled-out seals a wide berth. Binoculars turn a good walk into a great one.

Practical Footwork: Kit, Buses and Ferries

Footwear — ankle-supporting boots; the turf hides holes and the flagstone is slick when wet.
Layers — waterproof jacket and trousers, plus a spare fleece. Windproof beats bulky.
Navigation — a paper map and compass. Phone signal is patchy on the cliffs.
Transport — buses are thin on the ground; ask your guest house to book a taxi, or plan around the school-run timetables.
Ferries — book ahead in summer for Hoy, Rousay and the north isles.
Provisions — carry water and food. Shops and cafés are scarce once you leave the towns.
Comfort — long trousers in heather, and a tick check at the end of the day.

Walk three or four good stretches rather than the whole coast, and you will see more of Orkney than any whirlwind tour allows: the same cliffs in different light, the same bay at ebb and flood, and a guest house keeper who by the end of the week knows how you take your tea.

Outdoors

A Beginner's Guide to Orkney's Coastal Wildlife

Quiet roads and gentle hills make Orkney ideal for cycling. Plan routes around weather, ferry times and welcoming cafes.

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5 Comments

Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply
- John Abraham says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
  
  I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
  Reply
  - Robert Sonnysays Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
    
    I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
    Reply
Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply

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