Orkney Isles Holiday Accommodation

Orkney Isles consists of about 70 small islands 16 km north of Caithness in northern Scotland. The largest island in the group is known as "The Mainland"; about 20 are inhabited in total.

The largest island in the Orkney Isles is known as "The Mainland". Other islands can be classified as north or south of "The Mainland." The islands north of "The Mainland" are known collectively as The North Isles, those to the south as The South Isles. The remote Sule Skerry and Sule Stack lie around 60 km west of the archipelago.

To tourists, one of the fascinations of the Orkney Isles is their nightless summers. On the longest day, the sun rises at 03:00 and sets at 21:25 — and darkness is unknown, it being possible to read at midnight. On the shortest day the sun rises at 09:10 and sets at 15:17.

The famous Neolithic sites of Skara Brae and Maeshowe are located on Mainland. These have both been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Viking settlers comprehensively occupied Orkney, and the Orkney Isles became a possession of Norway until being given to Scotland during the 15th century as part of a dowry settlement. Evidence of the Viking presence is widespread, and includes the settlement at the Brough of Birsay, the vast majority of place names, and runic inscriptions at Maeshowe and other ancient sites.