Things to do in Orkney

Orkney rewards people who plan loosely. The weather changes its mind, ferries and flights set the rhythm of the day, and the best afternoons are often the ones you didn't book. What follows is a way of grouping the islands' museums, wildlife centres and castles into days that actually work, whether you've got a long weekend or a full week.

Start with the mainland attractions

If it's your first trip, base your first couple of days around the larger sites and save the smaller isles for later in the week. Stromness Museum is the natural anchor for a town morning — the sort of collection that repays a slow wander rather than a quick lap. Highland Park Distillery Visitor Centre works well as an afternoon fixture, and it's an easy one to fall back on when the sky turns. Skaill House gives you a grand house to walk through, and pairs neatly with a coastal stretch of legs afterwards.

For something quieter and older in feel, Kirbuster Farm Museum shows how island households actually lived, and W. Hourston Blacksmith's Museum is a small, specific place — a forge rather than a gallery — that children often like more than the adults expect. The Orkneyinga Saga Centre is worth half an hour before you go anywhere else, simply because it makes sense of the names you'll keep meeting.

Best days out with children

The two most dependable family stops are the Animal Centre and Skaill Falconry. Both give you a fixed point in the day — something happening, something to watch — which helps enormously when you're travelling with under-tens and the wind is doing its thing. The Orkney Fossil and Vintage Centre is the other reliable one: fossils and old machinery under a roof, with enough oddities to hold attention.

• Morning: Animal Centre, then a picnic in the car if the weather's against you
• Afternoon: Skaill Falconry or the Orkney Fossil and Vintage Centre
• Late afternoon: a beach walk, then back to the stay early — island days are tiring

Rainy day plans

Orkney has an unusual number of small, warm, indoor places, which is lucky. Scapa Flow Visitor Centre & Museum is the big one for a wet day — naval history you can spend a couple of hours on. Longhope Lifeboat Museum tells a harder, more moving story and stays with people. The Kelp Store, The Croft and Glen House are smaller and more local in focus, best treated as stops within a day rather than the whole of it.

Heritage centres and island-hopping

Each inhabited isle tends to have its own heritage centre, and visiting one is the quickest way to understand where you've landed. Shapinsay Heritage Centre, Rousay Heritage Centre, Sanday Heritage Centre and Eday Heritage & Visitor Centre all work the same way: go there first, then walk. On Shapinsay you've also got Balfour Castle in view; on the mainland side, Castlehill Heritage Centre covers local industry and life.

Build an island day around one crossing, not two. Aim to be off the boat by mid-morning, do the heritage centre, walk, eat what you brought, and catch a comfortable sailing back.

Castles and outdoor walks

The castle list is long and varied: Castle Sinclair Girnigoe and Keiss Castle are dramatic clifftop ruins, Castle of Mey a more formal visit, and Ackergil Tower, Dunbeath Castle and Thurso Castle range from private to ruinous. Check the status of each before you set off — some are homes, some are viewed from a path only. Fair Isle Airfield is the outlier, and one for birdwatchers rather than general sightseers.

Where to eat

We don't hold verified hygiene ratings for eating places in Orkney, so we'd rather not point you at a specific table. In practice, plan as islanders do: buy provisions in the larger settlements before you sail, carry a flask, and treat any café attached to a visitor centre — the distillery, the larger museums — as a bonus rather than a certainty. Evening meals are worth booking ahead in season, and self-catering with a good local butcher and baker is genuinely the better option on the smaller isles.

Making it a short break

Three nights is the minimum that feels unhurried: one mainland day, one island day, one flexible day held back for whatever the forecast allows. Five nights lets you add a second isle. There are 113 places to stay in Orkney on BritStays, and the practical advice is to book one base rather than moving — packing up between islands eats more of your holiday than the crossings do. Book ferries and flights before accommodation if you're set on a particular isle, and always leave the last afternoon free in case a sailing is cancelled.