Orkney Islands
Do you fancy the chance of capturing some of the most spectacular scenery the British Isles has to offer?
Orkney Islands Photography Tours
small group landscape & seascape workshops
The Amazing Orkney Islands
Join me on my Orkney Islands photography workshops and take a journey around one of Scotland’s fabulous Northern Isles. This adventure offers the chance to capture some of the most spectacular scenery the British Isles has to offer, from the dramatic coastline of Yesnaby where huge waves crash against towering cliffs, to the historic tidal island of the Brough of Birsay with its ancient Pictish and Viking remains.
You’ll photograph beautiful places like Noup Head in Westray, where a historic lighthouse stands sentinel nearly 80 metres above the Atlantic, surrounded by vast colonies of puffins, guillemots, and gannets.
Locations & Subjects you can Photograph
Yesnaby
Yesnaby is one of the most spectacular stretches of coastline in Orkney, and should definitely be on your list of ‘must see’ locations during a visit to the islands.
Found on the west coast of the Orkney mainland, this wild location offers stunning sea views. During a westerly gale you can expect huge waves crashing into the cliffs, but in calmer weather it’s a nature-lovers paradise, with wild flowers – including Primula scotica – and plenty of seabirds to spot.
The Brough of birsay
The Brough of Birsay is full of history. It was a place of local and perhaps regional importance. The island hosts the remains of a substantial Pictish settlement, with evidence of Viking buildings visible too. The site of the Norse structures included a ruined Romanesque church that was a place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages.
It’s a tidal island so only accessible for around two hours either side of low tide, and it’s linked to a headland by a concrete causeway visible only when the sea retreats. As it does, it reveals fantastic rockpools teeming with sea life on either side. The rock formations are eye-catching too.
Rugged Coastline
Noup Head in Westray is home to some of Orkney’s wildest coastal scenery. Huge cliffs drop off into the sea, and on wild and windy days there is a real ‘edge of the world’ feeling.
Noup Head Lighthouse stands tall amongst it all, nearly 80 metres above sea level. This Stevenson lighthouse was built in 1898 and automated in 1964.
Another attraction of visiting the lighthouse is the vast array of seabirds you can see packed onto the ledges below. Expect puffins during the summer as well as kittiwakes, razorbills and guillemots. A healthy gannet population is also present between May and September.
The Wildlife
Orkney has long been a haven for wildlife. Towering sea cliffs are home to thousands of birds – puffins, guillemots, gulls, gannets and kittiwakes can all be seen here – while the marshlands and sweeping moorlands are natural habitats for the likes of curlew, red-throated divers, hen harriers and other birds of prey.
The clean, clear seas surrounding the islands host an incredible range of marine life. Seals can be spotted throughout Orkney, and there are regular sightings of whales, dolphins and orcas. Rock pools teem with life, from limpets and sea urchins, to hermit crabs and starfish, to delight young wildlife enthusiasts.
Orkney
If remoteness, tranquillity, total isolation and awe inspiring scenery is what you are seeking, then this place comes on top of the list of places in Scotland.
With no real history or tradition of clans or tartan, it doesn’t feel “Highlander” or even Scottish, but uniquely Orcadian.
But, it is steeped in magic and myth and every twist and turn of the road reveals a new marvel to explore.
