Stenness

Stenness is a small, scattered village in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, on the A965 main road between Kirkwall and Stromness. It has several UNESCO World Heritage Listed neolithic sights: the Stones, Maeshowe and Ring of Brodgar, with Skara Brae a few miles further north.

Get in

Stenness is on A965 between Kirkwall and Stromness.

Bus X1 runs daily, hourly along this road and April-Oct is extended, doubling back from Stromness to Stenness, Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae.

Bus 5 runs twice M-F from Stromness to Stenness, Ophir and Houton (for south Hoy ferry). Houton can also be reached by Bus 2 from Kirkwall, with six M-Sa, four on Sunday April-Sep and two Nov-March.

Get around

You can walk between Maeshowe Visitor Centre, Stones of Stenness and Ring of Brodgar, although there's no footpath in places.

For Skara Brae cycling is ideal, or in summer take Bus X1 as above.

See

• 1 Maeshowe, Ireland Rd KW16 3LB, ☏ +44 1856 851266. Daily Apr-Sep 9:30AM-5:30PM, Oct-Mar 10AM-4PM. This chambered tomb is over 5000 years old and is considered the finest in North-Western Europe. Facing the winter solstice sunrise, the entrance passageway leads to a near perfect interior marked with runes by 12th-century Vikings. You can only enter by booked tour (best online) from the Visitor Centre a mile west of the tomb. Free parking, then a shuttle bus takes you to the site. (So the map marker is for here, not for the tomb itself.) Maeshowe often books solid in summer, and certainly if a cruise ship is in port. Don't go to the former visitor centre near the turn-off for the Stones of Stenness, or the road outside the tomb, there's no access from there. Adult £10, conc £8, child £6. (updated Jul 2024)
• 2 Tomb of Unstan (Knowe or Cairn of Onstan), Stenness KW16 3JX. 24 hours. This chambered burial cairn was built around 3000 BC. It's unusual for its architecture — midway between Caithness, Cromarty and Orcadian neolithic styles — and for its distinctive pottery, giving its name to "Unstan ware". Skeletons and arrowheads found here indicate that it remained in use into the Bronze Age. The cairn is well preserved: a concrete cap has been added to protect it. It's not far from Maeshowe, yet not on the standard tourist circuit so you might have it to yourself. Free. (updated Jul 2024)
• 3 Stones of Stenness, Stenness KW16 3JZ. 24 hours. Four tall stones remain from a circle of 12, dating from 2500 BC. A "hearth" in the centre was ceremonial rather than in a dwelling. Nearby outside the circle is the "Watch Stone". The site is dramatically set on a narrow neck of land between two lochs. The encircling ditch has been lost, along with the "Odin Stone", a pierced stone through which couples would clasp hands and pledge. In 1814 a local landowner got fed up with this so he smashed it: he was restrained from setting about the rest of the stones. A short footpath continues from the Ring to the "Barnhouse", foundations of a neolithic village at the loch-side. Free. (updated Jul 2024)
• Barnhouse Stone is an outlier, near the main road 200 yards west of B9055 turnoff.

Ring of Brodgar

• Lochview Stones are a lichen-clad pair just north of the causeway between the two lochs. They probably marked the entrance to the Ness of Brodgar, a ritual complex in use 3300-2200 BC. This was excavated over 20 summers from 2003 and the archaeologists gave talks and guided walks. The dig has finished and the site has been re-buried to protect it from erosion, so only the Lochview Stones are now visible.
• 4 Ring of Brodgar, Stenness KW16 3JZ. 24 hours. Stunningly set between two lochs, 27 out of 60 standing stones remain in a 100-m diameter circle surround by a ditch and smaller groups of stones and mounds. The Ring was probably built between 2500 and 2000 BC. The surrounding landscape is dotted with ruins and artefacts of similar date. Free. (updated Jul 2024)
• Ring of Bookan is a small ring a mile northwest of Ring of Brodgar. It's on private farmland, no public access.
• 5 Skara Brae, Sandwick KW16 3LR, ☏ +44 1856 841815. Daily Apr-Sep 9:30AM-5:30PM, Oct-Mar 10AM-4PM. This prehistoric village dates from 2500 BC, older than Stonehenge or the Pyramids of Giza, but it was only discovered in 1850 when a storm eroded the sand dunes. A series of passages and round dwellings were uncovered, complete with stone dressers and implements. There's a visitor centre and cafe. Combi with Skaill House adult £12.50, conc £10, child £7.50. (updated Jul 2024)
• Skaill House is 100 yards south of Skara Brae visitor centre, same hours and ticket. It's a 17th-century mansion house, built by Bishop George Graham and added to by later Lairds. The present building is two storeys set around a central courtyard.
• 6 Ophir Church and Earl's Bu, Gyre Rd, Ophir KW17 2RD (off A964 east of Houton). Both date to circa 1200. The ruined church is unusual: it's circular, inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The remains next to it are probably the Earl's residence or "Bu". That's Bu as in boozing: Viking saga calls it a Drinking Hall. (updated Jul 2024)
• Orkneyinga Saga Centre next to Ophir Church recounts the story of the Norse Earls of Orkney. It's open Apr-Oct daily 9AM-6PM.

Do

• Hike: a rough trail leads south along the rugged coast to Stromness.
• Orkney Storytelling is a cultural centre on A967 at Sandwick, with performances several times a week in summer.

Eat and drink

Standing Stones of Stenness

• Merkister Hotel serves non-residents, booking essential.
• Gerri's ice cream parlour is 100 yards east of Standing Stones Hotel, open daily 11AM-6PM.
• Orkney Brewery is at Quoyloo, 2 miles north of Skaill off the road towards Birsay. It's open M-Sa 10AM-5PM, with tours and tasting flights in the cafe.

Sleep

• 1 Standing Stones Hotel, Stenness KW16 3JX, ☏ +44 1856 850449. Poor reviews for comfort and service, that's if they honour the booking at all. (updated Jul 2024)
• 2 Merkister Hotel, Russland Rd, Harray Loch KW17 2LF, ☏ +44 1856 771366. Friendly small B&B at north end of Harray Loch, looking south to Stenness Stones. B&B double £190. (updated Jul 2024)
• 3 Mill of Eyrland, Stenness KW16 3HA (on A964 to Houton), ☏ +44 1856 850136. Welcoming comfy B&B with 5 rooms in a converted mill built in 1861. (updated Jul 2024)
• 4 Button Ben, Stenness KW16 3HA (on A964), ☏ +44 1856 850794. Splendid comfy modern B&B by the bay. B&B double £120. (updated Jul 2024)

Connect

As of July 2024, there is a patchy mobile signal from EE, O2 and Three, but nothing from Vodafone.

Go next

• North to Birsay for the medieval wicked Earl's palace and "brough" on a tidal islet.
• West is Stromness, a delightful small fishing village, with ferries to Scrabster on the Scottish mainland.
• East is Kirkwall, the Orkney capital with a wealth of heritage.