Stronsay

Stronsay is one of the Orkney Islands, with a population in 2011 of 349. It's low-lying, indented by three large bays, with its main settlement at Whitehall.

Get in

Vat of Kirbister

Orkney Ferries sail from Kirkwall two or three times daily May-Sept and carry cars. Most ferries M-F are direct (1 hr 40 min) and continue to Eday; Sa Su they may call at Eday first. A day-trip from Mainland gives you up to nine hours on Stronsay. Oct-Apr has two sailings M-Sa and one on Sunday. Return fares until April 2025 are adult £11.90, conc £8.90, child £5.90, and car £28.10.

1 Whitehall is the main settlement, with the ferry pier.

Loganair fly daily on a triangular route from Kirkwall. There are two M-F, with the morning flight direct, 10 min, continuing to Sanday then back to Kirkwall, while the afternoon flight is Kirkwall > Sanday > Stronsay > Kirkwall. So a day-trip from Orkney Mainland is possible mid-week, giving you six hours on the island. Saturday and Sunday have just a single afternoon flight. The five minute hop from Sanday is a strong candidate for the title of "world's second-shortest scheduled flight", with the shortest at two minutes between Westray and Papa Westray.

2 Stronsay Airport (SOY  ^IATA) is at the north end of the island, two miles from Whitehall, down a narrow farm lane.

Get around

Ebenezer Stores at Whitehall has free bike hire.

Pomona Prefect is a boat available for hire.

See

• 1 Papa Stronsay is the small low island just north of Whitehall, with its long sandy spit reaching to within 200 yards. "Papa" means Holy Fathers, referring to early medieval monks, and there's a ruined 11th-century chapel which may stand over a much earlier foundation. The island is fertile, but was unoccupied and just used for grazing from 1970. In 1999 it was acquired by the monks of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, who built the Golgotha Monastery. There's no public ferry and access to the island is controlled by the monks.
• Our Lady's Chapel by the ferry pier is open M-Sa 11:30AM-13:30PM, Su 10:30-11:30AM.
• 2 Stronsay Heritage Centre is unstaffed, but you're free to look in daily 9AM-5PM.
• Mill Bay is the deep indentation on the east coast.
• St Catherine's Bay indents from the west - this is more exposed but has the better beach, and views to the islet of Linga Holm.
• 3 Bay of Holland is the indentation south that with St Catherine's Bay almosts cuts off Rothiesholm as an island. There's a broad sandy beach.
• 4 Vat of Kirbister is a splendid natural arch formed by the collapse of a sea cave. Follow the narrow but well-paved lane to the parking area then the footpath. This reaches the coast at the inlet of Bluther's Geo and the sea-stack The Malme which has remains of an ancient hermitage. The path continues south to the Vat: don't walk on the arch, there's no saying how long it will last. It's also referred to as "The Gloup" for the boom of the oncoming sea driving through the arch. A little further south is Tam's Castle, another sea stack that had a hermitage, then the remains of an Iron Age ringfort on a promontory. You can retrace your steps or continue along the path for a 6.5-mile circuit via Burgh Head, The Brough and Lamb Head.
• 5 Lamb Head can also be reached by staying on the lane south. There's remains of an old broch; seals often haul out on this coast.
• 6 Auskerry seen away to the south is an island farm with a flock of the rare North Ronaldsay sheep.

Do

• Wildlife: bird life and seals are the main features, but always keep looking (including on the ferry), you never know what might come into view. There has been no re-appearance of "The Stronsay Beast", the world's only specimen of which washed up in 1808, so your sharp observations might solve a 200-year old mystery.
• Night skies: Stronsay is free of light pollution so expect starry skies and maybe the aurora borealis on any clear night Sept-April. In summer it's a lost cause as the sky never gets properly dark.

Buy

Tam's Castle

• Ebenezer's is the island store and Post Office, next to the hotel and open M-Sa 7:30AM-7:30PM, Su 10AM-1PM.
• Royal Bank of Scotland 200 yards from the pier is only open Th 9:30AM-3:30PM and has no ATM.

Eat and drink

• The hotel and Fish Mart cafe are the only choices.

Sleep

• Stronsay Hotel, Whitehall KW17 2AR (at ferry pier), ☏ +44 1857 616213. Clean friendly little hotel with pub grub. (updated Jul 2024)
• Stronsay Fish Mart, Whitehall KW17 2AR (at ferry pier), ☏ +44 7485 098184. This fish shed has been converted into a smart cafe and hostel, open all year. Adult £35 ppn, child £16. (updated Jul 2024)

Connect

As of July 2024, there is no mobile signal on Stronsay.

Go next

• Sanday can be reached by air and Eday by ferry without backtracking via Orkney Mainland.
• Kirkwall on the Mainland is where all air and ferry routes eventually return.