| Status | Starts | Group size | Leader | Duration/price Inc. flights from/to UK | Duration/price Exc. international flights | Single supp. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Available | Max. 8 |
Steve Duffield
|
8 days: £1,595 pp. | None | ||||
We spend a spring week on the green isles of the north for huge numbers of breeding birds, an excellent array of northern flowers, and some of Europe’s finest archaeological monuments. The light at this time of year is clear and wonderfully atmospheric, and the late sunsets can be magnificent.
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- You may be met either at Stromness, where the ferry from Scrabster arrives in the early evening, or at Kirkwall Airport – by arrangement. We will then transfer to our hotel, beautifully located on one of the north Mainland’s many lochs.
- Accommodation: Stenness, 7-nights on full board basis.
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- We visit Rousay aWhale and birdwatcingnd Hoy and, weather permitting, explore Orkney Mainland and other islands that are reachable by causeway.
- The fertility of both the land and the sea gives rise to a corresponding wealth of wildlife, particularly birds, and Orkney boasts an amazing concentration of RSPB reserves. Huge numbers of guillemot, razorbill, puffin, kittiwake and fulmar throng the cliffs, breeding wildfowl, waders and red-throated hiver haunt the small lochans, and, perhaps in their highest concentrations in Britain, short-eared owl quarter the moorland, along with both great, and Arctic skua and a few hen harrier. Wild flowers also abound, including the minute and vivid Scottish primrose, a British endemic species. The light at this time of year is clear and wonderfully atmospheric – the late sunsets can be magnificent.
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- The tour concludes after breakfast, when you will be offered transport either to Stromness or Kirkwall.
All prices are per person and include:
- Services of the naturalist leader
- Transfers and transport within Orkney
- Accommodation
- All meals
- Guided activities
Accommodation
Our accommodation is in a beautifully situated hotel, standing in its own grounds on the shores of one of north Mainland’s many lochs. The hotel has an award-winning restaurant that features in several gastronomic guides.
Meals
All meals are included.
Birds
The fertile land and sea give rise to a wealth of wildlife, and Orkney has a number of RSPB reserves, set up to protect the birds. Huge numbers of guillemot, razorbill, puffin and fulmar congregate around the cliffs.
- Kittiwake
- Red-throated diver
- Short-eared owl
- Arctic skua
Scenery
The Orkney archipelago has a diverse range of habitat, from sea cliffs and beaches, through rich farmland and wetland, to freshwater lochs and dry moorland. At this time of year the late sunsets can be magnificent.
Boat trips
During our tour we plan two boat trips to the islands of Rousay and Hoy – weather permitting.
Ground transport
Travel to and from Orkney is not included.
You may be met at Stromness, where the ferry from Scrabstter arrives, or at Kirkwall Airport, by arrangement.