Best Historic Sites in Orkney
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best historic sites in Orkney are Birsay Earl's Palace, Noltland Castle, Skara Brae, Ring of Brodgar, Standing Stones of Stenness, Broch of Gurness, Italian Chapel and Knap of Howar.
Few places in Britain wear their history as openly as Orkney. These low green islands are scattered with the remains of five thousand years of settlement, from Neolithic villages and stone circles among the oldest in the country, through Iron Age brochs and Norse earls' palaces, to a chapel built by prisoners of war.
Much of it stands in the open, free to walk into, set against sea and sky. The eight sites here span that whole sweep of time and several of the islands, from the World Heritage monuments on the Mainland to a Tudor castle on Westray and Europe's oldest standing houses on Papa Westray.
Some are among the most important ancient places in Europe; others are quieter ruins you can have almost to yourself. Together they tell the story of these islands better than any museum, each one a place to stand inside the past.
Here are eight historic sites to seek out across Orkney, from the Stone Age to the Second World War.
Birsay Earl's Palace
Photo: Nick Mutton 01329 000000 via Geograph.org.uk
The Earl's Palace at Birsay is a ruined sixteenth-century palace in the village of Birsay, at the north-western corner of the Orkney Mainland. Built around a courtyard, its roofless stone ranges still rise high, with rows of empty windows and gun-holes set low in the walls to cover every approach.
You can wander freely through the open shell. It was built around 1570 by Robert Stewart, Earl of Orkney, a half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots and a harsh ruler of these islands.
After his family fell from power it decayed, roofless within a century. It stands near the shore, close to the tidal Brough of Birsay.
Noltland Castle
Photo: Derek Harper via Geograph.org.uk
Noltland Castle is a ruined tower house on the island of Westray, standing on rising ground west of Pierowall. Built to a Z-plan, with square towers at two opposite corners of the main block, it was never quite finished, and its lower walls are riddled with gun loops, some seventy in all, making it one of the most heavily defended houses in Scotland.
Inside are a grand spiral stair and large vaulted kitchens. It was raised around 1560 to 1574 by Gilbert Balfour, sheriff of Orkney, and is cared for by Historic Environment Scotland, freely open through the year.
Skara Brae
Photo: C Michael Hogan via Geograph.org.uk
Skara Brae is a Neolithic village on the shore of the Bay of Skaill, on the west coast of the Mainland, the most complete such settlement in western Europe. Around eight stone houses, linked by covered passages and half-sunk into the ground, survive with their built-in stone furniture still in place, box beds, dressers and hearths, giving an unusually vivid picture of life five thousand years ago.
It was uncovered by a great storm in 1850 and later carefully excavated. Cared for by Historic Environment Scotland as part of a World Heritage Site, it has a visitor centre, a replica house and the nearby Skaill House.
Ring of Brodgar
Photo: Helmut Zozmann via Geograph.org.uk
The Ring of Brodgar is a great Neolithic stone circle set within a rock-cut ditch on a narrow strip of land between two lochs on the Mainland, part of a World Heritage landscape of ancient monuments. About a hundred metres across, it once held around sixty tall standing stones, of which some remain upright and others have fallen or gone, the tallest still over four metres high.
It was raised some four and a half thousand years ago, and its purpose is unknown. It is cared for by Historic Environment Scotland, free and open, with a path running among the stones near the Standing Stones of Stenness.
Standing Stones of Stenness
Photo: Christopher Hilton via Geograph.org.uk
The Standing Stones of Stenness form one of the earliest stone circles in Britain, set on a strip of land between two lochs on the Mainland, close to the Ring of Brodgar and part of the same World Heritage landscape. Four tall, thin, sharp-edged slabs still stand, the tallest around five metres high, survivors of an original ring of up to twelve, set on a levelled platform once ringed by a ditch and bank.
They were raised around five thousand years ago, among the oldest such monuments in the country. It is a free, open site cared for by Historic Environment Scotland, with the great Watch Stone nearby.
Broch of Gurness
Photo: Elliott Simpson via Geograph.org.uk
The Broch of Gurness is one of the best-preserved ancient settlements in Orkney, an Iron Age tower ringed by a whole village of stone houses, on a headland facing the island of Rousay. At its centre is the broch itself, a massive round drystone tower that once rose perhaps ten metres and still stands to head height, its interior fitted with hearths and stone cupboards.
Around it huddle the small houses of the people who lived here more than two thousand years ago, ringed by deep ditches and ramparts. Long after it was built, a Viking woman was buried here with her brooches.
It is a place to step right into the Iron Age.
Italian Chapel
Photo: thejackrustles via Geograph.org.uk
The Italian Chapel stands on the little island of Lamb Holm, near the Churchill Barriers, built during the Second World War by Italian prisoners of war held on the island. They joined two curved Nissen huts end to end and turned them, with scrap and improvised materials, into an ornate chapel, its inside painted to look like carved stone and plaster by the prisoner Domenico Chiocchetti.
The altar and rail were made from leftover concrete, and a metal screen forged by another of the men. It is kept as it was, a much-visited chapel reached across the barriers.
Knap of Howar
Photo: Rude Health via Geograph.org.uk
The Knap of Howar is a Neolithic farmstead on the shore of the island of Papa Westray, two stone houses said to be among the oldest standing buildings in northern Europe, some five thousand years old. The thick drystone walls still rise to head height, linked by a low passage, with stone shelves, cupboards and a hearth surviving inside.
It stands right by the sea, its edge slowly nibbled by the waves, and is cared for by Historic Environment Scotland, open to walk into.
FAQs
What is the oldest historic site in Orkney on this list?
The Knap of Howar on Papa Westray is the oldest site on this Orkney list, a Neolithic farmstead of two stone houses some five thousand years old, said to be among the oldest standing buildings in northern Europe. Skara Brae and the Stenness stones are of a similar great age.
Which Orkney sites are part of the World Heritage designation?
Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness all belong to the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage landscape on the Mainland, along with the nearby Maeshowe tomb.
Who built the Italian Chapel in Orkney?
The Italian Chapel on the island of Lamb Holm was built during the Second World War by Italian prisoners of war, who joined two Nissen huts end to end. The prisoner Domenico Chiocchetti painted the inside to look like carved stone, and it is kept as they left it, reached across the Churchill Barriers.
Are Orkney's historic sites free to visit?
Many Orkney sites are free and open, including the Ring of Brodgar, the Standing Stones of Stenness, Birsay Earl's Palace, Noltland Castle and the Knap of Howar. Skara Brae has a paid visitor centre, and the Broch of Gurness is a staffed visitor site.
Conclusion
Orkney tells its story in stone, and these eight sites carry it across five thousand years. The Neolithic heart of it lies on the Mainland, where Skara Brae keeps a whole village of stone houses and furniture, and the Ring of Brodgar and Standing Stones of Stenness raise their circles between the lochs, all part of a World Heritage landscape.
Older still, the Knap of Howar counts among the oldest houses in northern Europe. The Iron Age speaks through the Broch of Gurness, and the age of the Norse earls through the ruined palace at Birsay and the gun-looped tower of Noltland.
The Italian Chapel brings the story up to the Second World War. Most are free and open, several reached by a ferry hop between islands.
Come to walk straight into the past, on islands where it is never far below the surface.
