Solo Hidden Gems in Orkney
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The solo hidden gems in Orkney are Standing Stone of Stenness, Broch of Borwick, Midhowe Broch, Cra’as Nest, Leaper’s Geo, Skiba Geo, St Magnus Way and Churchill Barriers.
Orkney rewards the solo traveller who likes to move slowly and let a place speak for itself. Scattered across the Mainland and the smaller isles are prehistoric stone circles, Iron Age towers, restored crofts and wild stretches of coast, most of them quiet, low-key and open to the wind.
These are spots where you can wander at your own pace, with only the sound of the sea and the seabirds for company, and no crowds to hurry you along. From the earliest standing stones in Britain to a broch clinging to a crumbling clifftop, from a turf-roofed croft on Hoy to a pilgrimage path winding across the west Mainland, the islands hold plenty that rewards a curious eye.
A solo day here is about following your own thread, lingering where you like and taking in the big skies and long views. You will find ancient monuments cared for by Historic Environment Scotland alongside working seabird shores and wartime causeways.
Here are eight hidden gems to seek out on a solo day in Orkney.
Standing Stone of Stenness
Photo: Christopher Hilton via Geograph.org.uk
Standing Stone of Stenness forms one of the earliest stone circles in Britain, set on a strip of land between two lochs on the Orkney Mainland, close to the Ring of Brodgar and part of the same World Heritage landscape. Four tall, sharp-edged slabs still stand, the tallest around five metres high, survivors of an original ring of up to twelve raised some five thousand years ago.
It is a free, open site cared for by Historic Environment Scotland, with the great Watch Stone nearby. Come alone and you can circle the stones slowly, reading the land at your own pace.
Broch of Borwick
Photo: Claire Pegrum via Geograph.org.uk
Broch of Borwick is the ruin of an Iron Age tower standing on a narrow clifftop above the sea near Yesnaby, on the west coast of Orkney's Mainland. Built more than two thousand years ago, it has been half destroyed by the sea, which has eaten away the cliff and carried off the seaward side, leaving a solid, D-shaped stump of thick walling that still stands to head height.
You can make out the entrance passage and its door-checks. There are no signs or facilities, just the old broch on its crumbling headland with the Atlantic breaking below.
A wild, exposed spot to have to yourself.
Midhowe Broch
Photo: Bob Jones via Geograph.org.uk
Midhowe Broch is a large, well-preserved Iron Age broch on the west shore of the island of Rousay, standing on a narrow spit of rock between two coastal inlets. Inside the round drystone tower, whose walls still rise to about four metres, survive stone partitions, a hearth and a spring-fed water tank.
It was one of a string of brochs that once guarded Eynhallow Sound. Cared for by Historic Environment Scotland, it is reached on a signed path down from the road, and it stands right beside the separate Midhowe chambered cairn.
Reaching Rousay by ferry makes it a rewarding solo detour.
Cra’as Nest
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Cra’as Nest is a restored old croft on the hillside at Rackwick on the island of Hoy, on the walking route to the Old Man of Hoy. It is a group of low flagstone buildings, a croft house and barn with a round corn-drying kiln and a small store, roofed in turf-covered thatch.
Inside, it is kept as a museum showing how a crofting family lived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with box beds and a dresser. It is one of only a handful of thatched buildings left in Orkney.
A quiet pause on a solo walk through Hoy's glen.
Leaper’s Geo
Photo: hayley green via Geograph.org.uk
Leaper’s Geo is a narrow coastal inlet cut into the low sandstone cliffs on the east side of Papa Westray, one of the small North Isles of Orkney. A geo is a steep-sided cleft worn into the shore by the sea along a line of weakness, and this stretch is a working seabird shore of ledges, skerries and rock.
It lies within the RSPB reserve on North Hill, near Fowl Craig, remembered as where the last great auk in Britain was killed in 1813. Walked as part of the clifftop route around the reserve, it suits a solo wander among the birds.
Skiba Geo
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Skiba Geo, also written Skipi Geo, is a small rocky inlet on the coast at Birsay, on the north-western tip of the Orkney Mainland, near the Brough of Birsay. Above the stony shore stand a restored nineteenth-century fishermen's hut and a set of nousts, boat-shaped hollows dug into the ground where crofters once hauled up and stored their open boats over winter.
It is passed on the coastal walk from the Brough car park, a spot to see how the fishing was worked here, with seals, seabirds and rock pools along the shore. Time it quietly and you may have the shore to yourself.
St Magnus Way
Photo: Oliver Dixon via Geograph.org.uk
St Magnus Way is a long-distance pilgrimage walking route across the Orkney Mainland, opened in 2017 and inspired by the story of Saint Magnus. Running some fifty-eight miles in several stages, usually walked over a week, it links places tied to the saint, following the paths along which his body was carried and, later, his bones moved to Kirkwall.
The route mixes coast, moor, farm track, forest and quiet road, taking in brochs, chapels and shores, and ends at St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall. Waymarked throughout, this stretch runs through the west Mainland near Evie and Birsay, made for unhurried solo walking.
Churchill Barriers
Photo: Andrew Riley via Geograph.org.uk
Churchill Barriers are four causeways in Orkney that link the Mainland to South Ronaldsay across a string of smaller islands. They were built in the Second World War to close off the eastern approaches to the naval anchorage of Scapa Flow, after a U-boat slipped in and sank HMS Royal Oak in 1939.
Much of the work was done by Italian prisoners of war, who also built the nearby Italian Chapel. The rusting hulks of scuttled blockships still break the surface alongside them, and a road now runs across the top.
Driving or walking the barriers alone gives a quiet sense of that history.
FAQs
Which of these Orkney gems are on the smaller islands?
Midhowe Broch sits on Rousay and Cra'as Nest on Hoy, both reached by ferry, while Leaper's Geo lies on Papa Westray. The rest, including the Standing Stone of Stenness and the Churchill Barriers, are on or linked to the Orkney Mainland.
Are these places suitable for a quiet solo visit?
Yes. They are low-key, characterful spots rather than busy attractions, from open stone circles to wild clifftop brochs. Several have no signs or facilities, so they suit an unhurried wander at your own pace.
Do I need to walk far to reach them?
Some do involve a walk. The Broch of Borwick is reached across open fields to the cliff edge, and the St Magnus Way is a fifty-eight-mile route in stages, while sites like Stenness are close to the road.
Conclusion
Orkney suits the solo visitor who likes to set their own rhythm, moving from one quiet site to the next with the sea always close at hand. Whether you are tracing the earliest stone circles in Britain, standing inside a well-preserved broch, or watching the blockships rust beside a wartime causeway, the islands reward patience and a curious eye.
Many of these places have no crowds and few facilities, so pack for the weather, allow time for ferries to the smaller isles, and let the long northern light shape your day. Take them slowly, in whatever order suits, and you will come away with a real feel for these islands and their deep layers of history.
From standing stones to seabird shores, these are the hidden gems to seek out on a solo day in Orkney.
