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Cruise ships often visit Orkney. They may berth at Kirkwall Hatston Terminal, with a shuttle-bus to town, or anchor out in the bay with tenders bringing passengers ashore. The main tourist attractions get mobbed when they arrive. Various other definitions are used in the Scottish context. For example the General Register Office for Scotland defined an island as 'a mass of land surrounded by water, separate from the Scottish mainland' but although they included islands linked by bridges etc. this is not clear from this definition. Haswell-Smith (2004) uses "an Island is a piece of land or group of pieces of land which is entirely surrounded by water at Lowest Astronomical Tide and to which there is no permanent means of dry access". This is widely agreed to be unhelpful as it consciously excludes bridged islands. You can feel the atmosphere of the last watering hole and departure post before sailing on the North Atlantic Ocean. #5 – Yesnaby Cliffs

Orkney is a prosperous farming area despite its fragmentation. Its farms are small and owner-occupied, averaging about 35 acres (14 hectares) and using modern mechanical methods to achieve high productivity. Each year more land is claimed for agriculture, but much peat and moor remain. The main agricultural products are beef cattle and eggs, although the raising of pigs and the production of milk (largely for cheese) have both greatly increased. Some fodder crops are grown, but much is imported. Because of the importance of agriculture, the fishing industry has not been developed to the same extent as in the neighbouring Shetland Islands. Orkney is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a lieutenancy area, and an historic county. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, one of only three councils in Scotland with a majority of elected members who are independents. [Notes 1] Get around [ edit ] "Are we nearly there yet?" - it's less than two minutes between Westray and Papa Westray, hence the world's shortest regularly scheduled flight By plane [ edit ] Discover more on the article dedicated to the Bishop and Earl’s Palace Kirkwall. Earl’s Palace #3 – Bishop Palace Both Orkney and Shetland saw a significant influx of Norwegian settlers during the late 8th and early 9th centuries. Vikings made the islands the headquarters of their pirate expeditions carried out against Norway and the coasts of mainland Scotland. In response, Norwegian king Harald Fairhair (Harald Hårfagre) annexed the Northern Isles, comprising Orkney and Shetland, in 875 (it is clear that this story, which appears in the Orkneyinga Saga, is based on the later voyages of Magnus Barelegs and some scholars believe it to be apocryphal). [55] Rognvald Eysteinsson received Orkney and Shetland from Harald as an earldom as reparation for the death of his son in battle in Scotland, and then passed the earldom on to his brother Sigurd the Mighty. [56]During most years, the islands are the home of several international festivals, including the Orkney International Science Festival in September, a folk festival in May, and the St Magnus International Arts Festival in June. [168] Grant, Alistair (4 April 2019). "Pioneering Orkney energy project offers glimpse of fossil fuel-free future". HeraldScotland. The Herald (Glasgow). Archived from the original on 4 April 2019 . Retrieved 4 April 2019.

Italian chapel: located on Lamb Holm, a small island between Mainland and South Ronaldsay – built by Italians during the Second world war GENUKI. "Genuki: WALLS, Orkney". www.genuki.org.uk. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021 . Retrieved 30 January 2021. Burray lies to the east of Scapa Flow and is linked by causeway to South Ronaldsay, which hosts cultural events such as the Festival of the Horse and the Boys' Ploughing Match on the third Saturday in August. [142] It is also the location of the Neolithic Tomb of the Eagles. South Ronaldsay, Burray, Glimps Holm, and Lamb Holm are connected by road to the Mainland by the Churchill Barriers. When the sagas were written down Orkney had been Christian for 200 years or more [65] and this conversion tale has been described as "blatantly unhistorical". [66] The Scandinavian peoples, relatively recent converts to Christianity, had a tendency to confer martyrdom and sainthood on leading figures of the day who met violent deaths. Magnus and Haakon Paulsson had been co-rulers of Orkney, and although he had a reputation for piety, there is no suggestion that Magnus died for his Christian faith. [68]This is a continuing list of uninhabited smaller Orkney islands (many of which are called " Holm" from the Old Norse holmr, meaning a small and rounded islet), [24] tidal islets only separated at higher stages of the tide, or skerries which are only exposed at lower stages of the tide. Deerness Distillery at the east tip of Mainland makes gin, with a whisky distillery under construction. Paveley, Rebecca (11 February 2021). "Gove announces Levelling-up forum for islands". Church Times . Retrieved 17 February 2022. The notion that Henry the first Sinclair Earl, voyaged to North America many years before Christopher Columbus has gained some currency of late. [24] The idea is however dismissed out of hand by many scholars. For example, Thompson (2008) states "Henry's fictitious trip to America continues to receive a good deal of unfortunate publicity, but it belongs to fantasy rather than real history". [75] [76]