The Scottish Isles of Orkney – Wildlife September 2027

SUMMARY

Dates: Tuesday 28th September  to Sunday October 3rd 5 nights and 4 full days walking and visits.

Guide:  Megan Taylor, your local guide and wildlife enthusiast ( has been called a bird whisperer!) If you weren’t enthused about our wildlife before, you certainly will be by the end.

Walking Grade: 1 Goat – be prepared for Scottish weather which could involve rain at anytime of year!

Megan’s Wildlife Highlights in September/October:

·      Grey seal pupping season

·      Winter thrush flocks – redwings and fieldfares come to feed on berries

·      Skeins of geese – listen out for skeins of geese flying over

·      Foraging for brambles

·      Autumn colours – wildflowers, fungi, fallen leaves

Base: The Ferry Inn at the harbour in Stromness – a traditional, very popular Orkney pub with rooms. You can be sure of an island welcome and a true Scottish experience.

Getting there: Our starting point on Tuesday is at The Ferry Inn, Stromness on the Island of Orkney.

There are many ways to travel to Orkney – arriving to an island by ferry is particularly special. The ferry to Stromness departs from Scrabster. From Inverness you can take bus to get there or get a train to Thurso and from there it is a short bus or taxi ride to the terminal.  On arrival The Ferry Inn is a short walk from the ferry terminal.

The links below give you travel information to help plan your trip.

Ferry Info

Bus Information

You can also fly to Kirkwall and get a pre booked taxi to Stromness. If there are a few of you flying to Kirkwall we will connect you for sharing a taxi.

More information on getting to Stromness  is available here Getting to Orkney

We can always advise you.

Arrival: in Stromness around 16:00 for check in at the Ferry Inn hotel.

Departure: After breakfast on your final day.

Price: £Coming Soon per person for this fully inclusive holiday:

• Bed and Breakfast in ensuite double room for solo occupancy
• Packed Lunches including your final departure travel day.
• All evening meals – 3 courses
• Minibus for walks to explore the island fully
• Experienced Guide throughout your holiday
• Ferry to Hoy

If you can bring a friend/partner and share a room there is a discount

Not included:

• Travel to Stromness
• Drinks from the bar
• Additional activities not in the itinerary – there may be additional activities such as  puffin spotting depending on the time of year.

DETAILS

The Isles of Orkney lie in the very north of Scotland, just off the Scottish Mainland. It feels like a world away but the islands are surprisingly well connected.

Your journey to Orkney begins when you arrive in Stromness – The Ferry Inn, with its wonderful Scottish hospitality, your home for the next few days.

Orkney is home to a variety of habitats across the archipelago – seabird cliffs, moorlands, lochs, wetlands and marshes, fields, the sea, rocky shores and sandy beaches all support a huge range of wildlife. Orkney is a stronghold for many species of wildlife that are in decline elsewhere in the UK, ie Curlews and Hen harriers. You can see rare flowers, beetles and bees as well as birds, seals and other mammals, and we will talk about them all. Orkney also has an endemic species – the Orkney vole.

Autumn brings colour changes in the wildflowers, with fungi popping up in meadows and woodlands, and brambles ready to be foraged. The Autumn migration will be underway with geese moving from breeding grounds in the North to their wintering grounds in the South. This is a time of year when our weather changes, the winds become more dramatic and create spectacular seas and skies. Our Grey seals start breeding and remote beaches are littered with cute, white seal pups. It is a time of change – expect the unexpected!

For further reading about Orkney and its wildlife ….

ITINERARY

The itinerary may change depending on the weather and at the discretion of your guide. You will be briefed each day about your days walks and activities.

Day 1 Tuesday – Arrival

Check in to the Ferry Inn, briefing with your guide followed by a short walk around Stromness to introduce you to some of its wildlife, then dinner with your guide.

Day 2 Wednesday – The Wild West Coast

Our first full day will be spent exploring the Wild West Coast of Orkney with its rugged coastline and spectacular cliffs. Watch fulmars as they fly so effortlessly around the cliffs and shags skimming the waves. We will visit sandy beaches and rocky shores to see waders – curlews, oystercatchers, turnstones, sanderling and dunlin. Some of these are winter visitors to our shores and will stay here until April when they return to their breeding grounds. There will be short cliff top walks and time at the end of the day to potter on a beach looking for shells.

Day 3 Thursday – Hoy – An Island Adventure

Our island adventure to Hoy will begin with the ferry crossing over Scapa Flow, where we will be out on deck looking for ducks and seabirds. Hoy is often referred to as the “high island” and as we make our way north you will see why. The north part of Hoy is mostly RSPB reserve and is the largest of the Orkney RSPB reserves. Here we will look for eagles soaring, hen harriers and other birds of prey over the hills and moorland. At ground level there are carnivorous plants and voracious predators such as the green tiger beetle. Rackwick is a favourite place for many Orcadians and visitors, so we will spend some time here, enjoy a picnic on the beach and explore the sand dunes. All the while keeping an eye out for birds, seals, wildflowers and insects.

Day 4 Friday – Moorlands and Lochs

We will continue the moorland theme from Hoy with a day exploring some of the Orkney mainland moors and lochs. Many of these locations are RSPB reserves some with hides so we can watch the wildlife without disturbing it. Over the moors, we will look for hen harriers, merlins, buzzards and other birds of prey. Listen out for curlews, oystercatchers and stonechats. Our lochs host a variety of wildfowl and in September/October we await the arrival of migrating geese, ducks and swans. We will take the time to stop, look and listen……….. Our landscape is full of so many different sounds but how often do we take the time to stop and listen? We will end the day with a visit to Brodgar for a walk around the reserve.

Day 5 Saturday – To the East and the Linked South Isles

Our final day together will see us venture to the most southern tip of South Ronaldsay to see seal pups. Grey seals pup on secluded beaches between October and December and Megan knows the perfect place to take you where we can watch without causing any disturbance. We will also see seabirds flying around the cliffs and keep an eye out for cetaceans. We will end our last day with a visit to the East mainland and a coastal cliff-top/beach walk.

Day 6 Sunday – Departure:

Departure after breakfast, option for a short walk in the morning for those leaving later.