"example at Aberdeen. Much of the Scottish coastline consists of a machair formation, a dune pasture land formed as sea levels subsided. The east coast has several significant estuaries and other nature reserves including the Ythan Estuary and Fowlsheugh, both of which have been designated as Important Bird Areas. Firths of Scotland include the Solway Firth, Firth of Clyde, and Firth of Lorne on the west coast, and the Cromarty Firth, Moray Firth, Firth of Tay, and Firth of Forth on the east coast. The Pentland Firth is not an inlet, but the strait that separates the Orkney Isles from"
"Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of Great Britain. Orkney is 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the coast of Caithness and comprises approximately 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, Mainland, is often referred to as ""the Mainland"". It has an area of , making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall. A form of the name dates to the pre-Roman era and the islands"
"Mainland to Shapinsay. The Orkney-Caithness route would be connected to Mainland, via the Churchill Barriers, but would make landfall on South Ronaldsay, if constructed. The main airport in Orkney is Kirkwall Airport, operated by Highland and Islands Airports. Loganair, a franchise of Flybe provides services to the Scottish Mainland (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness), as well as to Sumburgh Airport in Shetland. Most of the scheduled flights within Orkney depart/arrive at Kirkwall from one of the other islands. Ferries serve both to link Orkney to the rest of Scotland, and also to link together the various islands of the Orkney"
"referring to the sea lanes of the entire west coast of Scotland down to Kintyre. One version of the 9th-century ""Historia Brittonum"" states that ""the Britons originally filled the whole island with their peoples from the English Channel to the Sea of Orcs"". On the Caithness (southern) side the Firth extends from Dunnet Head in the west to Duncansby Head in the east, while on the Orkney (northern) side from Tor Ness on Hoy in the west to Old Head on South Ronaldsay in the east. In the middle of the Firth are two significant islands, Stroma and Swona. The"
"It was destroyed by a storm in 1898; a building at the shore end survives, much reconstructed, as a pub and restaurant called the Old Chain Pier. The Firth of Forth is an estuary which separates Edinburgh, Scotland's capital, from the peninsula of Fife. Traffic across the firth has been important for centuries; as well as having industry and agriculture, Fife lies on the shortest route from Edinburgh to the north of the country. The closest bridge to Edinburgh for many years was at Stirling, to the west. Queensferry, west, was named after Queen Margaret who crossed by ferry from"
"Mainland, Orkney The Mainland is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's population live on the island, which is more densely populated than the other islands of the archipelago. The lengthy history of the island's occupation has provided numerous important archaeological sites and the sandstone bedrock provides a platform for fertile farmland. There is an abundance of wildlife, especially seabirds. The name Mainland is a corruption of the Old Norse ""Meginland"". Formerly the island"
"Arctic species ""Primula stricta"" and ""Primula scandinavica"". Mainland, Orkney The Mainland is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's population live on the island, which is more densely populated than the other islands of the archipelago. The lengthy history of the island's occupation has provided numerous important archaeological sites and the sandstone bedrock provides a platform for fertile farmland. There is an abundance of wildlife, especially seabirds. The name Mainland is a corruption of"
"Orkney derives from Norwegian ancestors who invaded the islands in the 9th century. The Mainland is the largest island of Orkney. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, are on this island, which is also the heart of Orkney's transportation system, with ferry and air connections to the other islands and to the outside world. The island is more densely populated (75% of Orkney's population) than the other islands and has much fertile farmland. The Mainland is split into areas called East and West Mainland. These areas are determined by whether they lie East or West of Kirkwall. The bulk"
"archipelago. Ferry services operate between Orkney and the Scottish Mainland and Shetland on the following routes: Two services also connect Caithness, with South Ronaldsay, which is in turn connected to Mainland by road. Inter-island ferry services connect all the inhabited islands to Orkney Mainland, and are operated by Orkney Ferries, a company owned by Orkney Islands Council. Mainland has a great deal of marine life surrounding it, especially seabirds. Corncrakes can also be found in some parts. The Loch of Harray can host up to 10,000 wintering duck and is important for pochard. There are few wild land mammals although"
"Point of Ayre (Orkney) Point of Ayre ( ) is a headland in the parish of Deerness, on the Eastern side of Orkney Mainland, off the northern coast of mainland Scotland. Overlooking the Copinsay Pass, it lies 4 miles (6 km) south of Mull Head, and around 10 miles from Kirkwall, the main town on the island. At Point of Ayre is a seven-metre thick basalt lava flow. At its top surface are relict gas bubble holes now filled with carbonate. Lower down, the lava has weathered in an ""onion-skin"" or spheroidal pattern, which is an unusual feature in Orkney."
"Point of Ayre (Orkney) Point of Ayre ( ) is a headland in the parish of Deerness, on the Eastern side of Orkney Mainland, off the northern coast of mainland Scotland. Overlooking the Copinsay Pass, it lies 4 miles (6 km) south of Mull Head, and around 10 miles from Kirkwall, the main town on the island. At Point of Ayre is a seven-metre thick basalt lava flow. At its top surface are relict gas bubble holes now filled with carbonate. Lower down, the lava has weathered in an ""onion-skin"" or spheroidal pattern, which is an unusual feature in Orkney."
"small Pentland Skerries group are in the east. The islands of Hoy and South Ronaldsay border the firth to the north and are part of the Orkney Islands. The most northerly point of the headland of Dunnet Head, Easter Head, is also that of mainland Britain. The famous John o' Groats, Mey (site of the Castle of Mey), and many smaller villages are also to be found on the Caithness side as is the town of Thurso and Scrabster Harbour in Thurso Bay, on the western fringe of the Firth. In the West the ferry from Scrabster to Stromness operated"
"Churchill Barriers The Churchill Barriers are a series of four causeways in Orkney, Scotland, with a total length of 1.5 miles (2.4 km). They link the Mainland in the north to South Ronaldsay, via Burray, and the two smaller islands of Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm. The barriers were built in the 1940s primarily as naval defences to protect the anchorage at Scapa Flow, but now serve as road links, carrying the A961 road from Kirkwall to Burwick. The barriers are numbered from north to south. In 2016, Historic Environment Scotland designated barriers 3 and 4 as Category A listed"
"Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary (firth) of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. It was known as ""Bodotria"" in Roman times. In the Norse sagas it was known as the ""Myrkvifiörd"". Geologically, the Firth of Forth is a fjord, formed by the Forth Glacier in the last glacial period. The drainage basin for the Firth of Forth covers a wide geographic area including places as far from the shore as Ben Lomond, Cumbernauld, Harthill, Penicuik and the"
"marine coast around the east of the island is designated a Special Protection Area due to presence of sand dune and machair habitats, rare outside the Hebrides, as well as extensive intertidal flats and saltmarsh. Sanday, Orkney Sanday is one of the inhabited islands of Orkney that lies off the north coast of mainland Scotland. With an area of , it is the third largest of the Orkney Islands. The main centres of population are Lady Village and Kettletoft. Sanday can be reached by Orkney Ferries or by plane from Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. The Picts were the pre-Norse"
"by ferry to the Mainland and Hoy, and the latter is known for its large oil terminal. South Walls has a 19th-century Martello tower and is connected to Hoy by the Ayre. South Ronaldsay, Burray, Glims Holm, and Lamb Holm are connected by road to the Mainland by the Churchill Barriers. Uninhabited South Islands include: Calf of Flotta, Cava, Copinsay, Corn Holm, Fara, Glims Holm, Hunda, Lamb Holm, Rysa Little, Switha and Swona. The Pentland Skerries lie further south, closer to the Scottish mainland. The superficial rock of Orkney is almost entirely Old Red Sandstone, mostly of Middle Devonian age."
"Navigation Company (later P&O Scottish Ferries) were named ""St Ola"". Prof John Tait was born here in 1878. St Ola St Ola is a parish in Mainland, Orkney. It is in the centre of the island, east of the parish Firth and north of Holm. It contains the capital and largest town of the Orkney archipelago, Kirkwall. Both Kirkwall (, church-bay) and St Ola may take their name from the church of St. Olaf, built about 1035 on the north bank of the Willow burn, which stands just below the local primary school. Highland Park, the most northerly Scotch whisky"
"Firth of Tay The Firth of Tay (Scottish Gaelic: Linne Tatha) is a firth in Scotland between the council areas of Fife, Perth and Kinross, the City of Dundee and Angus, into which Scotland's largest river in terms of flow, the River Tay empties. The firth has a maximum width of at Invergowrie. Two bridges span the firth, the Tay Road Bridge and the Tay Rail Bridge. The firth has one major island, the marshy Mugdrum Island. The Firth of Tay in Antarctica was discovered in 1892-93 by Captain Thomas Robertson of the Dundee whaling expedition and named by him"
"Hoy Hoy (from Norse ""Háey"" meaning ""high island"") is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring — ranked largest in the archipelago after Mainland. A natural causeway, ""the Ayre"", links to much smaller South Walls; the two islands are treated as one entity by the UK census. The dramatic coastline of Hoy greets visitors travelling to Orkney by ferry from the Scottish mainland. It has extremes of many kinds: some of the highest sea cliffs in the UK at St John's Head, which reach ;; a light-stone precarious sea stack taller than the facing cliff – the Old Man of Hoy;"
"Holm of Grimbister Holm of Grimbister is an inhabited tidal islet in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. Located in the Bay of Firth near Finstown it is connected to Mainland Orkney by a causeway. Bay of Firth is an inlet of the Wide Firth that lies to the North. Within the bay and to the north east of the Holm is the companion islet of Damsay. The causeway from Holm of Grimbister connects to the mainland at Holm Point, just north of the mainland settlement of Grimbister. Haswell-Smith (2004) notes that the islet is farmed. Although it is clear that"
"of the mainland lies West of Kirkwall, with comparatively little land lying East of Kirkwall. West Mainland parishes are: Stromness, Sandwick, Birsay, Harray, Stenness, Orphir, Evie, Rendall and Firth. East Mainland Parishes are: St Ola, Tankerness, St Andrews, Holm and Deerness. The island is mostly low-lying (especially East Mainland) but with coastal cliffs to the north and west and two sizeable lochs: the Loch of Harray and the Loch of Stenness. The Mainland contains the remnants of numerous Neolithic, Pictish and Viking constructions. Four of the main Neolithic sites are included in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site,"
"is to the east. The island of Ireland lies only from the south-western peninsula of Kintyre; Norway is to the east and the Faroe Islands, to the north. The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and the Kingdom of England and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway. Important exceptions include the Isle of Man, which having been lost to England in the 14th century is now a crown dependency outside of the United Kingdom; the island groups Orkney and Shetland, which were acquired from Norway in 1472;"
"Finstown Finstown in the parish of Firth on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland is the third-largest settlement on the island. According to travel author Eric Linklater, the homes in Finstown are tidy and well cared for. This settlement is situated along the Bay of Firth, whose fringe is a shallow intertidal mudflat. Finstown is situated at the junction of the A965 and the A966. Prehistoric finds have been made in the form of ancient cists, somewhat west of the primary school. Further east towards Kirkwall is the Rennibister Earth House, estimated to be 3000 years old. Formerly called ""Toon o' Firth"", the"
"landlocked parish in Orkney, although it too has a significant coast along the Loch of Harray, albeit a freshwater one. The three main settlements on Mainland, in order of magnitude are Kirkwall and Stromness, both of which are burghs, and Finstown. Kirkwall, the biggest town of the islands, is on the isthmus between west Mainland and east Mainland, which historically enabled it to have highly active harbours facing in two directions for the southern and northern Orkney Islands; the southern one, Scapa Flow, is a large, calm and immediately ocean-accessible natural harbour. Kirkwall has the seat of the Bishop of"
"| Stromness | Shetland | Lerwick | Yell, Shetland | Unst On the Orkney Islands Route 1 starts in Stromness on Mainland, when arriving via ferry from Scrabster, or Burwick on South Ronaldsay, when arriving by ferry from John o' Groats. Starting in Stromness, the Route follows roads along the coast of northwestern Orkney Mainland, passing several sites of Heart of Neolithic Orkney and other interesting places in following order: The route then leads around the coast of Mainland via Evie, goes back to the Loch of Harray for passing Maes Howe, heading to the south coast passing Loch of"
"cases. ""Caithness FM"" has been broadcasting since 1993 and the Orkney Commercial Radio, Superstation Orkney from Kirkwall since 2004. Constituencies Other Caithness Caithness ( , ; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland and is otherwise bounded by sea. The land boundary follows a watershed and is crossed by two roads, the A9 and the A836, and one railway, the Far North Line. Across the Pentland Firth ferries link Caithness with Orkney, and Caithness also has an airport at Wick. The Pentland Firth island"
"mainland Scotland, covers an area of and has a coastline long. Lerwick, the capital and largest settlement, has a population of around 7,500 and about half of the archipelago's total population of 22,000 people live within of the town. Orkney has 20 inhabited islands and Shetland a total of 16. The superficial rock of Orkney is almost entirely Old Red Sandstone, mostly of Middle Devonian age. As in the neighbouring mainland county of Caithness, this sandstone rests upon the metamorphic rocks of the Moine series, as may be seen on the Orkney Mainland, where a narrow strip of the older"
"the waist"". The centre of the island is largely moorland covered with heather, and cultivation is confined to the coasts. The highest points are Flaughton Hill at the island's centre, Fersness Hill at West Side, Vinquoy Hill to the north and Ward Hill to the south, which reaches . In Orkney this last name, which derives from the Norse ""varði"", is a common one for the highest point on an island as in the past they were used for lighting warning beacons. The largest body of water is the sea, south east of Vinquoy Hill. Loch of Doomy lies on"
"was past, and ended up being lost on the shores of Ireland in the following weeks. Fair Isle Channel The Fair Isle Channel, also known as the Fair Isle Gap, is a body of water in northwest Scotland in the North Sea separating the Orkney Islands from the Shetland Islands. It is so named because of the presence of the Fair Isle, one of the Shetland Islands, which is located near its center. The Fair Isle Channel is believed to be one of the bodies of water used by the Spanish Armada in 1588 during its attempt to return to"
"Orkney, started in 1856, historically the Gills Bay area has been the main setting off point from the mainland to the islands of Stroma and Swona and Orkney itself. This route, known as The Short Sea Crossing, is generally considered to be both the quickest and safest across the waters of the Pentland Firth. At present Pentland Ferries operate a year round service on this route to St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay. The first pier was constructed in 1905 with the harbour some time later. In the 1980s Orkney Island Council decided to re-introduce the short sea crossing from"
"St Ola St Ola is a parish in Mainland, Orkney. It is in the centre of the island, east of the parish Firth and north of Holm. It contains the capital and largest town of the Orkney archipelago, Kirkwall. Both Kirkwall (, church-bay) and St Ola may take their name from the church of St. Olaf, built about 1035 on the north bank of the Willow burn, which stands just below the local primary school. Highland Park, the most northerly Scotch whisky distillery, is on the outskirts of Kirkwall. Several ships of the North of Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Steam"
"amongst the two crew and ten passengers. The main roads on Flotta are the B9045 and the B9046, which connect the ferry terminal with the settlement of Whome. Flotta has no causeways similar to the Churchill Barriers, which could allow vehicles to be driven to the nearby islands. All road vehicles are reliant on using the ferry to the Orkney Mainland, and to Hoy. Flotta Flotta is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying in Scapa Flow. The island is known for its large oil terminal and is linked by Orkney Ferries to Houton on the Orkney Mainland and Lyness"
"the Earl of Orkney against the Mormaer of Moray. Thorfinn Sigurdsson expanded his father's realm south beyond Sutherland and by the 11th century the Norwegian crown had come to accept that Caithness was held by the Earls of Orkney as a fiefdom from the Kings of Scotland although its Norse character was retained throughout the 13th century. Raghnall mac Gofraidh was granted Caithness after assisting the Scots king in a conflict with Harald Maddadson, an earl of Orkney in the early 13th century. This joint earldom ceased after 1375 and the Pentland Firth became the border between Scotland and Norway."