 | ||
| Kirkwall | ||
| Unitary Authority | Orkney | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents | approx 8,700 | |
other value for residents on Wikidata: 7420   | ||
| height | unknown | |
| no value for height on Wikidata: | ||
| Tourist info | 44 18 56 87 28 56 visitorkney / kirkwall | |
| no tourist info on Wikidata: | ||
| location | ||
| ||
Kirkwall is a city on the Orkney Islands.
background
Kirkwall on Mainland Island is the capital and administrative seat of the Orkney Islands. As the largest town in the archipelago, it is also a supply center and offers travelers the largest selection of supermarkets and specialty shops.
getting there
By plane
Kirkwall Airport
- 1 Kirkwall Airport (Kirkwall Airport, IATA: KOI), Kirkwall Airport, (KOI), Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1TH. Tel.: 44 (0) 1856 872 421.
is a few miles south of Kirkwall. Connections from / to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Inverness on mainland Scotland, as well Manchester, Bergen (Norway) and to Sumburgh on the Shetland Islands.
By bus
In the street
- Coming from the car ferry from Scrabster one drives from Stromness on the A964 to the east.
- From the car ferries John O'Groats to Burwick and from Gills's Bay to St. Margaret's Hope (both on South Ronaldsay) one drives on the A961 over the Churchill Barriers on Mainland and further north.
By boat
- Kirkwall is served three times a week by the North Link Ferry departing from Aberdeen Shetland Islands, and also from the return ferry with destination Aberdeen started. The ferries leave Kirkwall at 11:45 p.m. and offer low-budget travelers the inexpensive option of sleeping in the lounge or bar with a sleeping bag and mattress.
- From Kirkwall, ferries continue to sail to the following smaller Orkney Islands:
By bicycle
If you cycle the National Cycle Route 1 of the National Cycle Network (NCN) following the course of the North Sea Cycle Route depending on the direction of travel, you can either come from South Ronaldsay in the south or after completing the circumnavigation of Mainland through Kirkwall. A GPS track for the route can be found in the Bike tour wiki.
mobility
Map of Kirkwall
Offered by Kirkwall Stage Coachbus.com Linenbuse too different aim on the island, including to the airport, Skara Brae or that Ring of Brodgar.
Tourist Attractions
St Magnus Cathedral
St Magnus
Right next to each other on the corner of Broad St. and Watergate are four of Kirkwall's attractions:
Churches
Castles, chateaux and palaces
- 2 Bishop's Palace (Bishop’s Palace), Watergate, Kirkwall KW15 1PD. Tel.: 44 18 56 87 19 18.Open: April – Sept. 9.30 a.m. - 5.30 p.m., Oct. (only Wed-Sun) 9.30 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.
- 3 Earl's Palace (Earl’s Palace), Watergate, Kirkwall KW15 1PD.
Museums
- 4 Orkney Museum
Whiskey distilleries
Entrance to the Highland Park Distillery
Whiskey fans will find two distilleries in and around Kirkwall.
- 1 Highland ParkDistillery, Holm Road, Kirkwall, KW15 1SU. Tel.: 44 18 56 87 46 19, Email: [email protected]. Open: April Sept. Mon-Fri 10 am-5pm, closed on weekends. Guided tours every hour on the hour until 4 p.m. May - Aug.Mon-Sat 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sun 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Guided tours every hour on the hour until 4 p.m. Oct - March 1 p.m. - 5 p.m., closed on weekends. Guided tours at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
- Highland Park produces one of the most famous whiskey in Scotland. The dark buildings with their more than 20 large warehouses are at the top of the hill in the south of the city. Guided tours take place every hour, but the six-week production break of the distillery also falls exactly in the high tourist season, so that you can visit the facilities during this time, but you cannot observe the production process yourself. Still a worthwhile tour, because the malting floor and a warehouse are also shown here. Finally, a small tasting is included.
- 5 Scapa
activities
Regular activities
- Every year at the turn of the year the traditional takes place in Kirkwall as in Stromness Ba’Game, a ball game with approximately 300 players per team that uses the entire city (except St Magnus Cathedral). The origins of this game are believed to be in Celtic customs, today the game is played according to similar (very vague) rules in other places in Scotland.
- June: The St Magnus International Festival, which was founded by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies in 1977, attracts major artists and numerous guests to Kirkwall for the week around Midsummer. New compositions by Davies are regularly performed there, and the numerous performances also involve many performers from the islands.
sport and freetime
- 1 Orkney Golf Club, Grainbank, Kirkwall KW15 1RD. Tel.: 44 18 56 87 24 57, Email: [email protected].
- 2 Pickaquoy Center sports and leisure center, Muddisdale Road, Kirkwall, KW15 1LR. Tel.: 44 18 56 87 99 00, Fax: 44 18 56 87 99 01. Sports and leisure facility, cinema and children's play facilities, swimming pool. The campsite is right next door.
shop
Albert Street - promenade
- For basic supply products you will find three supermarkets one after the other on Pickaquoy Rd.: Lidl, Tesco and Coop, which thus represent the largest collection of supermarkets on the archipelago.
- In the small city center, tourists stroll in high season and populate the numerous souvenir and handicraft shops. In addition to the usual souvenir mishmash, you can also find numerous original jewelry, clothing and pottery that were made on the islands.
- Anyone needing to stock up on equipment or clothing should do so in Kirkwall before heading to the smaller islands. You will hardly find a larger range anywhere on the islands, many product areas are only available in Kirkwall.
kitchen
- 2 reel, 6 Broad Street, Kirkwall KW15 1HD. Tel.: 44 18 56 87 10 00, Fax: 44 18 56 87 33 33, Email: [email protected]. Is within sight of the cathedral. Large selection of coffee and hot chocolate, sandwiches and paninis. At the same time event center, live music in the evening, music school in the upper rooms. Numerous tables outside in good weather.
nightlife
in the reel (see kitchen) local folk musicians play regularly in the evenings. For some time now, the Wrigley twins, who are known beyond the Orkneys, have taken over the management there and occasionally shape the evening program with their fiddle game (as well as CD sales in the pub).
accommodation
Cheap
- 1 Pickaquoy campsite, Pickaquoy Rd., Kirkwall. Tel.: 44 18 56 87 99 00, Fax: 44 18 56 87 99 01, Email: [email protected].
- The campsite offers a large number of caravan pitches and several tent areas on mostly flat, well-drying grass. The highlight is the sanitary and lounge area, newly built in 2009, with very large, well-equipped shower and toilet cubicles, a washing and drying room, a large kitchen with plenty of storage space for guests' provisions and a comfortable lounge. Anyone who arrives in Kirkwall with the Aberdeen or Lerwick ferry around midnight can pre-book by phone and find their reserved space on a list at the sanitary building, so that night arrivals are also possible. The reception is located in the main building of the Pickaquoy Center, not on the campsite!
Bed & Breakfast
- 2 Polrudden, Peerie Sea Loan, Hatston Industrial Estate, Kirkwall KW15 1UH. Tel.: 44 1856 874761, Email: [email protected].
medium
- 3 Foveran Hotel ****, St Ola, Kirkwall, KW15 1SF. Tel.: 44 18 56 87 23 89, Fax: 44 18 56 87 64 30, Email: [email protected]. The hotel is located a few miles south of Kirkwall on the A964 on the banks of Scapa Flow. Upscale restaurant.
- 4 The Orkney Hotel, 40 Victoria Street, Kirkwall KW15 1DN. Tel.: 44 18 56 87 34 77, Fax: 44 18 56 87 27 67, Email: [email protected].
health
- NHS 24: Tel. 08454 242424: If a doctor cannot be reached in acute cases of illness, but the condition is not life-threatening either, you can call the telephone number where you can ask for help or receive an initial consultation by telephone.
- In all other, acute, life-threatening cases, one chooses the national one Emergency number 999.
Practical advice
- 2 VisitOrkney Tourist Information, West Castle Street, Kirkwall, KW15 1GU. Tel.: 44 18 56 87 28 56, Email: [email protected]. Located at the bus station, entrances from Castle Street and Junction Road.
- The Orcadian - Orkney newspaper.
The post office is on Junction Rd.
Free wifi can be found in the restaurant of the Pickaquoy Leisure Center.
trips
- For motorists, pretty much all of Mainland's tourist destinations are suitable for a day trip. Trips to the islands should be planned a little in advance, as not all islands are visited daily. Cars must also be registered in advance.
- The Churchill Barriers with the Italy Chapell south of Kirkwall are also a suitable day trip for cyclists - as long as you can handle the wind, which can inevitably affect you on the way there or back.
- To the Neolithic sites west of Kirkwall on west mainland, which are part of the World heritage are: Skara Brae and Maes Howe, The Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. Not part of the cultural heritage, but just as old and just as interesting are the excavations on the Ness of Brodgar.
- The small coastal town Stromness at the other end of Scapa Flow.
Web links
- An official website is not known. Please open Wikidata add.
