Stromness - Stromness

Stromness - geograph.org.uk - 1573936.jpg
Stromness
Unitary AuthorityOrkney
Residentsapprox. 2,200
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Tourist info webstromnessorkney.com
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Stromness

Stromness is a city on the Orkney Islands.

background

Prohibited parking! Originally, two lanes were marked by the paving
Fishing fleet in Stromness harbor

Stromness is the second largest town in the Orkney Islands. The small port town is situated on Hoy Sound at the western end of Scapa Flow Bay on Mainland Orkney. The gray cityAs it is also called because of its many stone houses, it has an eventful history as a base for whaling fleets, later for herring and cod fishing, and especially as a base for the British Navy. The coast of Point Ness, the headland off Stromness, was used to protect and defend the western entrance to Scapa Flow Bay, which was an important retreat for the British Navy during both World Wars. Even today, numerous abandoned defenses testify to the Ness Battery, on the coast of this past.

Stromness is important for travelers as it is one of the most important harbors with a year-round ferry service to mainland Scotland. The ferry Hamnavoe, named after the former name Stromness, commutes several times a day between the Orcadian Stromness and the Scottish Scrabster back and forth through the sometimes rough waters.

Stromness, which seems inconspicuous from a distance and whose narrow streets hardly appear wider than a single car, only reveals its interesting details when strolling through the small alleys and streets. As a visitor to Stromness, you shouldn't miss the opportunity to discover the numerous alleys, including the Khyber Pass to commit (it is certainly not as easily accessible as here in the original).

Stromness is also not unknown in the art and culture scene. There is an unusual program of events throughout the year, including the Orkney Jazz Festival and the Orkney Folk Festival. And finally, the Pier Arts Center, known far beyond Stromness, is a cultural highlight of the small town, which the English composer Peter Maxwell Davies wrote the composition Farewell to Stromness dedicated. With reading the novel Stromness by the German author Herbert Wetterauer, you can also get in the mood for the city in advance.

getting there

By plane

The Orkney Islands' only international airport is a few kilometers south of the main town Kirkwall.

By bus

The bus route X1 Orkney (stagecoach) runs almost every hour on weekdays and at least four times a day on weekends on the following route: Stromness - Finstown - Kirkwall - Holm - St Margaret's Hope (connection to the ferry to Gill's Bay on Mainland Scotland). The bus also stops at Kirkwall Airport.

In the street

Hamnavoe ferry in Stromness harbor

Coming from Kirkwall, the direct route is about 22 km (14 miles) on the A965 Finstown after Stromness. This route is also one of the busiest routes in the entire Orkney Islands, so you can get into stop-and-go traffic at rush hour.

You drive more calmly on the A964 along the north bank of Scapa Flow, past the Loch of Kirbister. At the Loch of Stenness you come to the A965. In total there are about 30 km on this route.

If you want to use the drive for a small round trip across the west mainland, drive to Finstown and then turn onto the A966 and follow it once along the north coast of mainland. From Birsay then follow the A967 and pass the historical sites of Skara Brae on this route. The distance from Kirkwall to Stromness is then approximately 60 km (37 miles).

If you want to travel to Stromness by car from the Scottish mainland, you can take the ferry from Scrabster described below.

By boat

The little Hoy ferry in the Hoy Sound
  • 1  North Link Ferries. Tel.: 44 84 56 00 04 49. The car ferry serves the Scrabster route (at Thurso) - Stromness several times a day all year round. Crossing 1.5 hours
  • 2  MV Graemsay. Tel.: 44 (0)800 011 3648, 44 18 56 85 06 24. The small passenger ferry to Hoy has its pier just south of the Scotland ferry. Bicycles are taken. Advance registration also useful or necessary for passenger transport.
  • 3  Stromness Marina. Tel.: 44 18 56 87 13 13 (Piermaster). 70 berths, accessible regardless of the tide, min.draft 2 m. Access all year round, sanitary facilities at the entrance to the marina. Free WiFi. Yacht and sport boat owners will find a berth in the Marina north of the terminal.

By bicycle

Depending on the direction of travel, Stromness is the start or end point of the North Sea Cycle Route (NSCR) in the Orkney Islands. The North Sea Cycle Route is signposted as National Route 1 in the Orkney Islands, as in the rest of the UK. Arriving from Scrabster by ferry to Stromness, cyclists will be led past numerous sights such as the Ring of Brodgar and on to Skara Brae over the next 20 km. In another 10 km it goes to Birsaywhere there is the nearest supply possibility (small shop and simple campsite). Route description and GPS track in Bike tour wiki.

mobility

Map of Stromness

Drivers should park their car in the parking lot at the port, because the center of Stromness can be explored on foot. Many small, interesting alleys cannot be discovered in any other way, and the numerous small staircases between the upper and lower streets, some of which allow glimpses into the small, walled gardens, can of course only be explored on foot.

The streets in the old town center are partly paved, so that the use of a walker or wheelchair can be associated with obstacles. The small stairs and narrow alleys with mostly a few steps also ensure that the place is sometimes only accessible to people with reduced mobility with assistance.

Tourist Attractions

Worth seeing in Stromness
Stromness Museum

 

  • 1  Stromness Museum, 52 Alfred Street, Stromness KW16 3H. Tel.: 44 18 56 85 00 25. The small Victorian museum by the sea shows exhibits from very different areas of the maritime past and the natural history of the Orkney Islands. One of the focal points deals with the self-sinking of the deep-sea fleet of the German Imperial Navy in Scapa Flow in 1919. Pictures and documents about and objects from the sunken ships fill numerous showcases. Other areas are devoted to the sunk by a German submarine in Scapa Flow shortly after the outbreak of war in 1939 HMS Royal Oak, the activities of Hudson Bay Company, which had a branch in Stromness, and the research expeditions of Arctic explorer John Rae. Numerous animal preparations from the local fauna complement the extremely varied exhibition.Open: April - September daily 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Oct - March Mon - Sat 11 a.m. - 3.30 p.m.Price: adults £ 3.50, children £ 1.
  • 2  Pier Arts Center, Victoria Street, Stromness KW16 3AA. Tel.: 44 18 56 85 02 09. . The gallery shows the collection of Margaret Gardiner (1904-2005), the building and pier were formerly owned by the Hudson Bay Company.Open: Tue - Sat 10.30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Ness Battery
  • 3  Ness Battery. Tel.: 44 77 59 85 72 98, Email: . Ness Battery was a crucial part of the defenses at the western entrance to Scapa Flow, the main naval port in both world wars. Together with numerous gun positions right by the sea, the remains of which are freely accessible, the entry and exit into the Hoy Sound was controlled from here. The battery was armed until 1955. After many years of restoration work, the Ness Battery has been accessible again as part of guided tours since 2012. Note: Outside at the Ness Battery it is often much colder and stormier than in Stromness - don't forget wind and weather protection. There is also no toilets on the plant.Open: Guided tours June - August, Wed - Sat, 12 noon, 2 pm and 4 pm (tours last one hour). Jan Feb Wed 12 noon, March - May Wed Fri 12 noon, Sept Wed Sat 11 a.m., Oct - Dec Sat 11 a.m.Price: Adults £ 6, Ki. 4 pounds.
Example of the alleys of Stromness: the Khyber Pass
  • 4 The Khyber Pass is one of the many small alleys that lead up the hill from the main street between the houses. The name is intended to recall the history of the British Empire on the Indian subcontinent, during which the "real" Khyber Pass played an important role in the two Anglo-Afghan wars. The only thing the little alley has in common with the original, however, is that for some it may be just as challenging to climb the steep, inclined steps, such as overcoming the Khyber Pass.
  • 5 Point Ness, the headland in the south of the village at the entrance to the harbor, is home to both the campsite and the golf course. Worthwhile one walk around the headland, in the course of which you pass numerous old positions from wartime, in which the entrance to Scapa Flow was defended from Stromness. Several of the positions are freely accessible, apart from some climbing down the cliffs. Also comes from the coastal path to the Ness Battery.
  • 6 Stromness Parish Church

activities

Golf course
  • 1  Stromness Golf Club, Ness Road. Tel.: 44 1856 850772, Email: . The golf course is located on Point Ness, the headland in front of Stromness and offers golfers an unrestricted panoramic view of Hoy and Scapa Flow.
  • 3  Scapa Scuba, Lifeboat House, Stromness KW16 3DA (In the bright red painted old lifeboat house on the harbor). Tel.: 44 18 56 85 12 18, Email: . Another diving company that, among other things, did dives to the wrecks of the German fleet from World War I, whose collective self-sinking after the surrender was supposed to prevent the ships from being taken over by the British fleet.
  • 1  Stromness Library, Hellihole Road, Stromness, KW16 3DE. Tel.: 44 18 56 85 09 07. If you need new English reading material for a longer stay, the library will help: the department of the Orkney Library in Kirkwall offers a special visitor pass for guests with which you can borrow books, CDs and DVDs from the Anebor.

Regular activities

Session during the folk festival in the Stromness Hotel
  • Turn of the year: in Stromness as well as in Kirkwall the traditional takes place Ba’Game instead, a ball game with nearly 300 players that uses the entire city. The origins of this game are presumed to be in Celtic customs, today the game is played according to similar (very vague) rules in other places in Scotland.
  • April: Orkney Jazz
  • June: Some events of the
    St Magnus International Festival. , which was founded by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies in 1977 in Kirkwall, take place at Stromness Town Hall. Major artists travel to the islands annually for this, and new compositions are also performed.
  • July:
    Stromness Shopping Week. The largest festival in the Orkney Islands has existed since 1949 and was founded back then in order to stimulate the local economy again in the post-war years. Today it has become a multi-faceted folk festival, during which the small streets of Stromness are full of people.
  • August: Orkney Beer Festival

shop

Bank of Scotland
  • 1  Bank of Scotland, 99 Victoria Street, Stromness KW16 3BU. Tel.: 44 18 56 85 04 07. Open: Mon 9.45am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-4pm, Wed 10.45am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-4.00pm, Fri 9.45am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-4.00pm. Closed Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun. ATM accessible from the outside.
  • 2  Co-op. Small supermarket, which is quite well sorted despite its rather small size.
  • 3  Stockan's oatcake, 25 North End Road, Stromness KW16 3AG. Tel.: 44 18 56 85 08 73, Email: . Those who appreciate the famous Scottish oat biscuits will find the Orcadian version here. But you also bake sweet biscuits, biscuits.

kitchen

Reference to the hidden little restaurant on Victoria Street
  • 1  Hamnavoe, 35 Graham Place, Stromness. Tel.: 44 18 56 85 06 06, Email: . Regional cuisine, fish dishes. Hidden in the alleys to the southwest of the harbor.
  • Scapa Flow, The Pierhead, Stromness, KW16 3AA (in the Stromness Hotel). Tel.: 44 18 56 85 02 98, Email: .
  • 2  Julia's Cafe, 20 Ferry Road, Stromness (directly opposite the ferry terminal). Tel.: 44 18 56 85 09 04. Small cafe with lunch dishes and cakes, often very busy. But you sit nicely with a direct view of the ferry terminal - so also suitable if you get to the ferry too early and want to pass the waiting with a piece of carrot cake or something else. Breakfast and lunch menu, children's meals, cafes and cakes, also take-away.Open: Open Mon - Sat 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
  • 3  The Ferry Inn, 10 John Street (at the port). Tel.: 44 1856 85 02 80, Email: . Traditional pub with restaurant, wooden tables in front of the door in summer.
  • 4  Standing Stones Hotel-Restaurant, Stenness (outside, see accommodation)). Tel.: 44 18 56 85 04 49. Traditional Orcadian cuisine made from regional products.Open: Daily 12 p.m. - 9.30 p.m.

nightlife

Beyond the nightlife in the local pubs and the activities around the festivals, there is no exuberant nightlife to be found in Stromness. If you are looking for a larger offer, you have to be lucky Kirkwall to attempt.

  • The Ferry Inn. Large selection of regional ales.

accommodation

Point Ness Campsite
  • 1  Point of Ness Caravan and Camping Site. Tel.: 44 18 56 87 35 35. The campsite is uniquely located on the outermost headland in front of Stromness - Point Ness. From your tent or mobile home you have an unobstructed view of Stromness Bay, Scapa Flow, the neighboring island of Hoy and the ferry that pulls in through the Hoy Sound several times a day Hamnavoe. A groundskeeper is not permanently present on the site; someone only comes by in the evening for the formalities. Small, simple, but well-kept sanitary building with everything you need (washing machine, small kitchen) including a small lounge for bad weather. No shopping facilities on the square. If you want to camp here, you should have a storm-proof tent and you should definitely relax well before leaving the tent alone for the day. When it storms (and it happens more often) there is no protection here from the gusts coming straight from Scapa Flow.
  • 2  Hamnavoe Hostel, Hoygar, Innertown, Stromness, KW16 3JR. Tel.: 44 18 56 85 12 02, Email: . Even if you can't tell from the outside of the hostel, it has been awarded four stars by the Scottish Tourist Board within its category.
Stromness Hotel

Learn

security

  • 2  Stromness Police Station, North End Road, Stromness KW16 3AG. Tel.: 44 18 56 87 22 41.

health

Practical advice

  • 3  Tourist information, Pier Head, Stromness KW16 3BH. Tel.: 44 18 56 85 07 16. Small information at the terminal of the NorthLink ferry, sometimes limited opening times.
Post office
  • Postcode district: KW16, area code (44) 01856
  • 4  Stromness Post Office, 37 Victoria Street, Stromness, Orkney Islands KW16 3BS. Tel.: 44 18 56 85 02 25.

trips

View from Point Ness to Hoy
  • Stromness is an excellent base for touring the nearby Neolithic landmarks that have been part of the World heritage UNESCO are (detailed descriptions here):
  • With the small passenger ferry you can take a day trip from Stromness to the neighboring island Hoy Companies.
  • And also to the capital of the archipelago, according to Kirkwall, it is not far.

literature

  • Herbert Wetterauer, Stromness |[1], Roman, Schardt Verlag Oldenburg, 2009

Web links

  • An official website is not known. Please open Wikidata add.
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