Orkney

Orkney (/ˈɔːrkni/; Old Norse: Orkneyjar), also known as the Orkney Islands,[Notes 1] is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north of the coast of Caithness and has about 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited.[3][4][5] The largest island, Mainland, is often referred to as "the Mainland", and has an area of 523 square kilometres (202 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles.[6] The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall.[7]

This article is about the Scottish islands. For other uses, see Orkney (disambiguation).

Orkney
Gaelic nameArcaibh
Norse nameOrkneyjar
Meaning of name"Ork" possibly originally from a Pictish tribal name meaning ‘young pig’.[1]
Location
Orkney
Orkney shown within Scotland
Coordinates59°0′N 3°2′W
Physical geography
Island groupNorthern Isles
Area990 km2 (380 sq mi)
Highest elevationWard Hill
Administration
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryScotland
Council areaOrkney Islands Council
Demographics
Population22,100 (2017)
Population density20/km2 (52/sq mi)
Largest settlementKirkwall

Orkney is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, a constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a lieutenancy area, and a 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 2]

The islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts. Orkney was colonised and later annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse. The Scottish Parliament then absorbed the earldom to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James III's bride Margaret of Denmark.[10]

In addition to the Mainland, most of the remaining islands are in two groups, the North and South Isles, all of which have an underlying geological base of Old Red Sandstone. The climate is relatively mild and the soils are extremely fertile, most of the land being farmed. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy. The significant wind and marine energy resources are of growing importance, and Orkney generates more than its total yearly electricity demand using renewables. The local people are known as Orcadians and have a distinctive dialect of the Scots language and a rich inheritance of folklore. Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is an abundance of marine and avian wildlife.

Etymology
Blaeu's 1654 map of Orkney and Shetland. Map makers at this time continued to use the original Latin name Orcades.

Pytheas of Massilia visited Britain – probably sometime between 322 and 285 BC – and described it as triangular in shape, with a northern tip called Orcas.[11] This may have referred to Dunnet Head, from which Orkney is visible.[12] Writing in the 1st century AD, the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela called the islands Orcades, as did Tacitus in 98 AD, claiming that his father-in-law Agricola had "discovered and subjugated the Orcades hitherto unknown"[12][13] (although both Mela and Pliny had previously referred to the islands[11]).

Etymologists usually interpret the element orc- as a Pictish tribal name meaning "young pig" or "young boar".[Notes 3][1] Speakers of Old Irish referred to the islands as Insi Orc "islands of the young pigs".[15][16] The archipelago is known as Ynysoedd Erch in modern Welsh and Arcaibh in modern Scottish Gaelic, the -aibh representing a fossilized prepositional case ending. Some earlier sources alternately hypothesise that Orkney comes from the Latin orca, whale.[17][18] The Anglo-Saxon monk Bede refers to the islands as Orcades insulae in Ecclesiastical History of the English People.[19]

Norwegian settlers arriving from the late ninth century reinterpreted orc as the Old Norse orkn "seal" and added eyjar "islands" to the end,[20] so the name became Orkneyjar "Seal Islands". The plural suffix -jar was later removed in English leaving the modern name Orkney. According to the Historia Norwegiæ, Orkney was named after an earl called Orkan.[21]

The Norse knew Mainland, Orkney as Megenland "Mainland" or as Hrossey "Horse Island".[22] The island is sometimes referred to as Pomona (or Pomonia), a name that stems from a 16th-century mistranslation by George Buchanan, which has rarely been used locally.[23][24]

History
Main article: History of Orkney
Ring of Brodgar, on the island of Mainland, Orkney

Prehistory
Main article: Prehistoric Orkney

A charred hazelnut shell, recovered in 2007 during excavations in Tankerness on the Mainland has been dated to 6820–6660 BC indicating the presence of Mesolithic nomadic tribes.[25] The earliest known permanent settlement is at Knap of Howar, a Neolithic farmstead on the island of Papa Westray, which dates from 3500 BC. The village of Skara Brae, Europe's best-preserved Neolithic settlement, is believed to have been inhabited from around 3100 BC.[26] Other remains from that era include the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Maeshowe passage grave, the Ring of Brodgar and other standing stones. Many of the Neolithic settlements were abandoned around 2500 BC, possibly due to changes in the climate.[27][28][29]

During the Bronze Age fewer large stone structures were built although the great ceremonial circles continued in use[30] as metalworking was slowly introduced to Britain from Europe over a lengthy period.[31][32] There are relatively few Orcadian sites dating from this era although there is the impressive Plumcake Mound[33] near the Ring of Brodgar and various islands sites such as Tofts Ness on Sanday and the remains of two houses on Holm of Faray.[34][35]

Iron Age
Midhowe Broch on the west coast of Rousay

Excavations at Quanterness on the Mainland have revealed an Atlantic roundhouse built about 700 BC and similar finds have been made at Bu on the Mainland and Pierowall Quarry on Westray.[36] The most impressive Iron Age structures of Orkney are the ruins of later round towers called "brochs" and their associated settlements such as the Broch of Burroughston[37] and Broch of Gurness. The nature and origin of these buildings is a subject of ongoing debate. Other structures from this period include underground storehouses, and aisled roundhouses, the latter usually in association with earlier broch sites.[38][39]

During the Roman invasion of Britain the "King of Orkney" was one of 11 British leaders who is said to have submitted to the Emperor Claudius in AD 43 at Colchester.[40][Notes 4] After the Agricolan fleet had come and gone, possibly anchoring at Shapinsay, direct Roman influence seems to have been limited to trade rather than conquest.[43]

However, Polemius Silvius wrote a list of Late Roman provinces, which Seeck appended to his edition of the Notitia Dignitatum.[44] The list is famous because it names six provinces in Roman Britannia: the sixth is the dubious "Orcades provincia", of which recent researches re-evaluate the possibility of real existence.[45]

By the late Iron Age, Orkney was part of the Pictish kingdom, and although the archaeological remains from this period are less impressive there is every reason to suppose the fertile soils and rich seas of Orkney provided the Picts with a comfortable living.[43][Notes 5] The Dalriadic Gaels began to influence the islands towards the close of the Pictish era, perhaps principally through the role of Celtic missionaries, as evidenced by several islands bearing the epithet "Papa" in commemoration of these preachers.[47] However, before the Gaelic presence could establish itself the Picts were gradually dispossessed by the Norse from the late 8th century onwards. The nature of this transition is controversial, and theories range from peaceful integration to enslavement and genocide.[48] It has been suggested that an assault by forces from Fortriu in 681 in which Orkney was "annihilated" may have led to a weakening of the local power base and helped the Norse come to prominence.[49]

Norwegian rule
According to the Orkneyinga Saga, Harald Fairhair (on the right, with fair hair) took control of Orkney in 875. He is shown here inheriting his kingdom from his father Halfdan the Black, in an illustration from the Flateyjarbók.

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.)[50] 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.[51]

However, Sigurd's line barely survived him and it was Torf-Einarr, Rognvald's son by a slave, who founded a dynasty that controlled the islands for centuries after his death.[52][Notes 6] He was succeeded by his son Thorfinn Skull-splitter and during this time the deposed Norwegian King Eric Bloodaxe often used Orkney as a raiding base before being killed in 954. Thorfinn's death and presumed burial at the broch of Hoxa, on South Ronaldsay, led to a long period of dynastic strife.[54][55]

Artist's conception of King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway, who forcibly Christianised Orkney.[56] Painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo.

Initially a pagan culture, detailed information about the turn to the Christian religion to the islands of Scotland during the Norse-era is elusive.[57] The Orkneyinga Saga suggests the islands were Christianised by Olaf Tryggvasson in 995 when he stopped at South Walls on his way from Ireland to Norway. The King summoned the jarl Sigurd the Stout[Notes 7] and said, "I order you and all your subjects to be baptised. If you refuse, I'll have you killed on the spot and I swear I will ravage every island with fire and steel." Unsurprisingly, Sigurd agreed and the islands became Christian at a stroke,[56] receiving their own bishop in the early 11th century.[Notes 8][Notes 9]

Thorfinn the Mighty was a son of Sigurd and a grandson of King Máel Coluim mac Cináeda (Malcolm II of Scotland). Along with Sigurd's other sons he ruled Orkney during the first half of the 11th century and extended his authority over a small maritime empire stretching from Dublin to Shetland. Thorfinn died around 1065 and his sons Paul and Erlend succeeded him, fighting at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066.[62] Paul and Erlend quarreled as adults and this dispute carried on to the next generation. The martyrdom of Magnus Erlendsson, who was killed in April 1116 by his cousin Haakon Paulsson, resulted in the building of St. Magnus Cathedral, still today a dominating feature of Kirkwall.[Notes 10][Notes 11]

St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall

Unusually, from c. 1100 onwards the Norse jarls owed allegiance both to Norway for Orkney and to the Scottish crown through their holdings as Earls of Caithness.[65] In 1231 the line of Norse earls, unbroken since Rognvald, ended with Jon Haraldsson's murder in Thurso.[66] The Earldom of Caithness was granted to Magnus, second son of the Earl of Angus, whom Haakon IV of Norway confirmed as Earl of Orkney in 1236.[67] In 1290, the death of the child princess Margaret, Maid of Norway in Orkney, en route to mainland Scotland, created a disputed succession that led to the Wars of Scottish Independence.[68][Notes 12] In 1379 the earldom passed to the Sinclair family, who were also barons of Roslin near Edinburgh.[69][Notes 13]

Evidence of the Viking presence is widespread, and includes the settlement at the Brough of Birsay,[72] the vast majority of place names,[73] and the runic inscriptions at Maeshowe.[Notes 14]

Absorbed by Scotland
James III and Margaret, whose betrothal led to Orkney passing from Norway to Scotland.

In 1468 Orkney was pledged by Christian I, in his capacity as King of Norway, as security against the payment of the dowry of his daughter Margaret, betrothed to James III of Scotland. However the money was never paid, and Orkney was absorbed by the Kingdom of Scotland in 1472. [Notes 15]

The history of Orkney prior to this time is largely the history of the ruling aristocracy. From now on the ordinary people emerge with greater clarity. An influx of Scottish entrepreneurs helped to create a diverse and independent community that included farmers, fishermen and merchants that called themselves comunitas Orcadie and who proved themselves increasingly able to defend their rights against their feudal overlords.[77][78]

From at least the 16th century, boats from mainland Scotland and the Netherlands dominated the local herring fishery. There is little evidence of an Orcadian fleet until the 19th century but it grew rapidly and 700 boats were involved by the 1840s with Stronsay and later Stromness becoming leading centres of development. White fish never became as dominant as in other Scottish ports.[79]

In the 17th century, Orcadians formed the overwhelming majority of employees of the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. The harsh winter weather of Orkney and the Orcadian reputation for sobriety and their boat handling skills made them ideal candidates for the rigours of the Canadian north.[80] During this period, burning kelp briefly became a mainstay of the islands' economy. For example on Shapinsay over 3,000 long tons (3,048 t) of burned seaweed were produced per annum to make soda ash, bringing in £20,000 to the local economy.[81] The industry collapsed suddenly in 1830 after the removal of tariffs on imported alkali.[82]

Agricultural improvements beginning in the 17th century resulted in the enclosure of the commons and ultimately in the Victoria era the emergence of large and well-managed farms using a five-shift rotation system and producing high-quality beef cattle.[83]

During the 18th century Jacobite risings, Orkney was largely Jacobite in its sympathies. At the end of the 1715 rebellion, a large number of Jacobites who had fled north from mainland Scotland sought refuge in Orkney and were helped on to safety in Sweden.[84] In 1745, the Jacobite lairds on the islands ensured that Orkney remained pro-Jacobite in outlook, and was a safe place to land supplies from Spain to aid their cause. Orkney was the last place in the British Isles that held out for the Jacobites and was not retaken by the British Government until 24 May 1746, over a month after the defeat of the main Jacobite army at Culloden.[85]

20th century
The Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm was built and decorated by Italian prisoners of war working on the Churchill Barriers.[86]

Orkney was the site of a Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow, which played a major role in World War I and II. After the Armistice in 1918, the German High Seas Fleet was transferred in its entirety to Scapa Flow to await a decision on its future. The German sailors opened the sea-cocks and scuttled all the ships. Most ships were salvaged, but the remaining wrecks are now a favoured haunt of recreational divers. One month into World War II, a German U-boat sank the Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Flow. As a result, barriers were built to close most of the access channels; these had the additional advantage of creating causeways enabling travellers to go from island to island by road instead of being obliged to rely on ferries. The causeways were constructed by Italian prisoners of war, who also constructed the ornate Italian Chapel.[86]

The navy base became run down after the war, eventually closing in 1957. The problem of a declining population was significant in the post-war years, though in the last decades of the 20th century there was a recovery and life in Orkney focused on growing prosperity and the emergence of a relatively classless society.[87] Orkney was rated as the best place to live in Scotland in both 2013 and 2014, and in 2019 the best place to live in the UK, according to the Halifax Quality of Life survey.[88][89]

In the modern era, population peaked in the mid 19th century at just over 32,000 and declined for a century thereafter to a low of fewer than 18,000 in the 1970s. Declines were particularly significant in the outlying islands, some of which remain vulnerable to ongoing losses. Although Orkney is in many ways very distinct from the other islands and archipelagos of Scotland these trends are very similar to those experienced elsewhere.[90][91] The archipelago's population grew by 11% in the decade to 2011 as recorded by the census.[5][92] During the same period Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702.[93]

Geography
Satellite image taken by Sentinel-2
Map of Orkney showing main transport routes

Orkney is separated from the mainland of Scotland by the Pentland Firth, a 10-kilometre (6 mi) wide seaway between Brough Ness on the island of South Ronaldsay and Duncansby Head in Caithness. Orkney lies between 58°41′ and 59°24′ North, and 2°22′ and 3°26′ West, measuring 80 kilometres (50 mi) from northeast to southwest and 47 kilometres (29 mi) from east to west, and covers 975 square kilometres (376 sq mi).[94][95]

Orkney is separated from the Shetland Islands, a group farther out, by a body of water called the Fair Isle Channel.[96]

The islands are mainly low-lying except for some sharply rising sandstone hills on Mainland, Rousay and Hoy (where the tallest point in Orkney, Ward Hill, can be found) and rugged cliffs on some western coasts. Nearly all of the islands have lochs, but the watercourses are merely streams draining the high land. The coastlines are indented, and the islands themselves are divided from each other by straits generally called "sounds" or "firths".[94][97]

The tidal currents, or "roosts" as some of them are called locally,[98] off many of the isles are swift, with frequent whirlpools.[Notes 16] The islands are notable for the absence of trees, which is partly accounted for by the strong winds.[100]

Administration

Orkney is administered by the Orkney Islands Council, a unitary island council created in the Scottish local government re-organization in 1975. In that year Scotland’s civil parishes were replaced by Community Council Areas, which had an advisory, rather than an administrative role. Orkney’s parishes were replaced by 20 CCA’s covering 34 rural settlements.[101][102] Ten of these CCA’s were formed on Mainland, replacing 13 civil parish and two burgh councils.

Demographics

Genetic studies have shown that 25% of the gene pool of Orkney derives from Norwegian ancestors who invaded the islands in the 9th century.[103]

Islands
Main article: List of Orkney islands

The Mainland
Main article: Mainland, Orkney
Stromness on the Mainland is the second largest settlement in Orkney.

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 transport system, with ferry and air connections to the other islands and to the outside world. The island is more heavily 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 of the mainland lies west of Kirkwall, with comparatively little land 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, inscribed in 1999.

The other islands in the group are classified as north or south of the Mainland. Exceptions are the remote islets of Sule Skerry and Sule Stack, which lie 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of the archipelago, but form part of Orkney for local government purposes. In island names, the suffix "a" or "ay" represents the Norse ey, meaning "island". Those described as "holms" are very small.

The North Isles
North Ronaldsay sheep are a semi-feral breed that has evolved to eat seaweed.[104] Their unique genetic inheritance makes them of interest to conservationists.[105]

The northern group of islands is the most extensive and consists of a large number of moderately sized islands, linked to the Mainland by ferries and by air services. Farming, fishing and tourism are the main sources of income for most of the islands.

The most northerly is North Ronaldsay, which lies 4 kilometres (2 mi) beyond its nearest neighbour, Sanday. To the west is Westray, which has a population of 550. It is connected by ferry and air to Papa Westray, also known as "Papay". Eday is at the centre of the North Isles. The centre of the island is moorland and the island's main industries have been peat extraction and limestone quarrying.

Rousay, Egilsay and Gairsay lie north of the west Mainland across the Eynhallow Sound. Rousay is well known for its ancient monuments, including the Quoyness chambered cairn and Egilsay has the ruins of the only round-towered church in Orkney. Wyre to the south-east contains the site of Cubbie Roo's castle. Stronsay and Papa Stronsay lie much further to the east across the Stronsay Firth. Auskerry is south of Stronsay and has a population of only five. Shapinsay and its Balfour Castle are a short distance north of Kirkwall.

Other small uninhabited islands in the North Isles group include: Calf of Eday, Damsay, Eynhallow, Faray, Helliar Holm, Holm of Faray, Holm of Huip, Holm of Papa, Holm of Scockness, Kili Holm, Linga Holm, Muckle Green Holm, Rusk Holm and Sweyn Holm.

Hoy High Lighthouse on Graemsay

The South Isles

The southern group of islands surrounds Scapa Flow. Hoy, to the west, is the second largest of the Orkney Isles and Ward Hill at its northern end is the highest elevation in the archipelago. The Old Man of Hoy is a well-known seastack. Graemsay and Flotta are both linked 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. Burray lies to the east of Scapa Flow and is linked by causeway to South Ronaldsay, which hosts the cultural events, the Festival of the Horse and the Boys' Ploughing Match on the third Saturday in August.[106] 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.

Uninhabited South Islands include: Calf of Flotta, Cava, Copinsay, Corn Holm, Fara, Glimps Holm, Hunda, Lamb Holm, Rysa Little, Switha and Swona. The Pentland Skerries lie further south, closer to the Scottish mainland.

Geology
Main article: Geology of Orkney
The Old Man of Hoy

The superficial rock of Orkney is almost entirely Old Red Sandstone, mostly of Middle Devonian age.[107] 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 Mainland, where a narrow strip is exposed between Stromness and Inganess, and again in the small island of Graemsay; they are represented by grey gneiss and granite.[108]

Geology of Orkney

The Middle Devonian is divided into three main groups. The lower part of the sequence, mostly Eifelian in age, is dominated by lacustrine beds of the lower and upper Stromness Flagstones that were deposited in Lake Orcadie.[109] The later Rousay flagstone formation is found throughout much of the North and South Isles and East Mainland.[110]

The Old Man of Hoy is formed from sandstone of the uppermost Eday group that is up to 800 metres (870 yd) thick in places. It lies unconformably upon steeply inclined flagstones, the interpretation of which is a matter of continuing debate.[110][111]

The Devonian and older rocks of Orkney are cut by a series of WSW-ENE to N-S trending faults, many of which were active during deposition of the Devonian sequences.[112] A strong synclinal fold traverses Eday and Shapinsay, the axis trending north-south.

Middle Devonian basaltic volcanic rocks are found on western Hoy, on Deerness in eastern Mainland and on Shapinsay. Correlation between the Hoy volcanics and the other two exposures has been proposed, but differences in chemistry means this remains uncertain.[113] Lamprophyre dykes of Late Permian age are found throughout Orkney.[114]

Glacial striation and the presence of chalk and flint erratics that originated from the bed of the North Sea demonstrate the influence of ice action on the geomorphology of the islands. Boulder clay is also abundant and moraines cover substantial areas.[115]

Climate

Orkney has a cool temperate climate that is remarkably mild and steady for such a northerly latitude, due to the influence of the Gulf Stream.[116] The average temperature for the year is 8 °C (46 °F); for winter 4 °C (39 °F) and for summer 12 °C (54 °F).[117]

The average annual rainfall varies from 850 millimetres (33 in) to 940 millimetres (37 in).[117] Winds are a key feature of the climate and even in summer there are almost constant breezes. In winter, there are frequent strong winds, with an average of 52 hours of gales being recorded annually.[118]

To tourists, one of the fascinations of the islands is their "nightless" summers. On the longest day, the sun rises at 04:00 and sets at 22:29 BST and complete darkness is unknown. This long twilight is known in the Northern Isles as the "simmer dim".[119] Winter nights are long. On the shortest day the sun rises at 09:05 and sets at 15:16.[120] At this time of year the aurora borealis can occasionally be seen on the northern horizon during moderate auroral activity.[121]

The averages table below is for largest settlement Kirkwall's weather station.

Climate data for Kirkwall, 26m asl, 1981–2010, Extremes 1951–
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 12.2
(54.0)		 12.8
(55.0)		 18.9
(66.0)		 18.3
(64.9)		 22.0
(71.6)		 22.8
(73.0)		 25.6
(78.1)		 24.8
(76.6)		 22.8
(73.0)		 19.4
(66.9)		 14.5
(58.1)		 12.8
(55.0)		 25.6
(78.1)
Average high °C (°F) 6.4
(43.5)		 6.4
(43.5)		 7.6
(45.7)		 9.5
(49.1)		 12.0
(53.6)		 14.0
(57.2)		 15.9
(60.6)		 16.0
(60.8)		 14.1
(57.4)		 11.4
(52.5)		 8.6
(47.5)		 6.8
(44.2)		 10.7
(51.3)
Average low °C (°F) 1.9
(35.4)		 1.7
(35.1)		 2.4
(36.3)		 3.8
(38.8)		 5.6
(42.1)		 8.1
(46.6)		 10.2
(50.4)		 10.3
(50.5)		 8.8
(47.8)		 6.7
(44.1)		 4.2
(39.6)		 2.3
(36.1)		 5.5
(41.9)
Record low °C (°F) −7.8
(18.0)		 −7
(19)		 −6.8
(19.8)		 −4.9
(23.2)		 −2.1
(28.2)		 1.0
(33.8)		 3.4
(38.1)		 3.7
(38.7)		 0.5
(32.9)		 −1.6
(29.1)		 −5.5
(22.1)		 −7.6
(18.3)		 −7.8
(18.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 109.7
(4.32)		 93.3
(3.67)		 95.7
(3.77)		 60.3
(2.37)		 48.0
(1.89)		 52.7
(2.07)		 57.4
(2.26)		 66.3
(2.61)		 95.3
(3.75)		 126.0
(4.96)		 126.0
(4.96)		 107.8
(4.24)		 1,038.5
(40.89)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) 20.1 16.8 17.9 13.4 10.6 10.7 11.6 12.5 16.2 19.6 20.8 18.5 188.7
Mean monthly sunshine hours 32.2 59.3 98.2 136.8 190.0 148.6 132.2 129.7 105.3 75.8 40.1 24.5 1,172.4
Source 1: Met Office[122]
Source 2: Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute/KNMI[123]

Politics

Orkney is represented in the House of Commons as part of the Orkney and Shetland constituency, which elects one Member of Parliament (MP), the current incumbent being Alistair Carmichael. This seat has been held by the Liberal Democrats or their predecessors the Liberal Party since 1950, longer than any other they represent in Great Britain.[124][125][126]

In the Scottish Parliament the Orkney constituency elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system. The current MSP is Liam McArthur of the Liberal Democrats.[127] Before McArthur the MSP was Jim Wallace, who was previously Deputy First Minister.[128] Orkney is within the Highlands and Islands electoral region.

Orkney Islands Council consists of 21 members, 18 of whom are independent, that is they do not stand as representatives of a political party. Two councillors are members of the indigenous Orkney Manifesto Group, and the remaining councillor represents the Green Party.[129][130]

The Orkney Movement, a political party that supported devolution for Orkney from the rest of Scotland, contested the 1987 general election as the Orkney and Shetland Movement (a coalition of the Orkney movement and its equivalent for Shetland). The Scottish National Party chose not to contest the seat to give the movement a "free run". Their candidate, John Goodlad, came 4th with 3,095 votes, 14.5% of those cast, but the experiment has not been repeated.[131]

In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum 67.2% of voters in Orkney voted No to the question "Should Scotland be an independent country?" This was the highest % No vote in any council area in Scotland.[132] Turnout for the referendum was at 83.7% in Orkney with 10,004 votes cast in the area against independence by comparison to 4,883 votes for independence.[133]

Economy

The soil of Orkney is generally very fertile and most of the land is taken up by farms, agriculture being by far the most important sector of the economy and providing employment for a quarter of the workforce.[134] More than 90% of agricultural land is used for grazing for sheep and cattle, with cereal production utilising about 4% (4,200 hectares (10,000 acres)) and woodland occupying only 134 hectares (330 acres).[135]

Fishing has declined in importance, but still employed 345 individuals in 2001, about 3.5% of the islands' economically active population, the modern industry concentrating on herring, white fish, lobsters, crabs and other shellfish, and salmon fish farming.[Notes 17]

Today, the traditional sectors of the economy export beef, cheese, whisky, beer, fish and other seafood. In recent years there has been growth in other areas including tourism, food and beverage manufacture, jewellery, knitwear, and other crafts production, construction and oil transportation through the Flotta oil terminal.[136] Retailing accounts for 17.5% of total employment,[135] and public services also play a significant role, employing a third of the islands' workforce.[137]

In 2007, of the 1,420 VAT registered enterprises 55% were in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 12% in manufacturing and construction, 12% in wholesale, retail and repairs, and 5% in hotels and restaurants. A further 5% were public service related.[135] 55% of these businesses employ between 5 and 49 people.[137]

Power
Pelamis on site at EMEC's wave testing site off Billia Croo

Orkney has significant wind and marine energy resources, and renewable energy has recently come into prominence. Although Orkney is connected to the mainland, it generates over 100% of its net power from renewables.[138] This comes mainly from wind turbines situated across Orkney.

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) is a research facility operating a grid-connected wave test site at Billia Croo, off the west coast of the Orkney Mainland, and a tidal power test site in the Fall of Warness, off the northern island of Eday.[139] At the official opening of the Eday project the site was described as "the first of its kind in the world set up to provide developers of wave and tidal energy devices with a purpose-built performance testing facility."[Notes 18]

During 2007 Scottish and Southern Energy plc in conjunction with the University of Strathclyde began the implementation of a Regional Power Zone in the Orkney archipelago, involving "active network management" that will make better use of existing infrastructure and allow a further 15MW of new "non-firm generation" output from renewables onto the network.[141][142] 1.5 MW of polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis form a partial hydrogen economy for hydrogen vehicles and district heating,[143] and grid batteries and electric vehicles also use local energy.[144][145]

Transport

Air

Highland and Islands Airports operates the main airport in Orkney, Kirkwall Airport. Loganair provides services to the Scottish mainland (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness), as well as to Sumburgh Airport in Shetland.[146]

Within Orkney, the council operates airfields on most of the larger islands including Stronsay, Eday, North Ronaldsay, Westray, Papa Westray, and Sanday.[147] The shortest scheduled air service in the world, between the islands of Westray and Papa Westray, is scheduled at two minutes' duration[148] but can take less than one minute if the wind is in the right direction.

Ferry
MV Earl Thorfinn arrives at Westray. Orkney Ferries operate a fleet of inter-island ferries.[149]

Ferries serve both to link Orkney to the rest of Scotland, and also to link together the various islands of the Orkney archipelago. Ferry services operate between Orkney and the Scottish mainland and Shetland on the following routes:

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.[146]

Orkney has one of the highest uptakes of electric vehicles in the UK with more than 2% of the vehicles on the road being electric. [150]

Media

Orkney is served by a weekly local newspaper, The Orcadian, published on Thursdays.

A local BBC radio station, BBC Radio Orkney, the local opt-out of BBC Radio Scotland, broadcasts twice daily, with local news and entertainment.[151] Orkney also had a commercial radio station, The Superstation Orkney, which broadcast to Kirkwall and parts of the mainland and also to most of Caithness[152] until its closure in November 2014.[153] Moray Firth Radio broadcasts throughout Orkney on AM and from an FM transmitter just outside Thurso. The community radio station Caithness FM also broadcasts to Orkney.[154]

Orkney is home to the Orkney Library and Archive, located in Kirkwall, Scotland, on the mainland. The Library service provides access to over 145,000 items.[155] They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles available for loan as well as audiobooks, maps, eBooks, music CDs, and DVDs.[156] Orkney Library and Archive operates a Mobile Library Service that serves the rural parishes and islands of Orkney. The Mobile Library carries a wide range of books and audio books suitable for all ages and is completely free to use.[157]

Festivals

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.[158]

Language, literature, and folklore
The Odin Stone

At the beginning of recorded history, the islands were inhabited by the Picts, whose language was Brythonic.[Notes 19] The Ogham script on the Buckquoy spindle-whorl is cited as evidence for the pre-Norse existence of Old Irish in Orkney.[161][Notes 20]

After the Norse occupation, the toponymy of Orkney became almost wholly West Norse.[163] The Norse language changed into the local Norn, which lingered until the end of the 18th century, when it eventually died out.[162] Norn was replaced by the Orcadian dialect of Insular Scots. This dialect is at a low ebb due to the pervasive influences of television, education, and the large number of incomers. However, attempts are being made by some writers and radio presenters to revitalise its use[164] and the distinctive sing-song accent and many dialect words of Norse origin remain in use.[Notes 21] The Orcadian word most frequently encountered by visitors is peedie, meaning small, which may be derived from the French petit.[166][Notes 22]

Orkney has a rich folklore, and many of the former tales concern trows, an Orcadian form of troll that draws on the islands' Scandinavian connections.[168] Local customs in the past included marriage ceremonies at the Odin Stone that formed part of the Stones of Stenness.[169]

King Lot in certain versions of the Arthurian legend (e.g., Malory) is ruler of Orkney. His sons Gawaine, Agravaine, Gareth, and Gaheris are major characters in the Matter of Britain.

The best known literary figures from modern Orkney are the poet Edwin Muir, the poet and novelist George Mackay Brown, and the novelist Eric Linklater.[170]

Orcadians
Main article: Orcadians
The Bridge of Brodgar, Stenness, 1875. By Walter Hugh Patton (1828–1895).

An Orcadian is a native of Orkney, a term that reflects a strongly held identity with a tradition of understatement.[171] Although the annexation of the earldom by Scotland took place over five centuries ago in 1472, some Orcadians regard themselves as Orcadians first and Scots second.[172] However in response to the national identity question in the 2011 Scotland Census, self-reported levels of Scottish identity in Orkney were in line with the national average.[173]

The Scottish mainland is often referred to as "Scotland" in Orkney, with "the mainland" referring to Mainland, Orkney.[174] The archipelago also has a distinct culture, with traditions of the Scottish Highlands such as tartan, clans, bagpipes not indigenous to the culture of the islands.[175] However, at least two tartans with Orkney connections have been registered and a tartan has been designed for Sanday by one of the island's residents,[176][177][178] and there are pipe bands in Orkney.[179][180]

Native Orcadians refer to the non-native residents of the islands as "ferry loupers", ("loup" meaning "jump" in the Scots language [181]) a term that has been in use for nearly two centuries at least.[182][Notes 23]

Natural history
Seals hauled out at Lyrie Geo on Hoy. Orkney has an abundance of wildlife.

Orkney has an abundance of wildlife, especially of grey and common seals and seabirds such as puffins, kittiwakes, black guillemots (tysties), ravens, and great skuas (bonxies). Whales, dolphins, and otters are also seen around the coasts. Inland the Orkney vole, a distinct subspecies of the common vole introduced by Neolithic humans, is an endemic.[183][184] There are five distinct varieties, found on the islands of Sanday, Westray, Rousay, South Ronaldsay, and the Mainland, all the more remarkable as the species is absent on mainland Britain.[185]

The coastline is well known for its colourful flowers including sea aster, sea squill, sea thrift, common sea-lavender, bell and common heather. The Scottish primrose is found only on the coasts of Orkney and nearby Caithness and Sutherland.[97][183] Although stands of trees are generally rare, a small forest named Happy Valley with 700 trees and lush gardens was created from a boggy hillside near Stenness during the second half of the 20th century.[186]

The North Ronaldsay sheep is an unusual breed of domesticated animal, subsisting largely on a diet of seaweed, since they are confined to the foreshore for most of the year to conserve the limited grazing inland.[187] The island was also a habitat for the Atlantic walrus until the mid-16th century.[188]

The Orkney char (Salvelinus inframundus) used to live in Heldale Water on Hoy. It has been considered locally extinct since 1908.[189][190]

The introduction of alien stoats just prior to 2015, a natural predator of the common vole and thus of the Orkney vole,[191][192] may be harming native bird populations.[193]

Protected areas

There are 13 Special Protection Areas and 6 Special Areas of Conservation in Orkney.[194][195] One of Scotland's 40 national scenic areas, the Hoy and West Mainland National Scenic Area, is also located in the islands.[196] The seas to the northwest of Orkney are important for sand eels that provides a food source for many species of fish, seabirds, seals, whales and dolphins, and are now protected as Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area (NCMPA) that covers 4,365 km2 (1,685 sq mi).[197][198]

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See also

References

Footnotes
  1. "The Orkneys" is used by non-Orcadians and does have historical precedent, yet it is clear that this is frowned upon by the residents.[2]
  2. The other independent-run Councils are Shetland and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Moray is run by a Conservative/Independent coalition.[8][9]
  3. The proto-Celtic root *φorko-, can mean either pig or salmon, thus giving an alternative of "island(s) of (the) salmon".[14]
  4. Thomson (2008) suggests that there was an element of Roman "boasting" involved, given that it was known to them that the Orcades lay at the northern extremity of the British Isles.[41] Similarly, Ritchie describes Tacitus' claims that Rome "conquered" Orkney as "a political puff, for there is no evidence of Roman military presence".[42]
  5. They were certainly politically organised. Ritchie notes the presence of an Orcadian ruler at the court of a Pictish high king at Inverness in 565 AD.[46]
  6. Sigurd The Mighty's son Gurthorm ruled for a single winter after Sigurd's death and died childless. Rognvald's son Hallad inherited the title but, unable to constrain Danish raids in Orkney, he gave up the earldom and returned to Norway, which according to the Orkneyinga Saga "everyone thought was a huge joke."[53]
  7. Sigurd the Stout was Thorfinn Skull-splitter's grandson.
  8. The first recorded bishop was Henry of Lund (also known as "the Fat") who was appointed sometime prior to 1035.[58] The bishopric appears to have been under the authority of the Archbishops of York and of Hamburg-Bremen at different times during the early period and from the mid twelfth century to 1472 was subordinate to the Archbishop of Nidaros (today's Trondheim).[59]
  9. When the sagas were written down Orkney had been Christian for 200 years or more[60] and this conversion tale has been described as "blatantly unhistorical".[61]
  10. 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.[63]
  11. "St Magnus Cathedral still dominates the Kirkwall skyline – a familiar, and comforting sight, to Kirkwallians around the world."[64]
  12. It is often believed that the princess's death is associated with the village of St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay but there is no evidence for this other than the coincidence of the name.[68]
  13. The notion that Henry the first Sinclair Earl, voyaged to North America many years before Christopher Columbus has gained some currency of late.[22] The idea is however dismissed out of hand by many scholars. For example, Thomson (2008) states "Henry's fictitious trip to America continues to received a good deal of unfortunate publicity, but it belongs to fantasy rather than real history".[70][71]
  14. The Maeshowe inscriptions date from the 12th century.[74]
  15. Apparently without the knowledge of the Norwegian Rigsraadet (Council of the Realm), Christian pawned Orkney for 50,000 Rhenish guilders. On 28 May the next year he also pawned Shetland for 8,000 Rhenish guilders.[75] He secured a clause in the contract that gave future kings of Norway the right to redeem the islands for a fixed sum of 210 kg of gold or 2,310 kg of silver. Several attempts were made during the 17th and 18th centuries to redeem the islands, without success.[76]
  16. For example at the Fall of Warness the tide can run at 4 m/s (7.8 knots).[99]
  17. Coull (2003) quotes the old saying that an Orcadian is a farmer with a boat, in contrast to a Shetlander, who is a fisherman with a croft.[79]
  18. " The centre offers developers the opportunity to test prototype devices in unrivalled wave and tidal conditions. Wave and tidal energy converters are connected to the national grid via seabed cables running from open-water test berths into an onshore substation. Testing takes place in a wide range of sea and weather conditions, with comprehensive round-the-clock monitoring."[140]
  19. There is convincing place-name evidence for the Picts' use of Brythonic or P-Celtic, although no written records survive. No certain knowledge of any pre-Pictish language exists anywhere in Scotland, but there may well have been times of significant overlap.[159] For example, the early Scottish Earls spoke Gaelic when the majority of their subjects spoke Norn, and both of these languages were then replaced by Insular Scots. It is therefore possible that the Pictish aristocracy spoke one language and the common folk an unknown precursor such as Proto-Celtic.[160]
  20. Only two Q-Celtic words exist in the language of modern Orcadians – "iper" from eabhar, meaning a midden slurry, and "keero" from caora – used to describe a small sheep in the North Isles.[162]
  21. Lamb (2003) counted 60 words "with correlates in Old Norse only" and 500 Scots expressions in common use in the 1950s.[165]
  22. The word is of uncertain origin and has also been attested in the Lothians and Fife in the 19th century.[167]
  23. The expression "ferry louper" has a literal meaning of "ferry jumper" i.e. one who has jumped off a ferry as distinct from a native.

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General references
  • Armit, Ian (2006) Scotland's Hidden History. Stroud. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-3764-X
  • Beuermann, Ian "Jarla Sǫgur Orkneyja. Status and power of the earls of Orkney according to their sagas" in Steinsland, Gro; Sigurðsson, Jón Viðar; Rekda, Jan Erik and Beuermann, Ian (eds) (2011) Ideology and power in the Viking and Middle Ages: Scandinavia, Iceland, Ireland, Orkney and the Faeroes . The Northern World: North Europe and the Baltic c. 400–1700 A.D. Peoples, Economics and Cultures. 52. Leiden. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-20506-2
  • Baynes, John (1970) The Jacobite Rising of 1715. London. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-93565-4
  • Benvie, Neil (2004) Scotland's Wildlife. London. Aurum Press. ISBN 1-85410-978-2
  • Ballin Smith, B. and Banks, I. (eds) (2002) In the Shadow of the Brochs, the Iron Age in Scotland. Stroud. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2517-X
  • Ballin Smith, Beverley; Taylor, Simon; and Williams, Gareth (eds) (2007) West Over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300. Brill. ISBN 90-04-15893-6
  • Clarkson, Tim (2008) The Picts: A History. Stroud. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-4392-8
  • Duffy, Christopher (2003) The 45: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Untold Story of the Jacobite Rising. London. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-304-35525-9
  • Fraser, James E. (2009) From Caledonia to Pictland: Scotland to 795. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-1232-1
  • Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
  • Moffat, Alistair (2005) Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History. London. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0500051337
  • Omand, Donald (ed.) (2003) The Orkney Book. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-254-9
  • Thomson, William P.L. (2008) The New History of Orkney. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 978-1-84158-696-0
  • Whitaker's Almanack 1991 (1990). London. J. Whitaker & Sons. ISBN 0-85021-205-7
  • Wickham-Jones, Caroline (2007) Orkney: A Historical Guide. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-596-3
  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Orkney Islands". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Further reading
  • Batey, C.E. et al (eds.) (1995) The Viking Age in Caithness, Orkney and the North Atlantic. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-0632-0
  • Fresson, Captain E.E. Air Road to the Isles. (2008) Kea Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9518958-9-4
  • Hutton, Guthrie (2009) Old Orkney. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing ISBN 9781840334678
  • Livesey, Margot, The Flight of Gemma Hardy (a novel). HarperCollins, 2012. ISBN 978-0-06-206422-6
  • Lo Bao, Phil and Hutchison, Iain (2002) BEAline to the Islands. Kea Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9518958-4-9
  • Nicol, Christopher (2012) Eric Linklater's Private Angelo and The Dark of Summer Glasgow: ASLS ISBN 978-1906841119
  • Rendall, Jocelyn (2009) Steering the Stone Ships: The Story of Orkney Kirks and People Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh.
  • Tait, Charles (2012) The Orkney Guide Book, Charles Tait, St. Ola, Orkney. ISBN 978-0-9517859-8-0
  • Warner, Guy (2005) Orkney by Air. Kea Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9518958-7-0
  • Dance, Gaia (2013) "The Sea Before Breakfast." Amazon. ISBN 978-1-3015054-8-7

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