Ring of Brodgar & Skara Brae

by coach & on foot

This scenic experience is for guests interested in the prehistoric history of the Orkney Islands.

Departing Kirkwall, you will travel to the beautiful West Mainland, home to the greatest concentration of World Heritage prehistoric sites in Britain.

Your route will take you past the remains of a ceremonial circle known as the Standing Stones of Stenness and to the more intact Ring of Brodgar for a visit to this perfect stone circle, with 27 stones remaining out of the original 60. It forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney. This magnificent stone ring dates from around 2500 to 2000BC and is 104m (341ft) wide.

Continuing to your next stop, you will enjoy a self-guided visit to Skara Brae. Orkney’s most exciting and oldest monument is thought to be an approximately 5000-year-old Neolithic village, which was discovered in 1850 following a violent storm. This site is made up of open-air one-roomed homes linked by passageways – they are believed to have once had roofs made from turf or straw. Beyond the buildings, be sure to check out the discovered artefacts on display in the visitors’ centre.

Exploring the contrast to the hard lives these people had – if your call is between April and October – you will have some free time to visit the magnificent Skaill House: Orkney’s finest manor house and former home of the gentleman who discovered Skara Brae in 1850. You may wish to purchase a souvenir of your visit in the gift shop before rejoining your coach for the return journey to Kirkwall via Scapa Flow, where HMS Royal Oak was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1939 with the loss of 833 lives.