Isle of Rousay, Orkney Isles
★★★
Rousay earns its plaudits for its magnificent chambered cairns, but you’d be wrong to assume that everything interesting on the island is manmade. Much of the moorland interior is an SSSI for its bird and plant life, and there are plenty of interesting coastal features as well. With screeching arctic terns, a smelly geo (appropriately named Stinkanie), and dramatic blowholes and natural arches to peer into, a visit to Sacquoy Head is a truly multi-sensory experience. During summer the territorial terns are likely to dive at you, protecting their breeding grounds just inland from the coast. Help protect this nesting site by avoiding shortcutting across this area, and hold a walking pole or umbrella aloft to deter dive-bombing if you find the idea of this unsettling!
📷 Chronological photo guide
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish on minor road at Saviskaill, Rousay
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: HY 401335
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 59.183227,-3.049796
🚌 Bus on demand, connecting with ferry terminal
🚗 Tiny car park
📝 Key info
▶ 6 km / 4 mi | ▲ 110 m | ⌛ 2 hr
Features: 🌊 Stinkanie Geo; 🐟 Ouse Bar seals; 🌊 Kilns of Brin-Novan blowholes
⬤ Moderate | Tarmac then stone track to Skatequoy Farm, then only intermittent paths, mostly on short grass. Some wet spots after Skatequoy, depending on exact route taken!
Download file for GPS➡️ Anticlockwise lollipop circuit: start – Skatequoy Farm – coastline due north of farm – Stinkanie Geo – Ouse Bar – Kilns of Brin-Novan – return to start, “cutting corner” by staying inland
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Fierce arctic terns, arctic skua, fulmars & chicks, many seals at Ouse Bar.
Weather: Cool and overcast, some light rain on the way back.
July 2015
