Birsay – a Tidal Island, an Earl's Palace and Lunch by the Bay
A few hours.
The route
At the north-west corner of the Orkney Mainland, the Brough of Birsay is a green tidal island reached on foot by a concrete causeway that only appears as the sea goes out.
On it are a Pictish settlement, the Norse village built over it and a small twelfth-century church, with cliffs and a lighthouse beyond. Back across the water, Birsay village has the roofless palace of a sixteenth-century earl, and a tearoom whose windows look out over the bay to the Brough.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
None of ours is close by: the nearest is House of the Northern Gate, 35 miles away. Sleeps 18.
Book lunch at Birsay Bay Tearoom
Book one of Birsay Bay Tearoom's few bookable tables on 01856 721399 and leave a message for a call back; from October to December it opens Friday to Sunday, with last food orders at 2.15pm.
The day
Birsay
A morning out on a tidal island, lunch with a view of it, and an earl's ruined palace a short walk from the table.
About four hoursAbout 2.5 miles on foot
Brough of Birsay
An attraction
Park at the end of the road at the Point of Buckquoy, where steps lead down past an information board to the shore. The Brough is a tidal island, and its concrete causeway can be crossed for only about two hours either side of low water, so get the crossing times first from the visitor centre at Skara Brae on 01856 841815. As the sea drains it leaves rock pools on both sides. On the island a steep slope climbs to the foundations of the Pictish and Norse settlements and the small roofless church of about 1100, and a path leads on to a little lighthouse on the west side. Puffins nest on the cliffs in summer: keep well back from the edge, and stay off it altogether in wind or rain. Entry is free, and the island's visitor centre is closed. The tide comes back fast, so leave plenty of time to cross; if you're cut off, ring 999 for the coastguard rather than wade.
4 min by car
Birsay Bay Tearoom
Lunch
Lunch is at Birsay Bay Tearoom on Linkhouse Road, 4 minutes' drive round the bay, where the windows look across to the Brough and Marwick Head. Everything sweet is baked on the premises, scones every day, and the menu is built on Orkney produce, with gluten, egg and dairy-free choices. From October to December it opens Friday to Sunday with last food orders at 2.15pm, and on more days from spring, so check its website for the week. A few tables can be booked on 01856 721399 (leave a message) and the rest are kept for walk-ins. Dogs are welcome at the outdoor tables only. If it's shut, the café at Skara Brae, about 20 minutes' drive south, serves lunch from April to September.
6 min on foot
The Earl's Palace, Birsay
It's 6 minutes' walk from the tearoom into Birsay village to the Earl's Palace. It was built between 1569 and 1574 for Earl Robert Stewart, half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots, as a Renaissance courtyard castle with four wings, towers and a turnpike stair, and gun holes in every wall. By 1700 its roof was gone, and you can wander the roofless shell freely: it's free to visit, in daylight, all year. The ground inside is uneven, so watch your footing. St Magnus Church stands just along the road. Then it's the same short walk back to the car.
If it rains
None of it is under a roof but lunch. In rain or a gale skip the Brough's cliffs, keep to the causeway and the settlement, and let lunch run long by the window.
Birsay Bay Tearoom, a café in Birsay.
Make it a weekend
