Shapinsay – the Boat, the Mill Dam and Lunch at the Smithy
A day, from the Shapinsay slipway, Kirkwall harbour and back.
The route
Shapinsay is the low green island across the water from Kirkwall, about 25 minutes away on the Orkney Ferries boat, and you step off it straight into Balfour, the island's one village.
A quiet road climbs out of the village to the RSPB's hide above the Mill Dam, a wetland full of ducks and waders, and lunch is at the Smithy, the island's own café and bar beside the pier. It's an easy, car-free day.
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, 29 miles away. Sleeps 18.
Book the Shapinsay boat from Kirkwall
Book the 9.45am Orkney Ferries boat from Kirkwall to Shapinsay (11.30am on a Sunday) on orkneyferries.co.uk or on 01856 872044, or pay on board, on the winter timetable that runs to 1 May 2027, and come back on the 1.30pm or 3.15pm (the last boat back is 4.45pm from Monday to Saturday and 3.15pm on a Sunday).
Ring the Smithy on 01856 711243 to check it's open and book a lunch table: its hours change with the seasons and it posts them on its Facebook page.
The day
Shapinsay
A short crossing past Balfour Castle, a walk up a quiet road to watch the ducks on the Mill Dam, and lunch in the old smithy by the pier before the boat home.
About four and a half hours
The Shapinsay boat from Kirkwall
The Shapinsay boat leaves from the concrete slipway on the west side of Kirkwall harbour, beside the lifeboat pier, about five minutes' walk from St Magnus Cathedral. On the winter timetable, which runs to 1 May 2027, take the 9.45am from Monday to Saturday or the 11.30am on a Sunday, and be there 10 minutes before it sails. You can book on Orkney Ferries' website or pay on board: an adult return is £6.90 at the time of writing, juniors £3.50, under-5s free, and bikes go free. Dogs are welcome on a lead. The crossing takes about 25 minutes, with a fine view of Balfour Castle as you come in, and of the round stone tower on the shore below it, built as a saltwater shower with a dovecote on top.
About 2 hr on foot
The RSPB hide at the Mill Dam
The boat lands in Balfour, Orkney's first planned village, built by the Balfour family in the 1780s. A quiet road leads north out of the village, past the shop and the school, to the RSPB's hide, perched above the Mill Dam about 1.6 km from the pier. From it you can watch wigeon, shoveler, goldeneye and teal on the water and redshank and oystercatchers round the edges, so bring binoculars. The hide is open all year. Keep a dog on its lead past the fields, and walk back the same way, looking out for seals on the shore near the village shop.
About 20 min on foot
The Smithy
Lunch
Lunch is at the Smithy, a minute's walk from the pier, an old blacksmith's workshop that the Shapinsay Development Trust bought in 2022 and runs as the island's café, restaurant and bar. Its hours change with the seasons and it posts them on its Facebook page; ring 01856 711243 to check and book a table. In summer there are picnic benches in the garden looking over the sea, where dogs are welcome too. If it's shut, Thomas Sinclair's shop, a short walk north along the street, sells coffees, snacks and bakes from its own small bakery.
The boat from Shapinsay to Kirkwall
On the winter timetable, boats leave Shapinsay for Kirkwall at 1.30pm, 3.15pm and 4.45pm from Monday to Saturday, and at 1.30pm and 3.15pm on a Sunday, when the 3.15pm is the last. From May the summer timetable takes over, so check it on Orkney Ferries' website. There are toilets in the waiting room at the pier. If you have time to spare in summer, the Heritage Centre tells the island's story, with a film about the local boatbuilder John Robert Leslie; it opens Wednesday to Sunday through the summer season and shuts for the winter.
If it rains
The boat has a cabin, the hide a roof and the Smithy is indoors, but the road between them is open to the weather: on a wet day take waterproofs, and in a gale check Orkney Ferries' service updates before setting out.
Where to stay
Photographs by Richard Forster, Isabel Bliss and Silvia van der Stelt via Google