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Orkney

Brough of Birsay

A tidal island of Pictish and Norse ruins, reached only at low water.

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Welcome

The Brough is a green island off the north-west corner of the Mainland, cut off by the sea for most of the day and joined to it by a concrete causeway for a few hours either side of low tide.

On it are the foundations of a Pictish settlement, a Norse village built over the top of it, and the roofless twelfth-century church where some believe Earl Magnus was first buried. A path climbs to the lighthouse at the far cliff, where the fulmars nest and the Atlantic goes on without interruption to Canada. Check the tide table before you cross and again before you linger: the causeway goes under as the tide comes in.

Close byBirsay Bay TearoomA tearoom in Birsay looking out to the Brough of Birsay and Marwick Head, with scones baked every day.3 min by roadSee itScones in wire baskets under an Orkney Tea board in the Birsay Bay Tearoom, tables behind.
Before you go
How long
Three quarters of an hour to two hours
Tide
The causeway is under water for most of the day. Check the tables before you cross, and again before you come back.
Their website
historicenvironment.scot
Telephone
01856 841815
Where it is

Birsay, Orkney.

Close byThe rest of Orkney, near at hand.
  1. Pebble-dashed dormer bungalow with wooden garage door and gravel drivewayThe Viking Village BirsayThe ruins of Viking longhouses at Birsay.2 miles4 min by road
  2. Kirbuster Farm MuseumThe last unrestored firehoose in northern Europe, with the peat still lit.5 miles10 min by road
  3. Skara BraeSkara BraeA 5,000-year-old stone village by the Bay of Skaill, its houses still furnished with stone dressers, beds and hearths.8 miles18 min by road
  4. Musicians play fiddles and double bass on a ship's wooden deckOrkney FestivalsFestivals across the Orkney Isles, month by month, from May to November.8 miles14 min by road
  5. Green aurora swirling across a starry sky above a snow-covered peakThe Aurora Borealis in OrkneyThe aurora borealis, or northern lights, is a wonder to see in the night sky8 miles14 min by road
Directions
Scones in wire baskets under an Orkney Tea board in the Birsay Bay Tearoom, tables behind.CafeBirsay Bay Tearoom0.9 miles
Fursbreck Pottery, a stone cottage with a red-edged roof and a garden of pots and benches, Harray.AttractionsThe Harray Potter9.4 miles
The layered sandstone cliffs of Yesnaby dropping into a calm dark sea, lit by low sun.AttractionsYesnaby12 miles
AttractionsBroch of Gurness12 miles
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For further reading, before you go.