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Orkney

Hoxa Tapestry Gallery

Hand-woven tapestries at the end of a South Ronaldsay road.

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Welcome

Leila Thomson came back to Orkney from Edinburgh College of Art and set up at Hoxa in 1996, weaving tapestries whose colours are the ones outside the window: the greens and greys of the Flow, the light on water, the long low land.

Her daughter Jo, also an Edinburgh graduate, now runs it with her brother Andrew, and the gallery shows the large hand-woven pieces alongside prints and rugs. The weaving is done on the premises, so the work and the place it comes from are in the same room. It is a drive out to the south end of South Ronaldsay, and worth an afternoon of its own.

A short drive awayRobertsons Coffeehoose BarA family-run coffee house and bar in an old general store in St Margaret's Hope, with food all day and music.7 min by roadSee itThe front of Robertsons in St Margaret's Hope, its old General Merchants sign over the door.
Before you go
How long
Three quarters of an hour to two hours
Their website
hoxatapestrygallery.co.uk
Telephone
01856 831395
Where it is

South Ronaldsay, Orkney.

Close byThe rest of Orkney, near at hand.
  1. The Murray ArmsSeafood off the family's own boats, in St Margaret's Hope.4 miles7 min by road
  2. A cappuccino and a slice of iced cake on white plates at Polly Kettle.Polly KettleA family tearoom on Burray, cooking from scratch with Orkney produce and selling local pottery and crafts.6 miles10 min by road
  3. Walker in orange jacket crosses a clifftop field beneath streaked cloudsThe Tomb of the Eagles7 miles16 min by road
  4. White lighthouses on a low island under dark, storm-laden cloudsMuckle SkerryScattered off the northern coast of Scotland are the Pentland Skerries, four empty islands of varying sizes7 miles16 min by road
  5. Wooden steps down through the dunes to the beach at Glimps Holm, the barrier and the sea beyond.Glimps Holm BeachA long, sheltered beach beside the third Churchill Barrier, with the wreck of the blockship Reginald offshore.8 miles14 min by road
Directions
The front of Robertsons in St Margaret's Hope, its old General Merchants sign over the door.CafeRobertsons Coffeehoose Bar3.2 miles
The white and red front of the Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm, a path leading up to it under a stormy sky.AttractionsItalian Chapel9.9 miles
A barrier of stone blocks and its road from directly above, a rusting blockship in the green water beside it.AttractionsChurchill Barriers10 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near here, and when each is next free.

A turreted white mansion with stepped gables and tall chimneys stands behind a low stone wall on a lawn.House of the Northern Gate
  • Sleeps 18
  • In Orkney
  • 18 miles from here
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in OrkneyAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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