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Maeshowe, a great grassy mound in green fields under a grey sky.
Orkney

Maeshowe Chambered Cairn

The finest Neolithic tomb in north-west Europe, lit by the midwinter sun and scratched with Viking runes; by guided tour.

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Welcome

From the outside Maeshowe looks like a large grassy mound in the fields at Stenness, on its platform inside a ditch.

Inside it is the finest Neolithic building to survive in north-west Europe, a chambered tomb built around 5,000 years ago. You stoop along a ten-metre passage, each wall mostly a single sandstone slab of up to three tonnes, into a tall stone chamber with a standing stone at each corner and three side cells, their floors, walls and roofs each a single slab.

The passage was aimed at midwinter. For three weeks either side of the shortest day the setting sun shines straight down it and lights the back of the chamber, and a clear-skied December visit on the 2pm tour can still catch it. About 3,000 years after it was sealed, Norsemen broke in and scratched runes all over the walls, the largest collection of runic inscriptions outside Scandinavia. Visits are by guided tour only, from the Maeshowe Visitor Centre at Stenness; booking online is strongly recommended.

A short drive awayNess of BrodgarThe Neolithic complex between the lochs, now covered over again.3 min by roadSee itNess of Brodgar
Before you go

By guided tour only, from the Maeshowe Visitor Centre on Ireland Road, Stenness.

Tours at 10am, noon and 2pm all year, with more in summer: 4pm from April to September, and 5pm, 6pm and 7pm in July and August. Adults £10 online, £11 at the door. Book online; closed 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January.

Getting there
Maeshowe Visitor Centre, Ireland Road, Stenness.
Tours
10:00, 12:00, 14:00 all year; more in summer.
Tickets
Adults £10 online.
Booking
Strongly recommended.
Where it is

Ireland Road, Stenness, KW16 3LB.

Close byAt Stenness.
  1. Standing Stones of StennessStanding Stones of StennessFour great stones of perhaps the oldest henge in the British Isles, raised about 5,000 years ago by the Loch of Stenness; free.1 mile3 min by road
  2. Ring of BrodgarRing of BrodgarA great Neolithic stone circle on a strip of land between two lochs, at the centre of Neolithic Orkney; free, any time.2 miles4 min by road
  3. Unstan Chambered Cairn, a grassy mound with its low entrance and an information board, the loch beyond.Unstan CairnA 5,000-year-old chambered tomb by the Loch of Stenness, where you crawl in to see its stalls; free, any time.3 miles5 min by road
  4. Fursbreck Pottery, a stone cottage with a red-edged roof and a garden of pots and benches, Harray.The Harray PotterA working pottery in Harray, founded in 1977, where you can watch pots being thrown and buy them.4 miles6 min by road
  5. A white gallery at the Pier Arts Centre, framed paintings along the walls.Pier Arts CentreA free gallery on a pier in Stromness, with Margaret Gardiner's collection of Hepworth, Nicholson and Wallis.6 miles9 min by road
Directions
AttractionsNess of Brodgar1.7 miles
The grassy mounds and stone houses of Skara Brae in low evening sun, the sea behind.AttractionsSkara Brae7.9 miles
Green aurora swirling across a starry sky above a snow-covered peakAttractionsThe Aurora Borealis in Orkney8.7 miles
Musicians play fiddles and double bass on a ship's wooden deckAttractionsOrkney Festivals8.7 miles
The layered sandstone cliffs of Yesnaby dropping into a calm dark sea, lit by low sun.AttractionsYesnaby8.7 miles
The Foveran's dining room, tartan chairs at laid tables and big windows onto the fields and Scapa Flow.RestaurantsThe Foveran9.5 miles
AttractionsOrkney Wireless Museum9.6 miles
A plate of seared scallops with asparagus and potato at Helgi's.RestaurantsHelgi’s9.7 miles
The children's corner of the Orcadian Bookshop, shelves of picture books above small chairs and a table.ShoppingThe Orcadian Bookshop10 miles
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For further reading, before you go.