Ness of Brodgar
The Neolithic complex between the lochs, now covered over again.
For twenty years from 2004 the field between the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar was opened up, and what came out of it changed the understanding of Neolithic Orkney: three hectares of monumental stone buildings from around 3000 BC, with walls five metres thick, painted stonework and decorated slabs, on a scale with nothing to compare it to in Atlantic Europe.
Fieldwork ended in 2024 and the trenches have been backfilled to protect what is under them, so there is no dig to watch now. What remains is the ground itself, between two of the greatest stone circles in Britain, and the knowledge of what lies a few feet below it.
- How long
- Three quarters of an hour to two hours
- Cost
- Free to walk in
- Their website
- nessofbrodgar.co.uk
Stenness, Orkney.
Standing 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.Under a mile1 min by road
Ring of BrodgarA great Neolithic stone circle on a strip of land between two lochs, at the centre of Neolithic Orkney; free, any time.Under a mile1 min by road
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
The Harray PotterA working pottery in Harray, founded in 1977, where you can watch pots being thrown and buy them.5 miles8 min by road
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
Scotland, in print.
Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.
For further reading, before you go.