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A stone house at Skara Brae seen from above, with its hearth and stone furniture, the Bay of Skaill behind.
Orkney

Skara Brae

A 5,000-year-old stone village by the Bay of Skaill, its houses still furnished with stone dressers, beds and hearths.

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Welcome

Skara Brae lies on the shore of the Bay of Skaill, on the west coast of the Orkney Mainland, and it is one of the wonders of prehistoric Europe: a stone village of about 5,000 years ago, so well preserved that the furniture is still in the houses.

It lay hidden under sand and turf until a great storm stripped the dunes in 1850. When it was built it stood inland, beside a freshwater loch.

The houses were built of flat stone slabs sunk into mounds of midden and joined by covered passages. Each is a single room of about 40 square metres, with a stone dresser, two box beds, a hearth in the middle and small tanks in the floor, perhaps for soaking fish bait. The villagers farmed, hunted and fished; they made dice, tools, pottery and jewellery, and no weapons have been found. Life here ended around 2500 BC, nobody knows quite why. Most of the finds are in the visitor centre, and in summer the ticket includes Skaill House.

A short drive awayYesnabyWild cliffs on the west coast of the Orkney Mainland, with a clifftop walk to the arched sea stack of Yesnaby Castle.16 min by roadSee itThe layered sandstone cliffs of Yesnaby dropping into a calm dark sea, lit by low sun.
Before you go

Open daily: 9.30am to 5.30pm from April to September, 10am to 4pm from October to March; last entry an hour before closing.

Adults £14 online, £16 at the door; book online to guarantee entry. Closed 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January. In summer the ticket includes Skaill House.

Getting there
Bay of Skaill, Sandwick, west Mainland.
Summer
Apr to Sep, daily 09:30 to 17:30.
Winter
Oct to Mar, daily 10:00 to 16:00.
Tickets
Adults £14 online.

Opening hours

Monday
9.30am–5.30pm
Tuesday
9.30am–5.30pm
Wednesday
9.30am–5.30pm
Thursday
9.30am–5.30pm
Friday
9.30am–5.30pm
Saturday
9.30am–5.30pm
Sunday
9.30am–5.30pm
Where it is

Sandwick, Orkney, KW16 3LR.

Close byOn the Bay of Skaill.
  1. 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.6 miles14 min by road
  2. Ness of BrodgarThe Neolithic complex between the lochs, now covered over again.7 miles15 min by road
  3. Musicians play fiddles and double bass on a ship's wooden deckOrkney FestivalsFestivals across the Orkney Isles, month by month, from May to November.7 miles15 min by road
  4. 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 sky7 miles15 min by road
  5. 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.7 miles16 min by road
Directions
The layered sandstone cliffs of Yesnaby dropping into a calm dark sea, lit by low sun.AttractionsYesnaby1.8 miles over the water
AttractionsKirbuster Farm Museum7.7 miles
Scones in wire baskets under an Orkney Tea board in the Birsay Bay Tearoom, tables behind.CafeBirsay Bay Tearoom7.8 miles
Unstan Chambered Cairn, a grassy mound with its low entrance and an information board, the loch beyond.AttractionsUnstan Cairn7.8 miles
A white gallery at the Pier Arts Centre, framed paintings along the walls.AttractionsPier Arts Centre8.0 miles
Pebble-dashed dormer bungalow with wooden garage door and gravel drivewayAttractionsThe Viking Village Birsay8.0 miles
AttractionsBrough of Birsay8.1 miles
Fursbreck Pottery, a stone cottage with a red-edged roof and a garden of pots and benches, Harray.AttractionsThe Harray Potter8.2 miles
Maeshowe, a great grassy mound in green fields under a grey sky.AttractionsMaeshowe Chambered Cairn8.2 miles
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