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Fursbreck Pottery, a stone cottage with a red-edged roof and a garden of pots and benches, Harray.
Orkney

The Harray Potter

A working pottery in Harray, founded in 1977, where you can watch pots being thrown and buy them.

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Welcome

The Harray Potter works out of Fursbreck Pottery, a stone cottage in the parish of Harray, in the middle of the Orkney Mainland and handy for most of the great sites.

Andrew Appleby founded it in 1977, and his son Nicky runs it now. It is both shop and workshop, with new pieces always in the making: you can talk to the potters, and if you are lucky watch a pot rise from a ball of clay on the wheel.

Andrew's work draws on Orkney's archaeology and his love of the Neolithic; Nicky's is all about how a thing sits in the hand, with flowing shapes. Their glazes have names from the islands, among them Haar, after the sea fogs, Pentland Sky, Solstice and Shorelines. Andrew also writes novels, starting with Skara, and they are on sale at the pottery too. It is a stop on the Creative Orkney trail, with parking and toilets, and dogs are welcome.

A short drive awayMaeshowe Chambered CairnThe finest Neolithic tomb in north-west Europe, lit by the midwinter sun and scratched with Viking runes; by guided tour.6 min by roadSee itMaeshowe, a great grassy mound in green fields under a grey sky.
Before you go

Open all year.

At Fursbreck Pottery, Harray, in the middle of the Orkney Mainland; parking and toilets on site, and dogs welcome.

Getting there
Fursbreck Pottery, Harray.
Open
All year.
Facilities
Parking and toilets; dogs welcome.
Where it is

Fursbreck Pottery, Harray, KW17 2LB.

Close byIn Harray.
  1. 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 sky5 miles7 min by road
  2. Musicians play fiddles and double bass on a ship's wooden deckOrkney FestivalsFestivals across the Orkney Isles, month by month, from May to November.5 miles7 min by road
  3. 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.5 miles8 min by road
  4. Ness of BrodgarThe Neolithic complex between the lochs, now covered over again.5 miles8 min by road
  5. 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 miles9 min by road
Directions
Maeshowe, a great grassy mound in green fields under a grey sky.AttractionsMaeshowe Chambered Cairn4.0 miles
Unstan Chambered Cairn, a grassy mound with its low entrance and an information board, the loch beyond.AttractionsUnstan Cairn6.5 miles
AttractionsKirbuster Farm Museum6.5 miles
The grassy mounds and stone houses of Skara Brae in low evening sun, the sea behind.AttractionsSkara Brae7.8 miles
Scones in wire baskets under an Orkney Tea board in the Birsay Bay Tearoom, tables behind.CafeBirsay Bay Tearoom9.2 miles
Pebble-dashed dormer bungalow with wooden garage door and gravel drivewayAttractionsThe Viking Village Birsay9.4 miles
AttractionsBrough of Birsay9.4 miles
A white gallery at the Pier Arts Centre, framed paintings along the walls.AttractionsPier Arts Centre9.5 miles
The layered sandstone cliffs of Yesnaby dropping into a calm dark sea, lit by low sun.AttractionsYesnaby9.8 miles
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