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Orkney

The Murray Arms

Seafood off the family's own boats, in St Margaret's Hope.

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Welcome

The Murray Arms is a family-run hotel in St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay, and what it is known for is the shellfish: much of what appears on the plate comes off the family's own boats, landed a few miles away.

Scallops, crab, lobster, whatever the day gave. It is a village hotel rather than a restaurant with ambitions, which is the pleasure of it: a bar with locals in it and a dining room that fills. Booking is sensible in summer, when everybody on the island has had the same idea.

Close byRobertsons Coffeehoose BarA family-run coffee house and bar in an old general store in St Margaret's Hope, with food all day and music.2 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
themurrayarmshotel.com
Telephone
01856 831205
Where it is

St Margaret's Hope, Orkney.

Close byThe rest of Orkney, near at hand.
  1. 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.2 miles4 min by road
  2. Hoxa Tapestry GalleryHand-woven tapestries at the end of a South Ronaldsay road.4 miles7 min by road
  3. 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.5 miles8 min by road
  4. Italian ChapelItalian ChapelTwo Nissen huts on Lamb Holm turned into a painted chapel by Italian prisoners of war in the 1940s.6 miles11 min by road
  5. Churchill BarriersChurchill BarriersFour wartime causeways linking the Orkney Mainland to Lamb Holm, Glimps Holm, Burray and South Ronaldsay, with blockships beside them.6 miles10 min by road
Directions
The front of Robertsons in St Margaret's Hope, its old General Merchants sign over the door.CafeRobertsons Coffeehoose Bar0.7 miles
Walker in orange jacket crosses a clifftop field beneath streaked cloudsAttractionsThe Tomb of the Eagles8.1 miles
Highland Park Distillery's stone buildings and cobbled yard lit by lamps at dusk.ToursHighland Park Distillery13 miles
A chocolate and redcurrant dessert with honeycomb, drawn in chocolate on a white plate, the Lynnfield.RestaurantsLynnfield Hotel13 miles
ShoppingSheila Fleet Kirk Gallery14 miles
The Foveran's dining room, tartan chairs at laid tables and big windows onto the fields and Scapa Flow.RestaurantsThe Foveran16 miles
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