Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Orkney

The Orcadian Bookshop

The Orcadian newspaper's bookshop on Albert Street, Kirkwall, for Orkney books, maps and gifts.

Visit websiteCall
Welcome

The Orcadian Bookshop is on Albert Street in the middle of Kirkwall, and it is run by The Orcadian, the islands' newspaper.

It is the place to go for anything written about the islands, and it has plenty besides.

On the shelves are books of local interest, from history and archaeology to nature, alongside best-sellers, children's books, local maps, souvenirs and gifts. Among the Orkney titles are Finding John Rae, Navigating the Flow, the annual Orkney Naturalist and Orkney Bird Report, an anthology of the writer Ernest Marwick, an illustrated architectural guide to the islands, and calendars of Orkney. The children's corner has low shelves and small chairs. The shop opens Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and on Saturday from 10am, and much of the stock can also be ordered online.

Close byHelgi’sA small Viking-themed pub on the Kirkwall harbour front, with home-cooked food and a good run of malts; over 18s only.1 min by roadSee itA plate of seared scallops with asparagus and potato at Helgi's.
Before you go

Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm; closed Sunday.

On Albert Street, Kirkwall town centre. Books can also be ordered online.

Getting there
Albert Street, Kirkwall.
Hours
Mon to Fri 09:00 to 17:00; Sat 10:00 to 17:00.
Online
Orkney books to order.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
9am–5pm
Tuesday
9am–5pm
Wednesday
9am–5pm
Thursday
9am–5pm
Friday
9am–5pm
Saturday
10am–5pm
Sunday
Closed

Been here? Tell others what you know, and the best go on this page with your name.

Add your review
Where it is

Albert Street, Kirkwall.

Close byIn Kirkwall.
  1. St Magnus CathedralSt Magnus CathedralFounded in 1137 and built of red and yellow sandstone, the mostly Romanesque cathedral on Broad Street in Kirkwall is free to enter.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. The Orkney Wireless Museum at Kiln Corner, Kirkwall: a stone building with a sign over its door and radios on show in the windows.Orkney Wireless MuseumA museum of radio at Kiln Corner in Kirkwall, from 1930s sets to wartime displays on how Scapa Flow was protected; open April to September.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. The dark-fronted Orkney Distillery building on the Ayre Road in Kirkwall, with an open sign outside.The Orkney DistilleryKirkjuvagr gin, whisky and rum made on the Kirkwall harbour front, with tours and tastings and a coffee and gin bar.Under a mile 3 min by road
  4. Highland Park Distillery's stone buildings and cobbled yard lit by lamps at dusk.Highland Park DistilleryOrkney's whisky distillery on the edge of Kirkwall since 1798, with tours, tastings without booking and a shop.1 mile 2 min by road
  5. A chocolate and redcurrant dessert with honeycomb, drawn in chocolate on a white plate, the Lynnfield.Lynnfield HotelA small country-house hotel above Kirkwall, with a peat fire, over 300 malts and a restaurant built on Orkney produce.1 mile 3 min by road
Directions
A plate of seared scallops with asparagus and potato at Helgi's.RestaurantsHelgi’s0.4 miles
The Foveran's dining room, tartan chairs at laid tables and big windows onto the fields and Scapa Flow.RestaurantsThe Foveran3.5 miles
The former parish church at Tankerness, now the Sheila Fleet Kirk Gallery & Café, with its glazed café extension and a stone wall of flowers.ShoppingSheila Fleet Kirk Gallery6.1 miles
A barrier of stone blocks and its road from directly above, a rusting blockship in the green water beside it.AttractionsChurchill Barriers7.5 miles
The white and red front of the Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm, a path leading up to it under a stormy sky.AttractionsItalian Chapel8.0 miles
Wooden steps down through the dunes to the beach at Glimps Holm, the barrier and the sea beyond.AttractionsGlimps Holm Beach9.1 miles
Maeshowe, a great grassy mound in green fields under a grey sky.AttractionsMaeshowe Chambered Cairn10 miles
The tall, thin Standing Stones of Stenness on green grass, the loch and the hills of Hoy behind.AttractionsStanding Stones of Stenness11 miles
Fursbreck Pottery, a stone cottage with a red-edged roof and a garden of pots and benches, Harray.AttractionsThe Harray Potter11 miles

Recommend to a friend

The Daily for 24 October, from Scotland with love. a stone arch bridge crossing a rushing gorge below a moss-covered cliffside building, autumn trees on both banks

The Daily

Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Read on

The collections it is in and more in Orkney.

CollectionBookshops Worth a Detour
More in Orkney
Find out more

For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .