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Orkney

The Orkney Distillery

Kirkjuvagr gin, made on the Kirkwall waterfront.

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Welcome

The Orkney Distillery stands on the Ayre Road looking over the harbour, and makes Kirkjuvagr (the old Norse name for Kirkwall) using botanicals grown on the islands, among them the ramanas rose and Orkney-grown angelica and burnet.

There is rum and a blended malt as well. The visitor centre runs tours through the stillhouse and a tasting afterwards, and the bar upstairs has the view. It is a short walk from the cathedral, which makes it one of the few distilleries in Scotland you can reach on foot from the middle of a town.

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.2 min by roadSee itA plate of seared scallops with asparagus and potato at Helgi's.
Before you go
How long
Three quarters of an hour to two hours
Their website
orkneydistilling.com
Telephone
01856 875338
Where it is

Kirkwall, Orkney.

Close byThe rest of Orkney, near at hand.
  1. Orkney Wireless MuseumRadio, radar and wartime listening on Scapa Flow, at Kiln Corner.Under a mile3 min by road
  2. The children's corner of the Orcadian Bookshop, shelves of picture books above small chairs and a table.The Orcadian BookshopThe Orcadian newspaper's bookshop on Albert Street, Kirkwall, for Orkney books, maps and gifts.Under a mile3 min by road
  3. St Magnus CathedralSt Magnus CathedralBegun in 1137 for a murdered earl, and still the centre of Kirkwall.Under a mile3 min by road
  4. 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.2 miles5 min by road
  5. 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.2 miles5 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
ShoppingSheila Fleet Kirk Gallery6.7 miles
A barrier of stone blocks and its road from directly above, a rusting blockship in the green water beside it.AttractionsChurchill Barriers8.1 miles
The white and red front of the Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm, a path leading up to it under a stormy sky.AttractionsItalian Chapel8.5 miles
Wooden steps down through the dunes to the beach at Glimps Holm, the barrier and the sea beyond.AttractionsGlimps Holm Beach9.6 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
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