Seven highlights of the Stromness street

It unspools from north to south with harbourside houses, piers and slipways on its east side, and a warren of lanes and closes snaking up the hill to the west. Along the way you’ll find plenty of points of interest where you can discover more about Stromness’ past.

Here are seven of our favourite highlights to find on the town's street.

Start your Stromness experience at the town’s bustling pierhead and you’ll find the bronze figure of Dr John Rae gazing out over the harbour.

Rae was born in Orkney and become one of the great Arctic explorers. He charted vast areas of unknown Canadian territories and discovered the last link in the fabled Northwest Passage.

The statue was designed by North Ronaldsay sculptor, Ian Scott, and was unveiled in 2013. You can discover more about John Rae and the Hudson’s Bay Company’s links with Stromness in the town’s excellent museum.

The main street in Stromness changes its name four times but essentially runs in a single route all the way to the sea at the Point of Ness.

It’s a walk full of character, but don’t be afraid to take a few steps off the beaten track to explore some of the fabulously-named lanes and closes, including Puffer’s Close, Khyber Pass, Boys Lane, and Hellihole Road.

Some of them lead you past old houses and gardens, others simply to residential areas tucked into the hillside, but at the very least you’ll see a different side to Stromness and you’ll almost always get a view of the sea.

Just before you come to the Alison Moore Designs shop on Victoria Street in the town, you’ll pass a rather unassuming stretch of the street. There’s nothing in particular to see here, but every Hogmanay this part of town is full of festive fun.

It’s the starting point for the annual Stromness Yule Log Pull, a large-scale game of tug of war between folk from opposite ends of the town – the Northenders and the Soothenders. The aim is to pull a large tree trunk to their respective end of the street, and it all gets underway right here in the middle.

The game was traditionally played on Christmas Eve in Stromness until 1937 and was brought back to life in 2017 as part of the town’s Per Mare celebrations. Despite a COVID-related hiatus, the game has become a regular fixture on Orkney’s seasonal calendar.

As you’re walking along the street, keep your eyes on the walls of the buildings and you’ll spot a number of blue plaques highlighting some of the colour stories from the town’s history.

There are 16 in total, ranging the town’s former lifeboat station and the home of author, George Mackay Brown, to the Hudson’s Bay Company’s recruiting headquarters and a hospital for whalers suffering from scurvy and frostbite.

The plaques offer a fascinating glimpse into days gone by.

Head up Hellihole Road to spot some unique street furniture that has played a vital role in helping generations of mariners safely into port.

The ‘leading lights’ are two tall, white posts adorned with red lamps. When they are in line, skippers at sea approaching Stromness harbour know they have found safe passage between the Point of Ness and the nearby holms.

If you're arriving in Stromness with NorthLink Ferries, keep your eyes peeled for the lights guiding you home.

It’s easy to miss this historical highlight, but this small well has played an important role in Stromness’ maritime story.

Ships from the Hudson's Bay Company drew their final stores of water from here, as did Cook's vessels 'Endeavour' and 'Discovery' in 1780 too.

Sir John Franklin’s ships 'Erebus' and 'Terror' also took on water here before heading across the Atlantic to search for the Northwest Passage.

Just along the street from Login’s Well, the view opens up and the sea comes into sight.

Nearby, a small cannon overlooks the approaches to Stromness harbour. It was captured from American privateer ship ‘Scourge’ during the Anglo-American War in 1813 and put in place to help defend the town.

It was never fired in anger though, and was only used to welcome the arrival of ships from the Hudson’s Bay Company back into port.

Visit our Explore Stromness to find out more about the town.