When wild weather hits, most people retreat indoors to a warm fire and a hot drink.
In Orkney, we’d always recommend taking a different approach. There is nothing quite like being on a beach or walking along a coastal path when the wind is blowing and the sea spray is splashing against your skin.
Here are our favourite spots for an autumn or winter wander, perfect for getting rid of the cobwebs and awakening the senses.
This is a special place to be all year round.
In the autumn and winter months you'll have waves booming off the cliffs below; during the summer there will be thousands of seabirds swirling above the sea. And the beautiful lighthouse that marks the north-western tip of the Orkney archipelago is a constant presence.
Hop on the ferry or plane from Kirkwall and head to Westray, one of our largest islands. Visit this RSPB reserve and follow the cliff-top paths for stunning views of natural arches and the lighthouse itself, built in 1898.
- Warm up after your walk
There are some excellent options available in Westray if you want to find some shelter after your wild walk.
The Pierowall Hotel, JACKS Chippy, and Saintear all offer meals, refreshments and takeaways. The Groatie Buckie café at W. I. Rendall is a great place to visit for a quick cuppa or a light bite, as is the Wheeling Steen Gallery. If you're heading to the ferry terminal, the welcoming Richan’s Retreat offers small meals and hot drinks. Check opening times with all local businesses before travelling.
Sanday is famous for its beaches and you'll find plenty of options here in autumn to help you get away from it all.
This beach, at Tresness on the east coast of the island, is one of the best. Wrap up warm and dodge the North Sea as it rolls ashore on the spotless sand.
The dunes provide perfect shelter too if you just want to sit back and listen to the sea and wind.
- Warm up after your walk
There are plenty of options available in Sanday if you're looking for a cuppa after your walk.
The UK’s most northerly wood-fired pizzeria at 59 Degrees North offers delicious pizzas and a range of other homemade treats. The Kettletoft Hotel provides food on certain days and a licensed bar. The Belsair Hotel serves up a range of tasty bar food. The Sanday Community Craft Hub also has a tearoom offering light bites, cakes, and teas and coffees. Check opening times with all local businesses before travelling.
This is one of the most spectacular stretches of coastline in the islands. Yesnaby is found in-between Stromness and Skara Brae on the west coast of the mainland and should be on everyone's 'must see' list.
Head out on the path to the Brough of Bigging for mesmerising views north and south. During a westerly gale, expect huge waves crashing onto the cliffs and dark skies with rain clouds passing through. Further south you’ll pass rocky inlets full of sea foam before arriving at the Castle of Yesnaby, a fragile sea-stack.
Don’t venture too close to the edge at Yesnaby – just enjoy the sights and sounds from a safe distance.
- Warm up after your walk
You won't be short of food and drink stops after visiting Yesnaby.
Just a short drive away, the Skara Brae Visitor Centre cafe has a menu of meals, snacks, and refreshments. The Orkney Brewery's Tasting Hall is relatively close by, and so is The Orkney Dairy's Big Bun Box, which is full of cakes, milkshakes and more. Slightly further afield you'll find Stromness and its range of shops and eateries. Check opening times with all local businesses before travelling.
If you're an early bird then a morning visit to Dingieshowe in the East Mainland is highly recommended.
Watch the low autumn or winter sun rise in the east, brightening up the sea and sand at this beautiful beach. There's also a good chance you'll be carefully watched by a seal or two in the surf.
Dingieshowe boasts an excellent nearby coastal walk too, so make sure you take the time to explore the area.
- Warm up after your walk
After your Dingieshowe walk, you can head east to the Deerness Distillery to visit its new cafe and visitor centre (set to open in autumn 2024) to warm up with a hot drink, light bite, or maybe even a gin tasting or two. Closer to Kirkwall is the excellent Kirk Gallery & Cafe at Sheila Fleet's base in Tankerness. Kirkwall Airport also has a cafe that's open to the public. The Barrier View Cafe at Celina Rupp Jewellery is a little further away but well worth a stop too. Check opening times with all local businesses before travelling.
This spectacular stretch of coastline is relatively undiscovered, with most visitors to Hoy heading north to see the famous Old Man of Hoy.
Don't miss this Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve though - it boasts cliffs, caves, sea-stacks, geos, natural arches and much more.
It’s a remote and wild place, and you’ll probably have it all to yourself.
- Warm up after your walk
Hoy and South Walls are home to a few eating out options which are perfect after a coastal walk.
The YM Longhope runs a community café and Lunch Club on certain days during the week. The Scapa Flow Museum at Lyness has the popular Skalpaflòi Café with a menu full of lunch options, snacks, home bakes and refreshments. Just north of Lyness, Emily’s offers a range of tasty lunches and evening meals throughout the year. Check opening times with all local businesses before travelling.
These huge 87-metre-high cliffs climb sharply out of the sea on the west coast of the Orkney mainland.
You can either walk to the top of the headland from the nearby Marwick Bay or take the shorter route from the small car park at Cumlaquoy. Either way, you'll be greeted with some of the finest coastal views in the islands.
There's plenty of history to be had here too, with the Kitchener and HMS Hampshire Memorial towering above the sea.
- Warm up after your walk
Even one of the wildest locations in Orkney has some eating out options in its vicinity.
The Orkney Brewery's Tasting Hall is a short drive from Marwick Head, and in the opposite direction you'll find the Birsay Bay Tearoom with its range of meals, home bakes and hot drinks. Check opening times with all local businesses before travelling.
This could possibly be the best place in Orkney to clear the head and connect with nature.
Rackwick is an old crofting community tucked away on the west coast of Hoy, at the end of a valley of glens and hills, with huge sandstone cliffs looming on either side. A rocky beach with a sliver of golden sand greets huge rolling waves during the winter months. You can walk here and back in a day, taking advantage of the passenger ferry from Stromness.
It’s a place you won’t forget in a hurry.
- Warm up after your walk
Rackwick is about as remote as you can get in Orkney.
The only nearby option for food and drink is the Beneth'ill Cafe, just a short walk from Moaness Pier. The cafe is only open during the summer months when it offers light bites, burgers, home bakes, and hot and cold drinks. Check opening times with all local businesses before travelling.
This is a very unique place, even for Orkney. The tiny island is only accessible at low tide, when the sea retreats to reveal a concrete causeway, criss-crossing its way across the shore.
The whole coastline in the surrounding area is fascinating, but a trip to the Brough itself lets you explore the remains of Pictish and Norse settlements, with the west side of the island dropping off dramatically into the Atlantic.
Remember to check, double check and triple check the tide times so you don’t get stuck.
- Warm up after your walk
You can sit and watch the tide come in at the nearby Birsay Bay Tearoom whilst enjoying its menu full of local ingredients, with burgers, quiches, sandwiches, home bakes and much more on offer. Check opening times with all local businesses before travelling.
Windwick is another quiet spot but it’s well worth taking a trip off the main tourist trail.
Visit in November and you’ll be greeted by the cries of hundreds of new-born grey seal pups on the rocky shore below. The area is part of a fantastic coastal route, stretching from the south of the island to the beach at Eastside in the north.
Windwick also has its own sea-stack and craggy coastline to enjoy.
- Warm up after your walk
Head back to St Margaret's Hope for a couple of places offering sanctuary from an autumn or winter wander in Orkney.
Robertson's Coffee Hoose is a popular place for a hot drink and a bite to eat. Meanwhile, the Murray Arms Hotel & Seafood Restaurant has an extensive range of the freshest Orkney food on offer. Check opening times with all local businesses before travelling.