Explore Stromness

Hamnavoe, as the Vikings called Stromness, has always been a hardworking harbour.

For decades, the Hudson’s Bay Company sailing ships collected supplies and enterprising young men here before crossing the Atlantic. Throughout the heyday of the whaling industry, sturdy whaling ships were regular visitors, and during the herring boom of the late 19th century the harbour teemed with fishing boats. The main herring curing station was at the point of Ness, where the campsite now sits.

Today, as you explore the harbour, you’ll see dive boats departing and returning, carrying scuba divers to explore the remaining wrecks of a sunken wartime fleet in Scapa Flow. Alongside, industrious creel boats land their fresh, tasty, catches. Nearby you’ll see the Stromness lifeboat, her volunteer crew always ready to risk themselves to save lives at sea.

Stromness is also the home port of the Graemsay, the small passenger ferry serving its namesake island and the north end of Hoy.

The statue overlooking the harbour commemorates the Arctic explorer, Dr John Rae, who was born at the Hall of Clestrain in Orphir.

His father was an agent for the Hudson’s Bay Company in Stromness, and young Rae was one of many Orcadians who worked for the company in Canada, where he became a celebrated and successful explorer. In 1854, he found evidence of the fate of Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition in search of the Northwest passage.

Near the statue is another monument: an ornate fountain commemorating Alexander Graham who, in the 18th century, won a long legal battle against the requirement for Stromness to pay taxes to Kirkwall. He won the case but at huge personal cost.

Just a short walk south along Victoria Street is the Pier Arts Centre. It has an international reputation, attracting visitors and artists to enjoy the collection and take inspiration for their own work.

The Centre was established in 1979, to house one of the finest collections of 20th century art in the UK, including work by Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson in the permanent collection. There is also a year-round programme of exhibitions and events.

The Centre’s original building dates back to the 18th century and was occupied by an agent of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the 19th century. The complex now includes an award-winning extension on the waterfront.

When you leave the Pier Arts Centre, depending on the time, you might want to enjoy coffee or lunch at one of the nearby cafés and bars serving delicious local food.

Suitably refreshed, follow the winding flagstoned road southwards. Please keep an eye on traffic because this is a two-way road, much to the alarm of the unwary! As you walk, take the opportunity to explore the small galleries and shops on the street, and discover the narrow closes running to the right and left.

Much of the character of the town lies in the small details; the commemorative plaques on the walls and the unexpected street names, for example. Who’d have expected to encounter the Kyhber pass in Stromness?

Your meandering route will soon bring you to Stromness Museum.

Mayburn Court across the road from the Museum was the home of Orkney poet and storyteller, George Mackay Brown. It stands on the site of Stromness Distillery, which produced a popular single malt called Old Orkney until it closed in 1928, when Stromness became a ‘dry’ town until after World War II.

Inside the Museum you’ll learn much more about Stromness and Orkney. It's home to fascinating collections from Orkney's maritime and natural history, including First World War artefacts from the scuttled German High Seas Fleet, items from Orkney's involvement in the Hudson's Bay Company, and pieces brought home from generations of Orcadians travelling abroad.

A little further on from the Museum and visible through a glass cover is Login’s Well, one of the town’s understated treasures.

The ships of the Hudson’s Bay Company drew water from the well for more than 200 years, and in 1845, Sir John Franklin’s ships Erebus and Terror called here before sailing across the Atlantic in search of the Northwest passage, only to be lost in an Arctic winter.

The final stopping point on your walk is the nearby cannon standing guard over a fine view of Stromness harbour. The cannon, reputed to have been salvaged from an American privateer in 1813, used to fire a salute to passing Hudson’s Bay Company ships.