This route takes in two of the four Heart of Neolithic Orkney sites, with a third visible in the near distance. Read the story of the stones and other Neolithic wonders in Orkney here: https://www.orkneyology.com/heart-of-neolithic-orkney.html I first enjoyed this walk in January. With the days still short in Orkney this time of year I had to limit side explorations in order to be home before dark - about 4pm just now. If you do this walk you'll see many additional possibilities for exploration along the way, which you might have time for when the days are longer. There is a quicker route to Stromness from the stones, but having walked that route once, I will not do it again. There's a lot of traffic along the A965 and nowhere to walk much of the way except in the road. Not pleasant or safe. The way I'll show you here is very pleasant and beautiful with not too much traffic ... although during the height of the tourism season all bets are off. The photos were difficult to get with the low winter sun inserting itself wherever I wanted to take one, but they will still give you a good idea of the breathtaking experience to be had on this route. Have a glorious walk!

Hiking/Backpacking

I asked my husband to drop me off at the intersection of the A965 and B9055. You can take a bus or a taxi to this point if you need to, or there's parking near the Ring of Brodgar. This is mostly a country roads walk, sometimes hilly. Some roads are narrow or one lane so be listening for cars and tractors and step off the road carefully as needed. Watch out, though, as there's hardly any shoulder on Orkney roads and alongside the roads is grass often hiding ruts and lumps. Best Orkney walking advice: dress in layers, bring gloves and a hat, sturdy shoes and waterproofs no matter what time of the year it is, as the felt temperature can vary vastly from place to place and conditions change suddenly.

Orkney walks, Ring of Brodgar walks, Stones of Stenness walks, walking in Orkney, loch walks, Orkney Islands walks, Heart of Neolithic Orkney walks

Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom

time : Jan 13, 2021 9:43 AM

duration : 2h 38m 53s

distance : 4.3 mi

total_ascent : 541 ft

highest_point : 117 ft

avg_speed : 2.1 mi/h

user_id : Orkneyology.com

user_firstname : Rhonda

user_lastname : Muir

This route takes in two of the four Heart of Neolithic Orkney sites, with a third visible in the near distance. Read the story of the stones and other Neolithic wonders in Orkney here: https://www.orkneyology.com/heart-of-neolithic-orkney.html I first enjoyed this walk in January. With the days still short in Orkney this time of year I had to limit side explorations in order to be home before dark - about 4pm just now. If you do this walk you'll see many additional possibilities for exploration along the way, which you might have time for when the days are longer. There is a quicker route to Stromness from the stones, but having walked that route once, I will not do it again. There's a lot of traffic along the A965 and nowhere to walk much of the way except in the road. Not pleasant or safe. The way I'll show you here is very pleasant and beautiful with not too much traffic ... although during the height of the tourism season all bets are off. The photos were difficult to get with the low winter sun inserting itself wherever I wanted to take one, but they will still give you a good idea of the breathtaking experience to be had on this route. Have a glorious walk!