Beaches & swimming in Orkney IslandsOrkney Islands, Scotland

A long sweeping white-sand beach on Sanday, prized for shell-hunting and solitude.

Orkney Islands

A sandy beach on the narrow isthmus joining Deerness to the East Mainland, backed by dunes.

A fine white-sand beach on the north of Westray, beside the Links of Noltland archaeology.

A boulder-and-sand bay on Hoy hemmed by towering hills, the walk-in point for the Old Man of Hoy.

A sheltered golden beach on the Mainland's north coast beside Eynhallow Sound, near the Broch of Gurness.

Orkney's most accessible beach, a mile from Kirkwall on Scapa Flow, reached on foot along the Crantit Trail.

A sheltered sandy bay on Scapa Flow that reveals wide flats at low tide, reached by a steep path near Orphir.

A broad white-sand beach on the north coast of Sanday, one of the island's finest.

Orkney Islands