One of the oldest standing houses in northern Europe sits on Papa Westray’s west coast, a pair of low, thick-walled stone rooms joined by a passage, built and lived in from around 3700 BC, centuries before Stonehenge or the Egyptian pyramids. Known as the Knap of Howar, it still has stone shelving and a hearth in place inside. On the north-west shore, St Boniface Kirk stands on a site used for worship since the 8th century, rebuilt in the 12th century and altered again in 1710. Out on a loch to the south, the ruin of St Tredwell’s Chapel sits on a small peninsula raised over an older Iron Age site; medieval pilgrims came here hoping to cure eye complaints.
Around 95 people live on Papa Westray. Most journeys there go via Westray — a ferry or flight from Kirkwall, then a short passenger ferry from Pierowall or a connecting flight, landing close to Moclett. A direct ferry from Kirkwall sails a couple of times a week. That last hop from Westray, timetabled at about two minutes, is the shortest scheduled flight in the world.
