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Birsay

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At the north-west tip of the Mainland, Birsay is a scattered village best known for what lies just offshore: the Brough of Birsay, a tidal island with Pictish and Norse remains you can walk out to at low tide. In the village stand the ruins of the 16th-century Earl’s Palace. Check the tide times before crossing to the brough, or you’ll be stuck one side or the other.

More places to visit near Birsay

Photo of Barony Mill, a watermill near Birsay, the Orkney Islands, the Scottish Highlands and Islands.Highlight

Barony Mill

Watermill near Birsay

A working 19th-century water mill at Birsay, the last in Orkney still grinding traditional bere barley into beremeal.

0.6 km S

Photo of Brough of Birsay, an island in the Orkney Islands, the Scottish Highlands and Islands.Highlight

Brough of Birsay

Island near Birsay

Tidal island off Birsay with Pictish and Norse ruins, a 12th-century church, a lighthouse and puffins on its cliffs

1.6 km W

Photo of Marwick Head, a nature reserve near Birsay, the Orkney Islands, the Scottish Highlands and Islands.Highlight

Marwick Head

Nature reserve near Birsay

An RSPB reserve of sheer cliffs crowded with seabirds, topped by the tower of the Kitchener Memorial.

4.2 km SW

Photo of Rousay, an island in the Orkney Islands, the Scottish Highlands and Islands.Highlight

Rousay

Island near Evie

Hilly island with Midhowe's broch and stalled cairn, Taversoe Tuick's two-storey tomb and the Westness heritage walk along the shore

11.2 km E

Photo of Sands of Evie, a beach in the Orkney Islands, the Scottish Highlands and Islands.Highlight

Sands of Evie

Beach near Evie

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

12.3 km E

Photo of Yesnaby, a visitor attraction near Stromness in Hoy and West Mainland, the Orkney Islands, the Scottish Highlands and Islands.Highlight

Yesnaby

Attraction near Stromness

A stretch of dramatic Old Red Sandstone sea cliffs and stacks on the west Mainland coast, popular for clifftop walks.

12.6 km S