Orphir: Saga, Round Church and Coastal Walks

Orphir brings together the legacy of the Orkneyinga Saga, the Round Church, coastal walks along Scapa Flow and Waulkmill Beach. When planning your trip, it is worth considering these highlights according to their character: the historical tales and the history of the Round Church offer a different focus from coastal routes or the tide-dependent beach. Houton adds a ferry connection to Flotta and Hoy.

Saga and Round Church

The Orkneyinga Saga tells of a great Yule feast hosted by Earl Paul at his bu in Orphir. A bu is a lord’s seat or residence; the Saga thus explicitly places the feast at Earl Paul’s seat. The Orkneyinga Saga Centre in Orphir tells the story of the Norse earls of Orkney using the Saga and an audiovisual presentation.

The Round Church of Orphir is thought to have been modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The church remained in use until the 1750s and was subsequently partly demolished. Two aspects should be distinguished when putting this into context: the Jerusalem model is an assumption, while the use and partial demolition describe the course of the church’s history.

Coastal walks with different character

The Orphir Bay Coastal Walk is an approximately 3.2 km circular route that starts and ends at Bu Farm in Orphir. Extensive panoramic views over Scapa Flow accompany the route, which also passes low cliffs. Seals may be visible in the waters below, but sightings are not guaranteed. Local route descriptions and shore conditions may change, so check current information before setting out.

At Earl's Bu & Round Kirk, a coastal route follows the shore of Scapa Flow and returns to the car park via Gyre Road. The Earl's Bu Circular is in the Parish of Orphir and follows a short-mown grassy coastal path, a quiet paved road and a short optional woodland section. Take care along eroding coastlines.

The penultimate section of the St Magnus Way also heads towards Orphir: it runs south from Finstown over the hills. When planning, you can therefore distinguish between coastal walks and a route section over hills, without treating the routes as one and the same.

Waulkmill: Beach and salt marsh

Waulkmill is a beach in the Parish of Orphir. At low tide, a wide stretch of sand extends across the entire bay to the shallow waters of Scapa Flow. The state of the tide is therefore a practical factor when visiting: if you want to experience the wide stretch of sand, plan your visit for low tide. Behind the beach, a walking path passes through one of Orkney’s largest salt marshes. This also makes it possible to combine a visit to the coast with a walk through the marshland.

Houton and onward travel

The ferry terminal at Houton, near Orphir, offers connections to Flotta and Hoy. Bus routes 2 and 5 also serve Houton: route 2 from Kirkwall, route 5 from Stromness. The bus journey to the terminal and the ferry connection are two separate parts of planning your trip. Check current bus services and ferry timetables before travelling, as bus routes, timetables and ferry service patterns may change.

Discover more destinations: Burray Village, Stromness, Hackness, Kirkwall, Orkney, Tingwall, Finstown, Westray

For the overview of the wider region: Orkney Islands.