As it’s name suggests, Sanday is a North Isle famous for its beaches. A large but low-lying island, Sanday is
particularly worth a visit in the summer when there are wildflowers, birdlife and pleasant weather to enjoy the sandy bays. Seals and birds enjoy Sanday’s coastline. Sanday is also an island which saw plenty of Viking activity (the light soil would have been easy farmland to work) and the Viking boat recently found at Scar was an exciting find.
Sites worth a visit include:
Quoyness Chambered Cairn – a maeshowe-type cairn from 3000BC with a tall roof. It can be found on the peninsula of Elness, close to Kettletoft.
Start Point Lighthouse – an impressive lighthouse with very distinctive vertical black stripes (which distinguish it from the North Ronaldsay lighthouses horizontal red stripes). As much of Sanday is very low-lying, it is an important lighthouse to steer sailors away from Sanday's rocks. Start Island can only be accessed at low tide and can be found in the north east of Sanday.
Kettletoft Village – Sanday’s main town where restaurants, bars and shops can be found.
Loth – where the boat from Kirkwall to Sanday arrives and departs. Loth is 8 miles from Kettletoft.
Map of Sanday
Booking a ferry to Orkney directly with NorthLink Ferries on www.northlinkferries.co.uk is cheaper than booking with another website and we never charge for any amendments made to your booking!
Getting to Sanday Travel from Scrabster to Stromness with NorthLink Ferres. Once docked, take the A965 for 15 miles to Kirkwall. From there you can either take a North Isles ferry with Orkney Ferries from the harbour front (on Harbour Street) or take an islander plane from Kirkwall Airport (taking the A960 for 4 miles) Alternatively, travel from Aberdeen or Lerwick to Kirkwall with NorthLink Ferries. Once docked at Hatston, turn left at the first junction to head towards Kirkwall town centre. From there you can either take a North Isles ferry with Orkney Ferries from the harbour front (on Harbour Street) or take an islander plane from Kirkwall Airport (taking the A960 for 4 miles).
Top tips • Sanday has two Golf Course - the 9-hole course run by Sanday Golf Course (to the east of Lady) and the 1 hole course "Peedie Golf Course" (close to the school) which is Scotland's shortest at 57 yards. Visitors by arrangement only. • In the north of the island can be found Ortie, an abandoned 19th Century village (when the kelp boom ended) which once housed more than 60 people. The houses are arranged in a long straight line.
particularly worth a visit in the summer when there are wildflowers, birdlife and pleasant weather to enjoy the sandy bays. Seals and birds enjoy Sanday’s coastline. Sanday is also an island which saw plenty of Viking activity (the light soil would have been easy farmland to work) and the Viking boat recently found at Scar was an exciting find.
Sites worth a visit include:
Kettletoft Village – Sanday’s main town where restaurants, bars and shops can be found.
