Sanday: An island of history and hospitality

Travel writer Robin McKelvie visits the isle of Sanday in Orkney where he discovers not only the island’s incredible beaches, wildlife and history – but most importantly, the infectiously positive local community.

There is a real sense of community here. People think you come to an island to escape. Not Sanday. Here you are part of something bigger and people look out for you.

I’ve wanted to get to the Orcadian Island of Sanday for years. I’ve seen photos of its epic beaches and heard talk of its epic history. Within seconds of arriving, I’m immersed in this remarkable isle’s best attraction of all – a thriving, dynamic community who embrace visitors with open arms.

The first islander I meet sets the tone. Dave Walker was always looking for somewhere special to live and after buying a property in the Peak District proved impossible, he stumbled across Sanday. He has not looked back since and has now done up his own place and works for Orkney Retreats, who provide spectacular accommodation in old farmhouses for visitors.

New arrivals like Dave have helped ease the island population up around the 500 mark, have stabilised the school roll and brought fresh ideas. He could scarcely be more passionate about Sanday – “There is a real sense of community here. People think you come to an island to escape. Not Sanday. Here you are part of something bigger and people look out for you – you just cannot beat that feeling. I think wealth is happiness and I’ve found that here.”

Dave takes me to meet Adam Hough at Boloquoy. Adam was attracted to Sanday by its bountiful wildlife. An ex-firefighter he is now working on an RSPB project to build a wildlife observatory in an old mill on a spectacularly rugged stretch of coastline. Listening to him talk about Sanday’s wildlife is like tuning into a BBC wildlife documentary – “We have a real variety of habitats on the island that attract a rich spread of wildlife. You can see everything from puffins and lapwings, through to dolphins and orcas. Whales can be a real highlight with humpbacks and minke visible from the shore too.”

This is an isle only 16 miles by six (Orkney’s third largest) that constantly impresses, not least those beaches. There are over a dozen of them. My favourites prove to be Whitemill Bay, Otterswick Bay and Backaskaill Bay. Then there is Doun Helzie, with its caves you can eke out to at low tide. The gently sloping sands attract wild swimmers too. If it’s dunes you’re after, head for Tresness, where huge walls of sand frame the idyllic scene.

That deep sense of history is never far away either. As I take in the sublime sands at Lopness I spot B98. If you thought the only way to see German shipwrecks from World War One is scuba diving in Scapa Flow, think again. The wreckage of this WWI German torpedo destroyer has lain here on the sands since the day it was beached in June 1919. It makes an evocative sight sitting slumped on the sands forever battered by the waves as it is slowly reclaimed by nature.

I unpeel more layers of history at the Sanday Heritage Centre. Custodian Ruth Peace shares their ‘Sanday through the Ages’ theme, telling me the prehistory here is up there with Orkney Mainland. I’m impressed with the sheer range of sites she tells me about, many of which haven’t yet been excavated. Some are under threat of being lost to coastal erosion.

Indeed, the centre has saved one remnant and painstakingly rebuilt it right outside. This burnt mound really gives you an idea of what Sanday offers. Also, outside is a tank specially built to preserve the wooden shipwreck that the sands revealed in 2024. It’s thought to be a very rare Dutch vessel that may date from as far back as the 1600s. Watch this deeply historic space.

The stream of engaging locals continues apace with Francis Edwards. He is a busy man who has just had a major role in setting up the local Men’s Shed and also serves on the Sanday Business Forum. We work our way by a field of cows and along a wild stretch of coastline. As we do, the centuries peel back. Back around 4,000 years with the Quoyness Chambered Cairn. It reminds me of Maeshowe across on Orkney mainland as I eke down the dark corridor back in time. But here I’m all alone bar the sound of the wind whistling across the stone beach outside.

Next, I rent an e-bike from the impressively well stocked community shop to explore more of this sinewy island. I hook up with expert naturalists Emma Neave Webb and Russell Neave. They are busy setting up their Sanday Nature Tour business and there is certainly plenty for them to show guests. They tell me about the local otters and curlews, about hen harriers in winter, of 11 species of whale and dolphin visiting this year alone and a walrus. Yes, a walrus, in Scotland. “We had a wandering walrus back in 2018. He became a bit of an island celebrity, who everyone wanted to come and see. He was a real star until a cheeky gull nipped him on the bum and he was off,” Emma smiles.

I get closest to Sanday’s life-affirming beating heart at the Sanday Community Craft Hub. Tracy Ranger is the shining light at this SCOTO member. She tells me the hub “brings the community together and in our popular café locals and visitors can meet the community there too”. I survey some of the works of over 70 local artisans. Tracy explains the inspirational role the hub plays too “It really encourages people who may just have made things for themselves to share them with a wider audience. It gives them some welcome income too and visitors get the chance to spend directly into the community.”

My adventures on Sanday culminate at 59 Degrees North. I did not expect to find an oasis like this in the northern reaches of Sanday. Its dynamic owner Jon Chapman, who moved to Sanday on the first day of the first Covid Lockdown, is not content with running his own graphic design business. He also has a bijou motorhome site and a brilliant pizzeria.

He claims to serve “the UK’s most northerly wood-fired pizza.” They are as good as any I’ve tried in any Scottish city, enough to please a passing Neapolitan too, busting with flavour and creative toppings like blue cheese and chilli honey. John tells me the local beaches “are like the Bahamas” and how he now employs a dozen islanders, another new arrival really putting in positivity and drive into the island community.

I expected beaches and history on Sanday. I was not disappointed on either front. I leave having had my spirit soared by the infectiously positive local community. I also leave not having visited the local golf course, nor having gone fishing in its lochs and with myriad historic sites I want to check out. Sanday is an island I’m already desperate to go back to.

By Robin McKelvie
Robin McKelvie is an award-winning travel writer and broadcaster who has been published in over 200 magazines and newspapers worldwide.

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