Day 1: Arrive Kirkwall — Introduction to Orkney
Fly to Kirkwall from Edinburgh, Glasgow, or Aberdeen. Afternoon orientation of St Magnus Cathedral and the Orkney Museum, which provides an excellent overview of Orkney’s 5,000-year human story. Evening lecture by your archaeologist guide setting the Neolithic scene. Welcome dinner with local Orkney produce. Overnight Kirkwall.
Day 2: Skara Brae & the Bay of Skaill
Morning at Skara Brae, Europe’s most complete Neolithic village. Walk through the cluster of ten stone houses, connected by covered passages, with their stone furniture—beds, dressers, hearths—preserved exactly as they were abandoned around 2,500 BC. The visitor center tells the story of the great storm of 1850 that revealed the village after millennia buried in sand. Afternoon walk along the Bay of Skaill beach, then to the kitchen midden site of Links of Noltland on Westray (weather permitting). Overnight Kirkwall.
Day 3: The Ness of Brodgar & Standing Stones
A day at the Ness of Brodgar, the most significant Neolithic excavation in Britain this century. Between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness, archaeologists have uncovered a massive complex of monumental stone buildings—temples, ceremonial structures, and a ‘cathedral’—that flourished between 3,300 and 2,200 BC, producing painted stonework, polished maceheads, and Grooved Ware pottery. The excavation is active and seasonal; when open, you’ll tour the trenches with the archaeologists. Afternoon at the Standing Stones of Stenness (3,100 BC) and the Barnhouse Neolithic village. Overnight Kirkwall.
Day 4: Maeshowe & Ring of Brodgar
Morning at Maeshowe, entering the chambered tomb through a low 11-meter passage. Inside, the central chamber rises to a corbelled vault 3.8 meters high, with three side cells. The winter solstice sunset aligns perfectly with the entrance, illuminating the interior—an architectural feat achieved 5,000 years before CAD software. The walls bear the largest collection of Viking runic inscriptions outside Scandinavia, carved when Norsemen broke in around 1150 AD. Afternoon at the Ring of Brodgar: walk the full circuit of this enormous henge (104 meters diameter), the third-largest stone circle in the British Isles. Overnight Kirkwall.
Day 5: Hoy — The Dwarfie Stane & Old Man
Ferry to the island of Hoy, Orkney’s second-largest and most dramatic island. Visit the Dwarfie Stane, Britain’s only rock-cut Neolithic tomb—a chamber literally carved into a massive block of Devonian sandstone. Continue to Rackwick Bay and hike (optional, strenuous) to the Old Man of Hoy, a 137-meter sea stack that is one of the tallest in Britain, first climbed by Chris Bonington in 1966. The cliff scenery here is spectacular. Evening ferry return. Farewell dinner. Overnight Kirkwall.
Day 6: Departure
Morning visit to Highland Park, Scotland’s northernmost whisky distillery, founded 1798—their 18-year-old Viking Pride pays homage to Orkney’s Norse heritage. Transfer to Kirkwall Airport for departure.
