NOR'WEST TOURS:
ORKNEY GATEWAY

  • 2- and 3-day scheduled trips to Orkney from Inverness - see below;
  • 1-day private trips from Inverness.

    All these trips start from Inverness with the northwards portion of the 2- & 3-day trips based on our John o'Groats trip.

    Orkney Adventure is a 3-day trip with 2 nights in Orkney, though again you may stay as many nights as you like. Available any day from late March to late October that our JoG trip is running. It is a budget trip with the price pared right down and including all your transport to Kirkwall (Orkney's county town) and return ferry southwards off Orkney. Suggested return journey to Inverness is by train, so it's particularly attractive if you have some sort of railpass.

    *On your day of departure from Orkney, connecting train reaches Inverness mid-afternoon, in time for you to continue to Edinburgh or Glasgow.*

    Orkney Overnighter is available from early June to late August. It is a 2-day trip with 1 night in Orkney, though you may stay as many nights as you like. All return/round-trip transport from Inverness to Orkney and back is included, and a tour within Orkney of the principal prehistoric and other heritage sites. *Orkney Overnighter is fully booked for all remaining departures this year.*

    Both the above trips include pick-up from your accommodation in Inverness, with your luggage.

    Which trip should I choose? Our Overnighter trip includes all transport from Inverness to Orkney back to Inverness; can be done in as little as 2 days; and is fairly foolproof. Our Orkney Adventure does involve some more input from you, the client - buses from Kirkwall to Stromness and from Scrabster to Thurso railway station. On the other hand this trip gives the biggest variety of scenery - the beauty and interest of the railway route from Thurso to Inverness can hardly be exaggerated - check the main map to see how different the rail route is from the road.

    As we say above, Orkney Adventure does involve some more input from you, the client. However you should not look on this as too daunting. Here's a letter from clients who did Orkney Adventure in April of this year:
    Sinclair:
    Thank you so much for all your help on our trip to John o Groats and Orkney.
    Everything went smoothly and it was very interesting.
    It went like clockwork across to Orkney and back and we had a great time . . . Your notes for the train trip from Thurso to Inverness were brilliant . . .
    It was so easy flying up from Bristol that we intend to come again.
    We would be interested in your trip to Stornoway but can't do the times for this year but maybe next year.
    Regards
    A & E/Bristol

    If in doubt - don't book! - at least, don't book the whole Orkney trip. Just book our John o'Groats tour. Take an overnight bag with you. During the northward journey discuss your plans with our driver/guide - usually Kathleen or Sinclair Dunnett, who have both lived several years in Orkney. Decide then if you want to continue to Orkney. Please note though that if you buy these trips in bits they will cost a little more than if you buy the package as advertised on this website.

    GO-ORKNEY MegaTour allows you to visit the principal prehistoric features and some of the World War features of Orkney in a single day. It is available as a private tour from Inverness, 361 days/year.

    The Orkney archipelago lies just a few miles off the north coast of the mainland of Scotland. The islands are famous for, i.a., their density of prehistoric remains and links with both World Wars.
    The prehistoric and wartime sites of Orkney do not exist in isolation; they are part of a continuum of such features in the north of Scotland. Our trips are unusual - maybe unique - in that they emphasize this continuum, pointing out many prehistoric features on the drive from Inverness to the north coast and visiting at least one of them.
    GO-ORKNEY at Nor'West Tours * Inverness * Scotland

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