The Ultimate Orkney Scavenger Hunt

As my time at home extended into months and eventually over a year, I’ve found myself discovering more and more activities, sights, walks and attractions in Orkney than I ever knew about before. So I made a mission to start compiling a list of all the ones I still haven’t done – and it got me thinking, maybe this could be something I could make for everybody to enjoy.

So here it is – along with a downloadable PDF file of my ULTIMATE Orkney scavenger hunt!

This list isn’t totally exhaustive (I haven’t listed individual cairns, and there are some lovely hidden gems like Betty’s Reading Room that I recommend), but it is a pretty comprehensive list of almost everything you can do in Orkney, plus a few fun challenges too!

(please note: it doesn’t include any islands apart from a couple on Hoy, but I’m tempted to make a “bonus” list full of them because I know I’m missing out a lot!)


Read more: Why You Should Visit Orkney

Be a tourist

  1. Visit Skara Brae
  2. Take a walk around the Ring Of Brodgar
  3. Feel small next to the Stones of Stenness
  4. Check out the Viking runes at Maeshowe
  5. Take in the beautiful Italian chapel
  6. Drive across the Churchill barriers
  7. Visit 3 islands (excluding the south isles)
  8. Find 3 shipwrecks
  9. Visit a distillery
  10. Discover alleyways in Stromness

Take some cliff walks

  1. Spot birds at Marwick Head
  2. Walk to the lighthouse on the Brough Of Birsay
  3. Find the “castle” at Yesnaby
  4. Walk from the Gloup to the Brough Of Deerness
  5. Check out the stacks and cliff faces of Windwick Bay, South Ronaldsay
  6. Find the fishermen’s huts at Marwick Bay
  7. Find the whalebone at Birsay
  8. Hike from Rackwick to the Old Man Of Hoy

Read more: 7 Coastal Walks In Orkney You Need To Take

In Kirkwall

  1. Take an upstairs tour of St Magnus Cathedral
  2. Visit Earl’s Palace & Bishop’s Palace
  3. Learn some new things at the Orkney museum
  4. Go inside the Grainshore Earth House
  5. Walk up Wideford Hill and find the cairn
  6. Walk the Crantit Trail to Scapa Beach
  7. Find the waterfall at Scapa Beach
  8. Visit the Wireless Museum
  9. Watch some live music
  10. Find a street named after a Viking

On the mainland

  1. Go inside 3 cairns or tombs
  2. Visit Happy Valley
  3. Play hide & seek at Earl’s Palace in Birsay
  4. Go to the Broch Of Gurness
  5. Find the house with a grass roof
  6. Find 5 red phone boxes
  7. Go to Ness Battery by Stromness

Learn something

  1. Visit the Stromness Museum
  2. Go over to Lyness, Hoy, for the Naval Museum
  3. Visit a craft or jewellery workshop
  4. Read a local book
  5. Try a dive

Eat & drink

  1. Try a pattie supper
  2. Buy some Orkney fudge
  3. Eat some local beef, lamb or seafood
  4. Try a buffalo pie or sausage roll
  5. Find your favourite Orkney beer
  6. Indulge in some Orkney fudge cheesecake
  7. Try bannock bread
  8. Have a cocktail at Helgi’s
  9. Conquer the Stenness Monster ice cream cone
  10. Visit a brewery

Find some of Orkney’s best beaches

  1. Waulkmill Bay (when the tide’s out!)
  2. Scapa Beach
  3. Inganess Beach
  4. Dingieshowe Beach
  5. Bay Of Skaill
  6. Warbeth Beach
  7. Between the 2nd and 3rd barriers
  8. 4th barrier beach
  9. Sands O’ Wright
  10. Find some groatie buckie shells

Burray & South Ronaldsay

  1. Visit the Fossil & Heritage Museum
  2. Roll yourself into the Tomb Of The Eagles
  3. Explore Hoxa Head’s WW2 batteries
  4. Find the abandoned hiker’s hostel in Herston
  5. Stop for a view of Orkney from Ward Hill
  6. Take a walk around St Olav’s Wood

Wildlife & animal spotting

  1. Spot a seal
  2. Spot 5 types of bird
  3. Spot a puffin
  4. Find some highland cows
  5. Find the hairy pigs
  6. Spot the local deer


& most importantly, ENJOY! I know I have!