Skara Brae, Orkney Islands

Skara Brae: The Stone Age Village on the Bay of Skaill

Skara Brae on the Bay of Skaill in Orkney was occupied between roughly 3100 BCE and 2500 BCE. It predates Stonehenge by several hundred years and the Great Pyramid of Giza by around 500 years. Eight stone houses survive in remarkably complete form, preserved because they were buried under sand and domestic waste for about 4,000 years until a storm in 1850 stripped away the covering dunes.

The reason the site is so striking is the furniture. Stone dressers, stone bed boxes, stone hearths: the domestic layout of each house is legible in a way that most prehistoric sites are not. You can see where people slept, stored things, and cooked. This changes the experience from abstract archaeology to something more personal.

Visiting the site

Skara Brae is managed by Historic Environment Scotland. Admission costs around GBP 9.50 for adults (2024 pricing), which includes access to the adjacent Skaill House, a 17th-century mansion open seasonally. The site has a small but well-designed visitor centre with replica interiors and detailed interpretation panels.

The outdoor circuit around the village takes about 45 minutes at a relaxed pace. The buildings are viewed from above (you walk along paths with the houses in a depression below), which means the interior fittings are clearly visible but you cannot enter. Photography is unrestricted.

Bay of Skaill sits on the west coast of Mainland Orkney. The bay is immediately adjacent and the beach is excellent for a walk before or after the site visit.

The broader Orcadian archaeology

Skara Brae is one component of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney UNESCO World Heritage Site, which also includes Maeshowe (a passage tomb aligned precisely with the midwinter solstice sunset), the Ring of Brodgar (a stone circle 104m in diameter with 36 of the original 60 stones still standing), and the Standing Stones of Stenness (five stones remaining from an original circle, possibly the oldest stone circle in Britain).

Maeshowe in particular is worth making a priority. Entry requires a timed ticket booked in advance through HES - GBP 9.50 for adults - and access is in small groups with a guide. The chambered tomb narrows to a crawl at the entrance and opens into a corbelled chamber where the setting midwinter sun illuminates the rear wall for about three weeks around the solstice. The Viking graffiti carved into the walls in the 12th century (over 30 runic inscriptions, including some that translate as mild boasting about women) is an unexpected bonus.

Getting to Orkney

Loganair flies from Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and several other Scottish airports to Kirkwall (the Orkney capital) in about 45 minutes. Northlink Ferries run from Scrabster (near Thurso) to Stromness in about 90 minutes, and from Aberdeen to Kirkwall overnight. The ferry from Scrabster is the more scenic option, passing the Old Man of Hoy sea stack.

Hiring a car is essentially mandatory for seeing the sites at your own pace. Kirkwall has several rental companies. The drive from Kirkwall to Skara Brae is about 22km on good roads and takes 30 minutes.

Food and accommodation

The Foveran Hotel near Kirkwall has a kitchen that takes Orkney seafood seriously: crab, lobster, and hand-dived scallops from the surrounding waters. A main course runs around GBP 20-28. The Pomona Inn near Maeshowe is a small pub with simple food and an excellent whisky selection.

Most visitors stay in Kirkwall itself. The Lynnfield Hotel has reliable rooms from around GBP 110-150 per night. Self-catering cottages scattered across Mainland offer more space and direct views across Scapa Flow or the Atlantic, and often work out cheaper for two-night stays.