Skara Brae (and Scotland generally) with dc 8 yrs

[Whydo244]

Hello, I am trying to organise a 3-4 day break with my young ds to visit skara brae in the summer hols. I have only ever been to Scotland for short city breaks. I don’t drive. Any ideas for itineraries/where to stay? We will be travelling from London. Thank you !

Have you planned how you'll get there if you don't drive? You're going to need more than 3-4 days. You'll use at least 2 days travelling. It's an awful long way to go for a few days. Can you not make it a week at least?

@glacancalman no not yet. Good point about perhaps spending longer, though we don’t hope to see all the attractions in Scotland - was more where to base ourselves for skara brae, with some other attractions nearby .

Skara Brae is on Orkney, the islands off the north coast of Scotland. You'll need to factor in getting there: either train to Aberdeen or Thurso and then ferry. Or fly.

www.orkney.com/plan/getting-here

You do know that Skara Brae is on Orkney - which is not mainland Scotland. So you aren't going to see an awful lot of the attractions of Scotland anyway because you will be on a island that is to the north of as far north as Scotland goes.

3-4 days isn't much and you'd really have to fly for it to be worth it

If you can find more time what I'd do is:

Sleeper from London to Aberdeen (really beautiful views as you're having your breakfast

Spend the day in Aberdeen.

Ferry to Orkney

It is hard if you don't drive (I speak from experience!). There are buses but it takes some planning! Possibly best to join some sort of organised tour if you can, or you could probably book a taxi/tour kind of hybrid thing

You can fly from Heathrow to Orkney over Dundee www.loganair.co.uk/ Orkney is beautiful with lots to see and do.

I'm scottish and never been to Skara Brae. Why don't you go somewhere on the Sleeper if you want rural and don't drive. What do you want to do in Scotland?

Orkney is interesting to visit (I grew up there) but it isn't part of mainland Scotland so you will need to get two flights I would think. You could easily spend a week in Orkney itself, not sure a few days is enough time if you want to do Skara Brae and also Scotland.

thanks everyone! We are mainly interested in history and nature, for my dc.

If you do go to Orkney, the Italian Chapel is beautiful.

Also look up Maeshowe.

You'll probably need to do an organised tour if you don't have a car.

Fly to Orkney or take the overnight train and then the ferry ( environmental sound , great fun , but more expensive )

Stay a few extra days

Book skarra brae and maeshow in advance

If you could go in the may half term instead you can watch the puffins

What's your reason for wanting to visit Skara Brae? If you've seen it on television, I think the presenters have special access and are allowed to walk within the ruins. When I was there in the 90s we could only walk around the edges, looking down into the ruins. So it's a different experience for normal visitors.

I thought Jarlshof on Shetland was better - they let visitors get into the ruins, probably because they have far fewer visitors then Orkney. But Shetland is even more of a trek than Orkney.

We flew when we went. Island hopping is great but be aware you need to book some of the ferries 24 hrs or more in advance. If driving you can go South from main island and see Scapa Flow and the shipwrecks , and St Margaret's Hope where the Queen Margaret died aged 8 in 1290ish.

As well as the Italian Chapel, skara brae and the house associated, which is interesting, there are lots of standing stones and we also visited a small island known to the Vikings but only accessible at certain times via a causeway... can't recall it's name now!

It’s easy to get to Orkney by direct flight or changing flights at Aberdeen airport. Going by ferry means more complicated travelling but the ferry journey is wonderful with seabirds following the ferry and you get a better sense of travelling to islands. Orkney is stunningly beautiful. It has a sense of other-worldliness that mainland Scotland doesn’t have so much. And because visitor numbers are lower than on the mainland, there is more access to the archeology. No fence around the Ring of Brodgar for example.

With no car, either hire a driver and car or book tours. Skara Brae is fantastic, and gives a real sense of how people lived thousands of years ago. There are lots of other things to do and great beaches. There are wildlife tours you can join. Book all these in advance.

We stayed in Stromness but Kirkwall is the biggest town. Either would be ok.

We took our 11 and 9 year olds and both have returned there as young adults.

Not been to Orkney, but travelled to Skye many times and you really don't need the hassle of driving. Just planning, trains and taxis.

You need at least a week IMO, train to Edinburgh, 3 days in Edinburgh, fly to Orkney, 3 days there and reverse travel. its a lot of travel for an 8 year old though! Flights are expensive and avoid August if you’re coming to Edinburgh.

Sounds like you've underestimated the size of Scotland and what you can realistically see in 3-4 days. Unless you fly, it will likely take at least that amount of time just to get there and back - overnight train then the ferry the following evening after spending a day in Aberdeen, so it takes well over 24 hours to get there. It would also likely be very expensive.

Look at Loganair for flights. Then you'll likely need a taxi or to book on a tour of the islands, will be easy enough to find local providers by googling or looking in the tourist information centres.

You can fly to Orkney from London. It won't be cheap! Then spend a couple of days there.

You won't see any of mainland Scotland.

As others are saying, think carefully. You will NOT have time to see anywhere else in Scotland - but that is not necessarily a bad thing. You would not 'see England' in a few days, so 'seeing Scotland' with all it's islands and remote places is also one for multiple trips. The islands, Orkney included, all have varied character and are all worth a trip of their own. As someone who does not sound like they have seen much (if any) Scotland before, and island is a unique and amazing experience. You are closer to Norway than London, and it feels it...

The Orkney islands are loaded with history and huge amounts of nature. You cannot help but see nature there.

Orkney does have good public transport by island standards. But London Transport it is not! That said, you can plan around it much more than the other islands in my experience, and all are better than many rural parts of mainland Scotland.

A flight up would work - there is then a bus into Kirkwall from the airport (usually timed with the flights).

Base yourself in Kirkwall. Lots of accommodation and more to do if the weather does not play ball.

You can get the bus to Skara Brae or pay for some of the tours e.g. https://www.see-orkney.co.uk/orkney-tours or sort the service bus - e.g. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Kirkwall/Skara+Brae+Prehistoric+Village,+Sandwick,+Stromness+KW16+3LR/@59.0632169,-3.3166477,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x489afe1e29bc041b:0xf22367934f69e8e8!2m2!1d-2.9622491!2d58.984674!1m5!1m1!1s0x489af7c3cd9c4721:0xca626d855ab94ded!2m2!1d-3.3417332!2d59.0488031!3e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDMxMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

From Kirkwall you then have some easy days out to the nearby islands. Most of the ferries leave from Kirkwall itself. There are cracking days out to Eday, Sanday, Westray(s) and Shapinsay. They are all small to walk around or cycle around (with bike hire) and have some basic facilities. You could go with the weather as the ferries are like buses as a foot passenger - turn up and go, run by the council. Each island feels different.
https://www.orkneyferries.co.uk/

In Kirkwall there are a few things to see, or again the service bus would take you to some interesting places for a walk or wildlife spotting.

Book skarra brae and maeshow in advance

They are both open at night, with no gate on. And empty.
As are most of the Orkney historic sites.
For the OP buses may dictate that, but I was riding my bike last time and going to the sites in an evening was a solo experience I thoroughly enjoyed.

Fly to Orkney. You might not see it all in 4 days esp if you have to plan around buses. A tour from Kirkwall might help you see more.

i’ve been a few times but am planning a trip in the next 12months. I’ll fly but rent a car. In the past I’ve always stayed near Stromness (diver) and had a boat!!!! This time I’m not diving.

maes Howe is cleverer than skara brae and has Viking graffiti.

Italian chapel and lyness (naval museum) well worth a visit.

my return trip it because latter has had a huge upgrade/renovation.

we had a great holiday in Orkney without a car. Flew to Kirkwall, took a taxi to a rental house in Stromness and then travelled around by bus using a pass that if I remember rightly gave unlimited travel for a week or so. Loved Skara Brae, the Italian Chapel, St Margaret's Hope.

Not without transport though.

We went to Skara Brae a few years ago, and I think at certain times ( up to the first week of August?) you can book to do a special tour where you actually can stand in the houses. But you still get very close even if you can't go in, and there is one house that is a mock-up that is very authentic. It's a great place to visit and there are lots of other Neolithic sites fairly close.
We hired a car from the airport, I don't know about buses, I think there are some. I'd call up the local tourist information board and talk to someone there to recommend where to stay in terms of easy transport.
As for getting there, I think it's London to Aberdeen or Inverness, and then a flight from there.

Oh and find out which days the cruise ships are in.. you don't want your trip to SB to coincide with a coach fulls of cruisers.