Orkney

The Orkney Islands archipelago in northern Scotland is made up of approximately 70 islands although it is only 20 of them that are inhabited. The majority of the islands are in two groups, the North and South Isles and nearly all of them have an underlying geological base of Old Red Sandstone. Orkney is designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site as it contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe. Unusually, this far north, the climate is quite mild and the land extremely fertile, so it is no surprise that agriculture is most important industry here.

Orkney attracts visitors who come for the incredible scenery, wonderful walks and abundant wildlife, flora and fauna along with marine and avian wildlife. There has been habitation on these islands for over 8,500 years, with the islands first inhabitants being Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes. The invasion of Orkney by Norway in 875 led to its annexation and settlement by the Norse. It was in 1742 that Orkney was annexed to the Scottish Crown.