Stromness

The town of Stromness is on the Orkney Islands archipelago in northern Scotland and is the second-largest town here on the island called ‘the Mainland’. Orkney is made up of approximately 70 islands although it is only 20 of them that are inhabited. There has been habitation here 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. Orkney is designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site as it contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe. The rocks of Stromness are of great geological interest and were brought to the attention of the world in the publication of Hugh Miller, Asterolepsis of Stromness.

Stromness has developed and grown as a result of its seaport and the old town retains much of its character with a winding main street lined with homes and businesses built from local stone. There are ample amenities here and other towns are within easy reach for additional choices for dining, shopping and leisure. From Stromness, visitors and residents can take the ferry to Scrabster on the north coast of mainland Scotland. The Stromness Museum offers a fascinating insight in the town's history and its people with important collections of whaling relics and Inuit artefacts that were brought back as souvenirs by local men from Greenland and Arctic Canada. If fact the whale bone theme is present elsewhere in the town, with a large number of buildings decorated with displays of whale bones.