Visit Shapinsay
– Just twenty minutes away!
To find out how to get here look at Orkney Ferries website, leaving from the center of Kirkwall and arriving straight into our beautiful village where everything is right there, what could be more simple? Hop on over to Shapinsay today, why wait!?
Thinking of visiting Shapinsay? You don’t need to set aside a whole day to enjoy everything our island has to offer. With up to seven ferries a day between Kirkwall and Shapinsay, you can spend a relaxed morning, an afternoon exploring, or make a full day of it – whatever suits your plans. The best part is, you are leaving from right in the center of Kirkwall, so no need for buses or taxis!
Why not catch an early ferry, enjoy a stroll around the village, see the seals on the shore, explore the trees below the castle, enjoy a view of the Highland Cows next to the Gatehouse, play at the play park, a walk up the bird observatory and back down for coffee or lunch at the Smithy Cafe and visit the Heritage Centre, and still be back in Kirkwall by 2pm? Or head over just in time for lunch, hire a bike, cycle to beautiful Ness Beach and Burroughston Broch, and return on the last afternoon ferry. However long you stay, you’ll discover that Shapinsay is the perfect island escape – only twenty minutes away.
Eat & Drink
You can find us over on Instagram or on Tiktok
The Smithy is our welcoming, community-owned café, restaurant and bar, serving delicious lunches, home baking and refreshments throughout the season. Be sure to check The Smithy Shapinsay Facebook page before your visit for the latest opening times and menus.
Discover Shapinsay’s History
The Heritage Centre, reopened with a fresh new look in 2023, tells the fascinating story of Shapinsay people and place through interactive displays and engaging exhibits. Don’t miss the fabulous film about local boatbuilder John Robert Leslie and his traditional wooden boats and for 2026 the exhibit is on another local boat builder, Ivan Hourston. The Heritage Centre is open Wednesday to Sunday throughout the summer season (closed during winter).
Visit the Village Shop
Thomas Sinclair’s shop is a traditional island store with everything you might need during your visit. Pick up coffees, cold drinks, snacks, ice creams, or browse an impressive range of loose foods – from local produce to sweets, drinks, and much more! packaging.
Nature & Wildlife
The recently refurbished RSPB bird hide is open throughout the year and offers fantastic opportunities to watch Shapinsay’s birdlife. Don’t forget your binoculars! See Below for examples of what you might see! Best of all, it’s within walking distance of the Pier, so you can walk there
Cast Affs – Shapinsay’s Charity Shop
Have you been to our charity shop before? It’s open on Tuesdays 2-4pm and Saturdays in the summer months. All proceeds go either back into running it or to local community groups who get involved with running it. If the office is open at the Boathouse, the charity shop can be open, so give us a knock and we’ll let you have a wander round!
Families Welcome
Travelling with children? Our excellent playpark includes swings, slides, tunnels, climbing equipment, picnic benches and plenty of space to play.
Visitor Information
Public toilets are available in Gatehouse Square, near the old pier, and at the Community School opposite the playpark.
Ready to explore? Visit our interactive map on the homepage to discover walks, beaches, viewpoints, heritage sites and more, and start planning your perfect visit to Shapinsay.
Shapinsay Reflective Routes
If you feel like recharging your batteries undisturbed in a peaceful, beautiful place – then time out on Shapinsay could be just what you need! Only a 25 minute ferry ride from Kirkwall – a welcoming haven awaits ‘peace and quiet seekers’ in our easy to reach location – that’s just far enough away.
Got a problem to solve, a decision to make or just want to de-stress or ‘chill’ we believe that our pretty patchwork fields, unspoilt beaches, wetlands, coastal heath and grassy tracks could be just the soothing backdrop you need! In fact the old Norse name for Shapinsay, Hjalpandisey, is thought to have meant ‘guiding Island’. So we hope you find whatever helpful insights or revelation you need at this time for your life’s journey.
We have created a collection of reflective routes to help you get started with some mindful meanders on our island. We hope to have this booklet on sale very soon so watch this space! Details will be announced here and on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Shapinsay-Reflective-Routes-107863068254247.
In the meantime, do browse our ‘taster’ Shapinsay images. Practice ‘seeing’ more than just a lovely view. How of in what way might the images hold a deeper meaning for you personally, what do they make you feel or think of? Get ready for a micro pilgrimage to Shapinsay, experienced through the eyes of your heart!
Please see the Scottish Outdoor Access Code for general information about enjoying the great outdoors safely https://www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot/.
Transport – We have Ebikes available for hire for age 14 and over and some standard bikes for anyone younger. See our Transport page for more information about the Transport available on Shapinsay
Where to stay on Shapinsay
We have a couple of options for self catering on Shapinsay – Click below to find out more.
Burroughston Broch
Burroughston Broch is an iron age broch situated in a beautiful spot by the sea, at the north end of Shapinsay, about 4 miles from the pier. It was excavated in the mid 1800’s and is one of the best preserved Brochs in Orkney.
RSPB Mill Dam Nature Reserve
RSPB Mill Dam Nature reserve is covered in a dynamic wetland with open water. It’s covered in wide swamp plant communities and a range of different plants, especially adaptive to living in damp, marshy places. This natural marsh was dammed in the 1880s, providing an ideal habitat for birds throughout the year.
In the summer you look out for the rare pintail and up to nine different species of ducks. Also keep an eye out for the great yellow, one of the rarest British bumblebees that can be found on Shapinsay.
Autumn attracts hundreds of birds every year. The numbers increase as they migrate from the arctic. Greylag geese arrive in October and up to 1000 breeding pairs can been seen at one time.
Later in the winter up to 120 whooper swans and several hundred greylags roost within the safety of the reserve at night. Hen harriers can be seen on the reserve during the winter, attracted by the large flocks of waders and wildfowl. For more information visit: https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/mill-dam/
Wildlife on Shapinsay
The wildlife on Shapinsay is an attraction in itself, the vast variety of habitats lead to a wide range of breeding birds and wildflowers. You don’t need to walk far from the Ferry to see Seals basking in the sun on a nice day, you will find them most of the year round lazing on the shore below the shop! An interpretation board at the shop will tell you more about the types of seals you can find here.
The bird hide is usually a fantastic place to see a huge variety of birds and you can see many birds on the shores and on the cliffs up toward castle bloody. If you are lucky you may even spot puffins. If you sit long enough at Ness you can see seals zooming past on the tide, Terns, Sand Martins, Shags, Gannets, Fulmars, even puffins fly past the point on occasion! You might even get lucky and see porpoises, Orca or Otters, all of which have been seen at Ness if you follow the walk round the the point.
Beaches on Shapinsay
Shapinsay is surrounded by the sea, and with the sea, comes beautiful beaches! Shapinsay has an array of beauty spots on the shore, from rocky beaches with rock pools and wildlife treasures galore, to beautiful sandy beaches! Ness has a beautiful sandy beach, but be careful if you want to swim there as there is a ferocious tidal current that runs past there, watch the speed the seals whizz past with their heads in the air! There is an array of wildlife to be seen at Ness, and if you keep a careful eye below your feet, you might even be lucky enough to find an elusive Groatie Buckie!
Sands beach is tucked away on the east side, but is just as beautiful if the tide is right and great for a spot of sea swimming! It gets deeper faster than Skenstoft, so you can swim nearer the shore. With it’s view over to the mainland, it’s a nice picnic spot on a warm day.
Skenstoft beach is a favourite with many locals for a paddle as it’s so shallow. The tide goes out over the sand for a long time down there, a great place for peedie (little) folk to paddle or learn to swim. There are many rock pools at Skenstoft, so great fun spotting a variety of small crabs, fish, star fish, anemones, Whelks etc and in low tides you can often find razor fish (locally known and spoots) and cockles, as well as hermit crabs and the odd eel!
DEFIBRILLATORS
We hope you never have the occasion to use a Defib when visiting Shapinsay, but just in case you do find yourself in that situation, it’s sensible to know where one is! We have tried to spread ones around the island, so there’s one in the north end at the North School located on the building nearest the road), one towards the east side at Newfield Cottage (located on the shed at the roadside), one at the firestation, located at the front of the building and one located on the Boathouse opposite the school at the end of the village, located next to the porch! (This one will alarm while it’s open but as soon as you close it, it stops!)
