contents: community activities | craft workshops and projects | gas and coal | health and care services | restaurants, cafes and hotels | schools | shops | toilets | transport
We have tried to list all the key services available on the two islands. However, it is also important to note what is absent from our list. One thing that can catch visitors is the lack of provision of petrol or diesel pumps. For the nearest pumps go to transport below. Similarly, the closest veterinary services are in Kirkwall.
All the services and facilities mentioned here should be shown on the Open Street Map and you can click straight to them from this page. For directions right-click on your chosen destination on the map, then ‘directions to here’ and enter where you are. You can choose your mode of travel – car, bike or foot. If any are missing from the map please let us know and we can add them.
Community activities
Burray
Burray Community Association / Community Hall, Westshore Road, Burray (KW17 2SS) – click for map: The venue for a range of activities including community council meetings, karate, sewing, family fun sessions and the Burray Café Church (Salvation Army). See the Burray Community Centre page.
Burray Playpark Village Road, Burray (KW17 2SS) is next door to the car park opposite the Burray Community Hall. Click to view on Open Street Map]
South Ronaldsay
St Margaret’s Church / South Ronaldsay & Burray Kirk: Church Road St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2SR) – click for map. This Church of Scotland Kirk and Community Centre offers a range of activities and, literally, a warm welcome. They open up the Ben End [next to the carpark] for different activities one of which is, during the winter, creating a warm space for people. Check their page on Facebook.
Cromarty Hall, Cromarty Square, St Margaret’s Hope KW17 2TH – click for map: A venue for many community events including yoga, Pilates, table tennis, Scottish dancing, film nights, craft fairs and book sales. The hall has a secondhand bookshop and is available for private hires – www.cromartyhall.co.uk. In the summer it is popular with many coach tour participants (from the cruise liners) as it is opened to triple the number of public toilets available in the village!
Hope Community Centre / South Ronaldsay Community Association: Hope Community School, School Road, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2TN) – click for map. The Centre/Association hosts various activities at the school. Check out Facebook.
Marengo Centre, Marengo Road, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2TD) – click for map, has a community room available for hire as well as an en-suite double room and a laundry facility – https://en-gb.facebook.com/marengocentre/.
Marengo Community Garden, Marengo Road, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2SH) – click for map: open to all – https://www.facebook.com/marengo.garden/.
Click to explore the Marengo Community Garden
Community Play Park, Back Road, St Margaret’s Hope KW17 2SP – click for map. There is a pedestrian entrance on Back Road, but if you are in a car it is best to park in the car park on Church Street. Walk for a few seconds along Thorfinn Place, and take the short path to the park beyond the turn – https://www.facebook.com/hopeplaypark/.
Peedie Pandas Playgroup meet in the Church Hall on Church Road. For further details: https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheHopeKirk/about/.
St Margaret’s Hope Healthy Living Centre, School Road (next to the school) – click for map. Gym and fitness centre provided by Orkney Islands Council. https://www.facebook.com/hopehealthylivingcentre.
Bowling Club and Tennis courts, School Road, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2TD) – click for map. https://www.bowlschat.com/directory/clubs/st-margaret-s-hope-bowling-club.
South Ronaldsay Golf Club, St Margaret’s Road, St Margaret’s Hope – click for map. Said to be the most challenging course in Orkney, it is open 7 days a week. Visitors are welcome and tees booked on the website – https://southronaldsaygolf.com/.
Craft workshops and projects
Hertston Stained Glass, Craigflower Cottage, Herston, South Ronaldsay (KW17 2RH Click for map).
Hoxa Tapestry Gallery, Neviholm, Hoxa, South Ronaldsay (KW17 2TW Click for map). The gallery has a permanent exhibition of large handwoven tapestries and a changing exhibition of other original artworks and rugs which are for sale. They also have cards and photographic prints of the artworks for sale. https://hoxatapestrygallery.co.uk/
Gas and coal
Andrew Gray – transport, coal and gas, Heatherbell, South Parish, South Roanldsay (KW17 2RN Click for map).
Health and care services
Daisy Villa, Doctors Road, St Margaret’s Hope KW17 2SN: GP and health clinics – www.daisyvilla.co.uk. Doctors Road is next to the golf course and accessed from St Margaret’s Road. Click to view on Open Street Map.
Braeburn Court, St Margaret’s Road: an extra care facility managed by Orkney Islands Council – https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/S/adult-respite-and-short-breaks_contacts.htm. Click to view on Open Street Map.
Restaurants, cafes and hotels
Burray
The Sands Hotel, Pier Road, Burray (KW17 2SS) click for map: Bar, restaurant and accommodation – www.thesandshotel.co.uk/.
Polly Kettle, Ardage, Burray (KW17 2SS – on the A961 on the road to South Ronaldsay – click for map). A family-run tearoom and cafe with great coffee and freshly baked cakes (HCH often has meet-ups here). Click for details.
South Ronaldsay
Murray Arms Hotel, Back Road, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2SP) – click for map: Bar, restaurant (specializing in seafood) and accommodation – www.themurrayarmshotel.com.
Robertson’s Coffeehoose, Church Road, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2SR) – click for map: licensed restaurant and bar – https://www.facebook.com/coffeehoosebar/.
The Bellevue Hotel, Front Road, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2SL) – click for map: Bar and accommodation – http://www.thebellevueinn.com/.
The Grill, by the junction of St Margaret’s Road and the A961, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2TG) – click for map: takeaway food and drink.
Schools
Hope Community School, School Road, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2TN) – click for map. A primary school that shares a head with Burray Primary School. For more details see: https://www.hopecommunityschoolorkney.org/
Burray Primary School, Westshore Road, Burray, (KW17 2TN) – click for map. For more details see: https://www.burrayprimaryschool.org/
Shops
The Old Trading Post, Back Road, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2SP) – click for map: open daily for general provisions, post office services (including cash), off-licence and newspapers – https://www.facebook.com/OldTradingPostOrkney/.
B. Doull and Son, Church Road, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2SR) – click for map: open Monday-Saturday for a wide of goods including a range of fresh and frozen foodstuffs, ice creams, toiletries, household provisions and hardware – http://doulls.co.uk/
The Workshop and Loft Gallery, Front Road, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2SL) – click for map: a craft producers’ co-operative selling knitwear and local crafts, and art gallery – www.workshopandloftgallery.co.uk.
Pop-Hup Charity Shop, Community Room, Hope Primary School, School Road, St Margaret’s Hope (KW17 2TN) – click for map. Run by the South Ronaldsay Community Association, this shop is open on alternative Saturdays and Sundays. Check the Pop Hup page on Facebook for details.
Sadly, there no longer is a general store in Burray.
Toilets
South Ronaldsay
You can find public toilets and a waiting area on the corner of School Road and St Margaret’s Road, St Margaret’s Hope (next to the Smiddy Museum KW17 2TN – click for map). Similar facilities are available at the car parks at Burwick Pier (at the south end of the island click for map) (KW17 2RW) and Sands of Wright (KW17 2TW – click for map).
Burray
The car park by the start of the Fourth Barrier has public toilets – click for map (KW17 2TB). The pathway here leads to the Ayre of Cara. There are also public toilets towards the end of Pier Road by the boatyard and pier (opposite the Sands Hotel) (KW17 2SS). In the summer toilets are usually open in Burray Playpark, which is by the carpark opposite Burray Community Hall (KW17 2SS) and at the Fossil and Heritage Centre (Accessed via Viewforth Road).
Transport
Stagecoach X1: bus service to Kirkwall and Stromness with frequent buses Monday-Saturday – https://www.stagecoachbus.com/routes/north-scotland/x1/stromness-hamnavoe-st-margaret-s-hope-ferry-terminal/xiax001.o. [There are no bus stop signs in South Ronaldsay – but three stops are marked on the map for the route to Kirkwall and Stromness. You can also hail the bus. Sometimes the bus cannot get up Back Road because of poorly parked cars so it is best to go to the bus stop by the propeller in Cromarty Square or hail the bus at the corner of Church Road and St Margaret’s Road]. The Kirkwall-bound stop for Burray Village is by the corner of Village Road and the A961 and, unusually for Orkney, has a proper shelter. The southbound stop is a little way along the road to South Ronaldsay. You can hail and stop the bus at any point.
Petrol and diesel: the nearest public pumps are in Kirkwall – Tullocks on Junction Road (KW17 1WJ – click for map); Ayre Service Station on Burgh Road KW17 1AH – click for map); and Highland, Pickaquoy Road (KW17 1QZ – click for map). These are around fifteen miles from St Margaret’s Hope and over 11 miles from Burray village. If you are headed to the east of the mainland there are also pumps a similar distance away at Deerness Store (on the B9050) (KW17 2QH – click for map).
Electric vehicle charging points: in the car parks on Church Road, South Ronaldsay and Village Road, Burray.
Pentland Ferries: service to Gills Bay, Caithness operates from the pier – www.pentlandferries.co.uk. Click to view on Open Street Map
Iain Laird Tyre Services: Widewall, South Ronaldsay (KW17 2TG Click for map)
Lawrona Garage, Village Road, Burray (KW17 2SS Click for map). The garage offers a wide range of services and is a MOT Testing Centre for Class 4 and Class 4a motor vehicles.