GAY & LESBIAN TRAVEL STORIES

The Orkney Islands

If you're single and in search of the world's hottest gay nightlife, the Orkney Islands probably shouldn't be at the top, or even anywhere, on your list of places to visit. It's not that Orkney isn't gay-friendly, the islands are fairly

Orkney Islands See Photos Orkney Islands See Photos

everybody-friendly. Orkney is where you go when you want some down time in the middle of nowhere and some quiet time spent up close with some of the oldest standing ruins in the world. At five thousand years old, the ruins at the popular Skara Brae site predate the pyramids, as do the various standing stones set around the islands.

There are no trees in the Orkney Islands, but there are beautiful fields of heather set atop rolling hills, dotted with lochs, and populated by more curious cattle than you'll know what to do with. Not a lot happens in the Orkneys, and it's often the case that your presence is the most interesting thing an Orkney cow's seen all day. The islands are a bicyclist's dream, also a photographer's, archaeologist's, Flintstones fan's and people who enjoy driving around for hours on small unmarked one-lane roads to the tune of bagpipes on the (apparently) all-bagpipe station. For the record, my boyfriend and I fit into almost all of the above groups.

The islands are easily accessible in a day's travel from Glasgow or Edinburgh. My boyfriend and I hopped a train three-and-a-half hour train ride to Inverness, where we rented a car and drove another three hours to the northernmost point of mainland Britain. From there it's an hour-long ferry ride across the North Sea to the southernmost of over 70 islands, only 20 of which are inhabited.

We recommend shelling out the extra pounds for ScotRail's first class seats; it's worth it to get the reserved seats and not have to outmaneuver the crowds for adjoining seats in coach. The ride itself is like a dream: three hours of stunning countryside, sheep, crumbling stone farmhouses, and then more sheep. We rode as far as the small city of Inverness, where we rented a car to drive the rest of the way across mainland Britain. Be sure to reserve ahead, rental agencies in small European cities tend not to have a lot of cars on hand with automatic transmission, so plan ahead if you don't drive stick. After quickly adjusting to life on the other side of the road, we spent a beautiful three hours following the Scottish coast en route to Gills Bay, on the northern tip of the mainland. The drive was beautiful, taking us along the coast past tiny fishing villages and great rolling pastures.

We stopped at Dunnet Head, following a single-lane road for several miles to an old lighthouse and former army base, and the northernmost point on the British mainland. The windswept plains were lined by crumbling stone walls and the occasional ubiquitous sheep, with startling yellow and green grasses and high cliffs dramatically towering over the North Sea. From there it's a short drive to Gills Bay, the departure point for Pentland Ferries, and the last leg of the trip to the Orkney Islands.

We drove onto the ferry with a small of herd of cars and some large sheep transports that materialized from the single-lane roads cutting through the misty pastures of this quiet landscape, and leaving the car in the hold, ascended to the passengers' lobby above. The boat's small cafeteria serves good soup and a selection of food and beverages, and the forward lounge offers large bench seating and views of the fog-drenched North Sea on the approach to the islands.

Not far from the Orkney ferry terminal is the Sands Hotel, located in the tiny village of Burray, on South Ronaldsay, an island connected by road to the Orkney Mainland. The hotel is isolated from traffic, but far from deserted, and maintains a cheery and cozy atmosphere thanks to the friendly staff and dog-in-residence, as well as the locally-popular restaurant and pub which are based on the ground floor. The pub especially seemed popular with local dock workers who were relaxing over a few beers and game of pool. One wonders where all the people come from, since a few hours' drive here is all it takes to see that there are clearly far more sheep than people in this isolated place.

There's no shortage of things to see in these islands, for the best guide to the many wonders of the Orkneys check out the astonishingly detailed Undiscovered Scotland for every castle, ruin, and place of interest in the Orkneys and throughout the entire country. Most of the ruins involve leaving your car on the site of a single-lane road, then walking right up to the ruins, exploring them to your heart's content before jumping back in the car to find the next site. It's worth a quick trip to the Kirkwall Tourist Information Centre to pick up maps and advice, and learn how to find the ruins on the islands.