The Orkney Islands

Scotland

The Orkney Islands or Orkneys, an archipelago c.50 miles long, separated from the north coast of Caithness, Scotland by Pentland Firth. The group consists of 90 islands, fewer than a third of which (including four lighthouse stations) are inhabited. The largest islands are Pomona (or Mainland), South Ronaldsay, Westray, Sanday, and Stronsay. The county town, Kirkwall, is on Pomona. Hoy is the only island which rises to any considerable height. The rest are generally low, rocky, and treeless, with an occasional cultivated area. The natives, who have much Scandinavian blood, are mostly fishermen and tenant farmers. There are prehistoric remains of standing stones, mounds, and monuments. The Norseman Harold I (Harold Fairhair) added the Orkneys to the Scandinavian domain in 875, and they remained nominal dependencies of Norway until 1468, when Christian I of Norway and Denmark pledged them as security for the dowry of his daughter, Margaret, who married James III of Scotland. The pledge was never redeemed, and the Orkneys remained the property of Scotland. At the naval base of Scapa Flow part of the German fleet was scuttled by its crew in 1919. The base was attacked by German raiders in the Second World War.