Join me for a walk around Kirkwall, the historic capital of the Orkney Islands! Once upon a time one of the most important settlements in the Viking world, Kirkwall is filled to the brim with medieval Scandinavian, and later Scottish heritage - not to mention a wide array of beautiful buildings, enchanting stories, and friendly locals!
On our walk around Kirkwall, we pass a number of interesting landmarks, including St. Magnus' Cathedral, Kirkwall Town Hall, the Mercat Cross, St. Magnus' Cathedral (Interior), The Earl's Palace, The Bishops' Palace, Tankerness House, Broad Street, the site of Kirkwall Castle, The Ridgeland, The Strynd, Albert Street, The Big Tree, Kirkwall Custom House, Parliament Close (site of Norse Thing), Norwegian Honorary Consulate in Kirkwall, St. Olaf's Wynd, the former Ship Inn, Kirkwall Harbour, The Kirkwall Hotel, St. Ola Hotel, The Girnell, Orkney Wireless Museum, the flag of Orkney and The Ayre Hotel.
Thank you so much to the following sites for their help in my research of Kirkwall:
https://www.orkneymuseums.co.uk/our-museums/st-magnus-cathedral/
https://www.stmagnus.org/visiting-the-cathedral/history/
https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/orkney-blog/kirkwall-places/
https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/orkney-blog/fascinating-facts-about-bishops-and-earls-palace/
https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/kirkwall/kirkwall/index.html
https://theorkneynews.scot/2023/08/15/orkneys-lammas-market/
https://sites.scran.ac.uk/stmagnus/SMC066.htm
https://www.stmagnusway.com/advice/faqs
https://pureadmin.uhi.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/17001065/Spencer_Rosie_thesis.pdf
https://pocketmountains.com/product/orkney
https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/orkney-blog/orkney-place-names/
https://orkneymuseum.wordpress.com/category/orkney-dialect-and-literature/
https://www.orkneymuseums.co.uk/the-tankerness-house-story/
https://www.orkney.com/listings/the-orkney-museum
https://www.stmagnusmartyr.org.uk/who-was-st-magnus-of-orkney/
https://stolafs-kirkwall.scot/our-church/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/2525/kirkwall-castle
https://www.flickr.com/photos/scotslanguage/14734156475
https://www.orkneyharbours.com/sectors/cruise-ships/2025
https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/apex/f?p=1505:300:::::VIEWTYPE,VIEWREF:designation,LB36780
https://canmore.org.uk/event/1016203
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2023/11/08/kirkwall-orkney-the-scottish-town-with-a-norwegian-heart/
https://www.orkney.gov.uk/latest-news/orkney-and-vestland-twinning-agreement-reaffirmed/
https://theorkneynews.scot/2019/03/04/looking-up-in-kirkwall-part-3-albert-street-and-bridge-street/
https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/online-exhibitions/sir-walter-scott/scotland-on-the-page
https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/apex/f?p=1505:300:::::VIEWTYPE,VIEWREF:designation,LB46001
https://www.orkney.com/life/live/economy
https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/apex/f?p=1505:300:::::VIEWTYPE,VIEWREF:designation,LB45997
https://web.archive.org/web/20240319221800/https://www.stolahotel.co.uk/history.html
https://www.orkney.com/things/history/wartime
https://www.orkney.com/listings/orkney-wireless-museum
https://www.orkneymuseums.co.uk/world-war-ii-hms-proserpine/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-42094603
0:00 St. Magnus' Cathedral
0:19 Broad Street
0:29 Things to see in Kirkwall...
1:02 St. Magnus' Cathedral
2:16 Kirkwall Town Hall
2:51 Kirkwall Mercat Cross (Replica)
3:08 St. Magnus' Cathedral
3:37 St. Magnus' Cathedral (nave interior)
4:48 St. Magnus' Cathedral
5:29 Earl's Palace, Kirkwall
7:00 Watergate
7:16 Bishops' Palace, Kirkwall
7:58 Moosie Tooer, Bishops' Palace
8:16 Palace Road
8:48 Tankerness House (Orkney Museum)
10:01 Broad Street
10:12 St. Magnus' Cathedral
10:28 Kirkwall Town Hall
10:48 Broad Street
11:22 Site of Kirkwall Castle
12:20 The Ridgeland House
12:40 The Strynd
13:21 Albert Street
13:40 The Big Tree
14:22 Albert Street
14:38 35 Albert Street
15:20 Custom House
15:58 Albert Street
16:51 Parliament Close (site of Norse Thing)
17:40 Bridge Street
18:32 Norwegian Honorary Consulate in Kirkwall
19:34 St. Olaf's Wynd
20:06 Bridge Street
20:43 Former Ship Inn
21:10 Bridge Street
21:16 Harbour Street
21:47 Kirkwall Harbour
22:39 Harbour Street
23:05 Kirkwall Hotel & St. Ola Hotel
23:42 Harbour Street
23:54 The Girnell
24:41 Orkney Wireless Museum
25:24 Junction Road
25:31 Ayre Road
25:45 Flag of Orkney
26:18 Ayre Road
26:38 The Ayre Hotel
26:53 Waterfront (West) Car Park
27:09 View of Kirkwall Harbour
27:45 More things to see in Orkney...
28:23 View of Kirkwall Harbour
28:55 Thank you for watching!