Rousay Archaeology Trail to Mid Howe

Visit Rousay and walk through time to chambered cairns, a broch and a Norse village. The route starts from the pier reached by the ferry from Tingwall on the Orkney mainland. If you get an early ferry from the mainland the walk can be done in a day, but make sure you catch the last ferry (in 2009 at 17.30).

The walk is largely linear (i.e. you return the way you came) and quite a lot is on the road. However you are unlikely to see more than a handful of cars. You start by visiting three chambered cairns in a row, ending at the Knowe of Yarso. All can be entered and as the (modern) concrete caps have skylights you don't need a torch! The cairns are some 5,000 years old.

A further stretch along the coast takes you to the renowned archaeological site of Mid Howe. Here under the protection of a large shed is the impressive chambered cairn of Mid Howe. Behind it is an equally impressive Iron Age broch with the remains of surrounding houses.

Walking back along the coast, the ruins of a later Norse village are visited. This section of the walk is designated a Heritage Walk and along with the Mid Howe cairn and broch, must represent one of the most historically important miles of coastline in Britain.

Scotland - Highlands and Islands - Orkney - Orkney Outer Isles

Walk id: 5200

Walk grade

Moderate Walk

Length

11.8 Miles

Height gain

200 Metres

Duration

5 Hours 5 Mins

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