When travelling back home after visiting Stromness for the Orkney Folk Festival we had a…read morenightmarish situation, our tent was taking a long time to pack away and there happened to be no Stromness taxis available to take is to the Ferry Terminal. So we begged our tent neighbours for a lift which they graciously gave us. We then just made it at 08:55 for the 09:00, this then happened to be way too late to board as the ferry had already started travelling up the pier. The friendly staff apologised and explained to us that they waited as long as they could. This sent me on a tail-spin as panic set in as we had already booked onward travel. Thankfully the ladies on the staff, like the angels they are, took control of the situation and booked us on to a Pentland Ferry to Gils Bay at 11:15 from there to our original destination of Thurso in time to catch out train. Not only this but they gave us a full refund for the this leg of our journey making it easy for us to buy tickets on the Pentaland Ferry with no monetary loss to us! All in all they turned around a seemingly impossible situation, for that I am very grateful! The ferry journey itself is also staffed by lovely crew. When travelling from Scrabster to Stromness me and my friend both suffered from sea-sickness and were looked after very well. The on-board price of food is a little expensive but that is to be expected. The scenery was stunning and though the sun was watery in a cloud covered sky it only added to the mystery on the Isles. Great company based purely on the fat that the staff are fantastic!

I crossed over from St Margaret's Hope a few days ago on this fast, comfortable little car ferry. I…read morearrived in the islands aboard the Aberdeen ferry but was glad to be returning on one much more comfortable, less crowded and fast.

Pentland Ferries sails between Gills Bay on mainland Britain and St. Margaret's Hope on Mainland,…read moreOrkney. The Pentalina high-speed catamaran (a passenger and vehicle ferry) runs the route in little over an hour, making it the fastest way to access Orkney by boat. Leaving Gills Bay, the Pentalina sails through Pentland Firth and some truly spectacular North Sea scenery. Perhaps most interesting is the small island of Stroma, belonging to Caithness. Until the turn of the twentieth century, Stroma had several hundred residents who farmed the land, but by the 60s, the last two families had left. The stone homes, typical of the Highlands, still stand silently today, as does the lighthouse, church, graveyard and harbor. Locals told us that the island is currently owned by a sheep farmer in Caithness who uses the land to graze his sheep. Otherwise, everything is supposedly preserved within the structures exactly as the residents of Stroma left them when they abandoned the island. A Scottish ghost town. As the ferry passes Stroma, and then Swona (part of The Orkney islands), it's worth braving the whipping wind and chilly North Sea air to keep a lookout for seals and seabirds. Most notable among the wildlife are the adorable puffin, hurtling through the air like feathered missiles. (Once you're sufficiently chilled, there are two lounges below deck in which to relax, plus a tiny window selling hot, homemade soup, burgers and sandwiches.) At last, the Pentalina cruises by Hoy where, if the weather cooperates, passengers can catch a glimpse of the iconic Old Man of Hoy, before the final destination of St. Margaret's Hope comes into view. The quaint village lies like a cobblestone ribbon cutting through the emerald green landscape behind it. The cost of your passage is £14; your car will run you £33. Considering the speed with which you reach the Islands, and the views you're treated to along the way, Pentland Ferries is well worth the price of admission.

The Kirkwall pier is a place where you really get a sense of the rural life in Orkney. It's…read morebustling with fishermen coming and going and getting on with their work. There are also ferry links to the smaller Isles here and often in the summer time plays host to cruise liners. The yacht marina is a short walk from here, so if you are interested in boats of any sort then this is the place to visit.

Booked to go from Kirkwall to a northern island with a car (Orkney ferries)…read more 1) I tried to book 2 months ahead; on-line - not possible. 2) I emailed to ask to book - told had to phone them. 3) I phoned, booked, asked for an email confirmation, but was only given a reference no, and (I thought paid by credit card over the phone). We got on the ferry, gave the reference no - NO record of our payment. Office closed. 4) Whilst on the island - I called the office to sort things out. NO paper trail of payment. Fine - we decide I will pay on ferry. When getting on ferry Sanday - Kirkwall - we were treated like CRIMINALS! Ordered about, no communication, not allowed on the ferry till last (though we were first to arrive - TO AVOID any problems). Put in "special" place on ferry - with NO COMMUNICATION why/how etc. When I asked why: they rudely just said "because you haven't paid", "in case of a dispute". When I later asked why were treated this way, WHEN WE HAD CALLED TO TRY TO SORT THIS OUT - I was told they didn't know about my call....! Problems: 1) Why do they not offer on-line booking? 2) We clearly had a misunderstanding at my first call; but this could have been avoided with an email confirmation. 3) How are they allowed to treat customers this way? WHEN I TRIED TO SORT IT OUT! Why was there no communication? 4) Does Orkney ferries treat all women of colour this way? Or was I possibly just unfortunate to find a xenophobic/racist crew? They hold a clear monopoly on the service - but this should not absolve them of common courtesy!

Orkney Ferries office in Shore Street is the main company and booking office, but there are also…read morebooking offices in Houton and Tingwall. The staff in Shore Street are not particularly helpful or friendly but will do what's required of them - they generally don't volunteer any extra information about special ticket prices, etc. Orkney Ferries themselves are quite basic ferries - but they do the job of getting you from A to B - or from Kirkwall to Sanday, or Westray, or Stronsay (etc) adequately. They're not fancy - but they're workhorses. They're functional car ferries with basic facilities in terms of toilets, seating and cafes - the bacon butties are great though.

Not our first time up here in the North - we always love to come back to this area. But we've never…read morevisited John O'Groats - this year though we made some time for a visit. It's often advertised as the Northernmost point - which it is actually not. That would be Dunnet Head. But it is the northernmost settlement (or village so to call). Also ferries to the Orkneys depart from here. The name comes originally from Jan de Groot, a 15th-century Dutchman who once plied a ferry from the Scottish mainland to Orkney, which had recently been acquired from Norway by King James IV. The signpost is not the original from 1964 but was erected after the Hotel re-opened in the 2000s and is now publicly accessible without any fees. And this landmark brings in a lot of visitors. Restaurants, cafés, souvenir shops, a distillery....it's all here. As the counterpart "Land's End" in Cornwall it's often compared to a touristy theme park. And yes, it completely caters to tourists and visitors. But still, it was worth a visit. Some shops were pretty fun, the ocean views are beautiful and there's also the John O'Groats trail - a nice path along the coast. And if you like it very much, then there's the colourful Hotel where you could stay at.

This is so much more than just a famous sign - it's a whole village built around the sign - with an…read moreold Victorian hotel, lots of whimsical murals, boats, a cute cafe and shops, a row of colorful houses, and even a whisky distillery! The John O'Groats sign marks the "journey's end" on the trek from the southernmost inhabited point in the UK (Land's End in Cornwall, England) to the northernmost inhabited point - John O'Groats village, Scotland! It's not actually the northernmost point in the UK though - that's nearby at a place called Dunnet Head. But it is the most northern village. The British even use the metaphor "from Land's End to John O'Groats" to signify a great, all-encompassing distance - kinda like how we American's say "coast to coast". It's a beautiful little village - very quaint and very windy haha! There's a little park which doubles as a trailhead for the 147 mile John O'Groats trail. It also holds the original bright red foghorn from the nearby lighthouse before it was automated. From the park, you can see the Orkney Isles in the distance and a line of very turbulent waves stretching from Orkney to the mainland - this is where the North Sea clashes with the Atlantic Ocean and is considered one of the most dangerous channels in the whole UK! I so badly wanted to get my drone up in the air but it was WAAAAY too windy lol. It's very remote but we got here doing the North Coast 500 route with Rabbies Tours (which is AMAZING by the way). We spent a few minutes in the cafe and shop - so many cute souvenirs and trinkets and very fun bottles of vodka and gin. We grabbed a coffee and a couple of pastries - all excellent! In the summer, a ferry runs from the village dock over to Orkney. Definitely worth a stop if you're doing the North Coast 500!

This review is long overdue. The short version is that Rachel is so lovely and amazing to work with…read morethat we would not recommend looking any further, no matter what you need she can make it happen!! The longer version: We found Rachel when researching whisky tour possibilities. When we decided that we wanted to elope we weren't sure how things would turn out, coordinating from across the Atlantic. Things couldn't have gone better!! When we first reached out to Rachel she was prompt and pleasant to communicate with. She responded to all of our questions with thoughtful and helpful answers. At first she let us know that she wasn't sure about putting together a wedding but after we described what we were looking for she told us not to worry! We fell in love with her sense of connecting to the natural world and her seriousness about environmental responsibility. She put together a truly one of a kind itinerary for us that we will remember forever. She included locals at every step of the way and we seriously could not have been happier with how things turned out. She even kept it off of social media until afterwards which was no small matter :) even behind the scenes, everything from the planning to finding time to talk on the phone to payment was easy and stress free. The wedding day was perfect, the details were all worked out with backup plans that we didn't need. The spot down the Oa where we had the ceremony was absolutely stunning! Everything about our blessing was so special and lovely. She made sure there were little things that were so special like having our wonderful piper Neil play a circle of sound around our little plateau. The flowers were mostly local and Anne was a perfect match for putting them together. The bouquet and buttonhole were absolutely stunning! Everything had a part of Islay in it and we couldn't have asked for better. Margaret Anne and Nikki were excellent helpers and Nikki was our impromptu makeup artist. Lorraine did a lovely job with the hair- it was beautiful and didn't blow around hardly at all! Rhianna was a fantastic photographer and Ben did a lovely job editing the photos. Some of the above will get their own reviews but most of them do these things as a side job and it couldn't have been more perfect! In addition to the wedding, Rachel helped arrange travel from Glasgow to Islay with a very nice gentleman (David?). He was the consummate professional driver with a lot to say about many different topics. Rachel picked us up from the ferry and poured us our first Islay dram on Islay soil. She put together an "exploring day" for the day after the ceremony where we went around the island and saw almost everything that didn't revolve around whisky. We went bird watching at Gruinart and had oysters and a picnic at Machir Bay. We saw some very stubborn cows and local art. We had a very special stop at the Altoon sun circle since standing stones were high on our list of things to see. All along the way we had lovely conversations about everything local and Rachel's experiences. She is the perfect hostess! Rachel also out together a three day whirlwind whisky tour where we saw every distillery plus Jura! When we didn't have Rachel as a driver we had Charlie who was so much fun to be around. Rachel seemed to cultivate the perfect mix of distilleries and types of tours to form the perfect look at the different distilleries. Some places had a full tour, some a warehouse tasting (the best way to taste whisky in our humble opinions), and even a semi-private tabletop tasting at Ardbeg over lunch! Everywhere we went, Rachel knew each person we were meeting so we were always warmly welcomed and well taken care of. This wasn't difficult since it seems that everyone on Islay are good, kind people who want to see you enjoy their lovely island. We were sad to leave after our week in paradise but we can't wait to go back! We would enthusiastically and wholeheartedly recommend Rachel to anyone who wants to visit Islay for any reason!

If you are going to Islay for any reason, sightseeing, distillery touring etc look no further than…read moreWild and Magic. My son-in-law was tuned on to them from a trusted source from his Scotch Malt Whiskey Society membership and they planned and organized our three day visit from there. After a few questions on our preferences they schedule the tours, B&B and all the local transportation and did an outstanding job. Rachel (the owner) picked us up from the airport (our flight was an hour late) and got us settled in at our B & B and said Calum would pick us up at 8:30 the next day to begin our tours. Both Rachel and Calum are local to Islay and have grown up there so they know everyone and everyone knows them. They are very knowledgeable and just wonderful people Calum took us around for two day and was a delightful host and companion. Rachel personally took us around the last day and then dropped us off a the airport. Again, if you are coming to Islay let Wild and Magic make your visit them most memorable possible.