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Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom
Birsay
Base here only if you have a car or bike: one night covers the palace, the tidal Brough and the coastal walk; without wheels, day-trip from Kirkwall.
Birsay is a small village on the north coast of Orkney Mainland, with a ruined 16th-century Earl's Palace and the Brough of Birsay, a tidal island holding Norse and Pictish remains. The coast path, a working 19th-century mill and a farm museum fill a half-day. Buses run Monday to Saturday only and there is no mobile signal, so most visitors come by car or bike and stay one night.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Best months
- May–Sep
- Avoid
- Nov–Feb (short days, weather), and any Sunday if you rely on buses
- Stay
- 1 night
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- GBP
- Money
- Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
- Daily spend
- Budget £45–70 excl. bed · Mid £70–120 excl. bed · High £120+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance, coastguard 999 · Police non-urgent 101 · NHS non-urgent 111
- Plugs
- Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
- Tipping
- Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or tea in a café | £3–4.50 |
| Soup and sandwich lunch | £8–14 |
| Homemade pie at Palace Stores | £3–5 |
| Pub main course | £14–20 |
| Barony Mills adult entry | £5 |
| Brough of Birsay adult entry | £5 |
| Broch of Gurness adult entry | £7.50 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- KOI · Kirkwall Airport
- About 45 min by road via the A965 and A986/A967; no direct bus, so taxi or hire car.
Typical fares
- Bus 6 or 7, Kirkwall → Birsay
- about 45 min, Monday–Saturday only (fare check)
- Taxi, Kirkwall → Birsay
- about 45 min (fare check)
- Brough of Birsay entry
- adult £5, mid-June to Sep, tide-dependent
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Language, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
The village is walkable. Outlying sites — Broch of Gurness, Click Mill, Kirbuster — need a car, taxi or bike; the coast road A966 links them. Check tide times before crossing to the Brough.
See and do
Known for
- Earl's Palace
- Brough of Birsay tidal island
- Barony Mills
- North coast walking and seabird colonies
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Skara Brae and Stenness | A986 then A967 south by car, about 25 min | About 40 min |
| Broch of Gurness | A966 east past Evie, about 20 min by car | About 35 min |
| Kirkwall | Bus 6 or 7 Monday–Saturday, about 45 min; car via A967 and A986 | About 1 h |
| Stromness | A967 south by car, about 30 min; limited early buses | About 45 min |
| Rousay | Drive to Tingwall, then the ferry | About 1 h 30 min |
Sleep
- Birsay village
- Palace, store and the Brough causeway within walking distance; the practical choice for one night.
- Birsay Outdoor Centre
- Hostel and campsite south of the village; open all year for beds, camping April–Sep.
- Stromness
- About 30 min by road; more beds, food and ferry links if Birsay is full.
Language
English everywhere, with strong regional accents and vocabulary; Welsh and Gaelic appear on signs and in some communities but you will never need them. Visitors mostly trip over words, not accents.
- Useful words: 'loo' toilet, 'queue' line, 'lift' elevator, 'pavement' sidewalk, 'return' round-trip ticket, 'cheers' thanks.
- 'First floor' is one above the ground floor.
- Politeness is indirect: 'I'm not sure that's quite right' can mean 'that's wrong'.
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
- Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
- Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
- Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
- Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
- Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'
Scams and watch-outs
- The Brough causeway is passable only about two hours either side of low tide: check Easytide with Stromness or Tingwall as the reference port before you set out.
- No mobile signal from any UK carrier in Birsay: download maps, tide times and tickets before you arrive.
- Buses run Monday to Saturday only, with a handful of departures; there is no Sunday service.
- Barony Mills and Kirbuster Farm Museum are seasonal: May–Sep and Mar–Oct respectively, so check before travelling.
Very low crime; the real risks are tide cut-offs on the Brough causeway, fast-changing coastal weather and having no phone signal — carry a paper map and tell someone your plan.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Birsay yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Earl's Palace
- Brough of Birsay tidal island
- Barony Mills
- North coast walking and seabird colonies
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Historic Environment Scotland — Earl's Palace, Birsay: www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/earls-palace-birsay/
- Historic Environment Scotland — Brough of Birsay: www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/brough-of-birsay/
- Barony Mill: baronymill.com/
- Orkney Museums — Kirbuster Farm Museum: www.orkneymuseums.co.uk/our-museums/kirbuster-farm-museum/
- Wikivoyage: Birsay, revision 4909566 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=4909566
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Birsay
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No consulates in Orkney; embassies and consulates-general are in Edinburgh or London (check).
No mobile signal in Birsay: save this card offline.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/birsay). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.