Most people see Orkney in a day or two. They come off the ferry, see the stones, and leave again. This is for those who want to stay.

For nine days in the longest light of the year, we'll live on these islands instead of passing through them. Our first home is Stromness, a harbour town of flagstone closes and cats on doorsteps, where the queue at the bakery is all locals and the bookshop can easily take an afternoon. Then we cross the Churchill Barriers to St Margaret's Hope, a quiet village on South Ronaldsay, where Gina's family boats bring in the scallops and crab you'll be eating that evening.

You'll go back to the same bakery until someone knows how you take your coffee. A jeweller will teach you to make something with your own hands, and tomorrow she'll remember what you started today. A storyteller who knows where the bodies are buried (some of them quite literally) will walk you through five thousand years of people who lived here before us. 

A musician will play for us in an intimate room of friends and if you're brave, you can skim across the water on an eFoil and see the islands from a whole new angle. There is also time to do nothing at all. At midsummer in Orkney the sky never quite goes dark, and some of the best hours come at eleven at night, when there's nowhere you need to be.

This isn't a tour, but an experience.

Getting here: Fly into Kirkwall and we'll meet you there. From then on, you're taken care of.

Did you know?

Our tours are different than most. We follow a model of Regenerative Tourism, meaning we strive to leave a place better than we found it. Tours are carefully curated to support Scottish communities and be mindful of areas that are overtouristed. You will be seeing Scotland with local guides and friends who show up to share music and stories. You will not be seeing this enchanting land through a coach window with quick stops. We take our time and a portion of every tour goes back to conservation efforts in the areas we visit. Thanks for supporting small businesses and community efforts around Scotland!