DATE: 31 May – 4 June  May 2010 (code: ORKJUN, needed for booking form) 

This tour covers five thousand years of Orkney’s past, with a wide range of spectacular sites, all in an idyllic island setting. Highlights include Maeshowe, the finest chambered tomb in northwest Europe, the henge monuments at the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar, and the world-famous Neolithic village of Skara Brae, together forming the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site.

 The Broch of Gurness, one of the most impressive broch villages in Scotland, and the subterranean structure at Mine Howe, with its 29 steps into the underworld, are among the Iron Age sites we will experience. We visit contrasting ecclesiastical sites, from the most northerly cathedral in Britain, the magnificent 12th century St. Magnus Cathedral, known as ‘the Light in the North’, to  the Italian Chapel, built during the Second World War by Italian POWs. We also visit sites reflecting Orkney’s rich agricultural heritage, from Corrigall Farm Museum to the Barony Mill, the last working watermill in Orkney.

Itinerary: Monday: Arrive at your hotel in time for dinner. Tuesday: Travel round Scapa Flow to the Earl’s Bu and Round Kirk, Skara Brae, Skaill House, Maeshowe Chambered Cairn, the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. Wednesday: Rennibister Earth-house, Cuween Cairn, the Churchill Barriers, the Italian Chapel, Mine Howe and St. Magnus Cathedral. Thursday: The Broch of Gurness, Corrigall Farm Museum, the Brough of Birsay, the Earl’s Palace Birsay and the Barony Mill. Friday: Depart after breakfast.

 What’s included:

• All expert tuition
• Four nights B&B at the Ayre Hotel, Kirkwall
• Four evening meals from the hotel’s a là carte menu
• Three lunches
• Farewell after dinner talk
• All entrance fees
 

Our Guide: Caz Mamwell is a freelance archaeologist who has excavated widely in the UK and abroad. Now settled in Orkney, and a qualified Orkney tourist guide, she spends the summers introducing visitors to Orkney’s amazing archaeology, history and cultural traditions, and the winters working on her PhD.

Accommodation: The Ayre Hotel, Ayre Road, Kirkwall, Orkney: The hotel is under new ownership and is run under the personal supervision of Lyall & Wendy Harray. With personal service a high priority and we aim to look after our guests as if they were in their own homes. All our rooms have en-suite facilities, colour television and coffee-making tray. There are 19 single rooms, most with double beds, 3 double rooms and 11 twin-bedded rooms, so we can cater for all customers, including some downstairs rooms which are more suitable for the disabled. There are also disabled toilets on the ground floor near the restaurant and public bar.

The hotel is situated overlooking Kirkwall harbour, where the fishing fleet come and go and the ferries to the North Isles dock. Kirkwall is Orkney's principal town and the central point for exploring all the county. Whether you want to look around the mainland -from Skara Brae in the north to Burwick in the south, or hop on a ferry and visit the isles, you are never more than twenty miles from the hotel.

Cost: £800 based on two people sharing a double/twin room. Single room supplement £108 for the week.