Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
517km²
Area
262km
Coastline
260m
Highest point
17,162
People
13°C
Warmest sea
August
452km
To the mainland
When to go to Mainland
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (13 °C) and coolest in March (7 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Main island of the Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK
Mainland is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to Orkney Islands. It covers 517 km², with 262 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 260 m. About 17,162 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 452 km away.
Getting there
- Kirkwall Airport (KOI)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at KOI airport (Kirkwall, Orkney Islands)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesKirkwall - North Ronaldsay, Kirkwall - Westray, Tingwall - Rousay, Kirkwall - Lerwick
- 452 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Mainland.
- 13beachesSand Geo, Sand of Cornquoy, Inganess beach and 10 more
- 5viewpointsView Point and 4 more
- 2lighthousesBeacon, Rose Ness, Rose Ness Beacon
- 10ferry terminalsHouton Ferry Terminal, Tingwall Ferry Port, Kirkwall and 7 more
- 1marinasKirkwall Marina
- 74named peaksMid Hill, Ward Hill, Akla and 71 more
- 3waterfalls
- 3castles and fortsSkaill House, Castle Howe, Earl's Palace
- 223ruins and archaeological sitesWideford Hill, Cuween Hill, The Comet Stone and 220 more
- 1dive centresThe Diving Cellar
- 1waymarked walking routesYesnaby Trail
- 9campsitesBirsay Hostel & Campsite, Eviedale Centre, Deerness Community Centre Caravan and Camp Site and 6 more
- 53hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 39restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Mainland in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Mainland, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
25mountainsPeakyas
11lakesLakeyas
Largest lake
17.4km²
Loch of Stenness
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
17.8°C
Loch of Bosquoy
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
12.7°C
Bay of Lea Taing
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
25 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Gaitnip Hill
- Ward Hill
- Wideford Hill
- Keelylang Hill
- Merranblo
- Hill of Lynedardy
- Hill of Midland
- Gruf Hill
17 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
11 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Loch of Stenness17.4km²
- Loch of Swannay2.3km²
- Loch of Boardhouse2.2km²
- Loch of Hundland1.1km²
- Loch of Kirbister0.96km²
- Loch of Skaill0.51km²
- Loch of Tankerness0.49km²
- Loch of Bosquoy0.16km²
3 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 47 m above the sea. 99 % of it is below 200 m.
- 64 %0–50 m
- 35 %50–200 m
- <1 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Kirkwall7,150 people
- Stromness2,490 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 8 |
| Night low (°C) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Sea (°C) | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 115 | 88 | 83 | 60 | 66 | 74 | 82 | 97 | 98 | 127 | 109 | 109 |
| Wet days | 21 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 21 |
| Sun h/day | 0.0 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 5.6 | 7.1 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 35 | 33 | 31 | 27 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 27 | 31 | 34 | 34 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +0.1 | −0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | −0.4 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +0.9 |
| 2023 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2024 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +1.6 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +0.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Hoy
United Kingdom132 km²481 m20 km away
ShapinsayUnited Kingdom27 km²64 m15 km away
RousayUnited Kingdom47 km²249 m19 km away
South RonaldsayUnited Kingdom49 km²118 m25 km away
WestrayUnited Kingdom48 km²165 m34 km away
Fair IsleUnited Kingdom8.1 km²271 m102 km away
FoulaUnited Kingdom13 km²418 m139 km away
MainlandUnited Kingdom948 km²450 m176 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q148749) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
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Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
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rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit