Accommodation
B&B, Campsites, hotels...

Arts & Entertainment
Museums, Music, Theatre...

Community
Education, Gov't, Jobs...

Eating & Going out
Pubs, Cafes, Night Clubs...

Health & Fitness
Alternative, Fitness, Medicine...

History & Heritage
Roots, History, Museums...

Hobbies & Special Interests
Clubs, Societies, Resources...

Islands
Westray, Stronsay...

Nature
Scenery, Wildlife, Water...

Shopping
Books, Computers, Electrical...

Spirit & Religion
Churches, Healing, Paganism...

Sport & Adventure
Watersport, Fitness, Groups...

Travel & Moving
Getting in, Getting out...

Orkney Isles

The Orkney Islands lie off the north coast of Scotland across the Pentland Firth.

Orkney consists of roughly 70 gently rolling islands. Only 17 of these are inhabited. Warm ocean currents give the islands the mild climate that makes them one of Scotland's most productive farming areas, with beef cattle being the main product. Fishing is also a highly significant industry but recently tourism has become the largest industry. Prehistoric sites are abundant and include burial chambers, standing stones, and the Stone Age village of Skara Brae which has been designated a World Heritage Site. Viking raiders arrived from Norway 1200 years ago and colonized the islands but they came under Scottish rule in 1472 when, along with Shetland, they were ceded to Scotland in lieu of a wedding dowry.

Kirkwall is the county's main town and is the site of the magnificent 12th century Saint Magnus cathedral and the ruins of the Bishop's and Earl's Palaces.

Snow Falling on Cedars
by David Guterson

Synopsis
A young fisherman is found dead in the nets of his boat off an island in the Pacific Northwest. The novel tells of love and war and the ways men and women struggle for survival and redemption.

Extract
'For he'd recognized limits and the greyness of the world, which is what endeared him to island life, limited as it was by surrounding waters, which imposed upon islanders certain duties and conditions foreign to mainlanders. An enemy on an island is an enemy forever, he'd been fond of reminding his son ... Islanders were required, by the very nature of their landscape, to watch their step moment by moment. No one trod easily upon the emotions of another where the sea licked everywhere against an endless shoreline. And this was excellent and poor at the same time - excellent because it meant most people took care, poor because it meant inbreeding of the spirit, too much held in, regret and silent brooding, a world whose inhabitants walked in trepidation, in fear of opening up. Considered and considerate, formal at every turn, they were shut out and shut off from the deep interplay of their minds. They could not speak freely because they were cornered: everywhere they turned there was water and more water, a limitless expanse of it in which to drown. They held their breath, and walked with care, and this made them who they were inside, constricted and small, good neighbors'.