The Castle o' Burrian is a bulky sea stack off the Westray coast; it is renowned as the best place in all Orkney to see puffins at close range. The walk continues along dramatic clifftops before cutting across the island to visit the lovely sandy beach of the Bay of Tafts.
Cliff top paths, tracks, beach and minor road.
Westray Bus Service stops on demand at the B9066 road junction.
Rapness Mill car park.
Leave the road by a sign ('Puffins') to head along a tarred lane to reach a parking area behind a large stone ruin - the Rapness Mill. The mill was built in around 1850 to grind oatmeal and beremeal - a six-row barley now grown almost exclusively on Orkney and used in bread, biscuits and beremeal bannock. Bere barley, a crop adapted to the short daylight hours and poor soil on Orkney, has relatively low yields and gave rise to the phrase 'beremeal marriage' - a marriage that would not bring any wealth with it. Begin the walk by heading along the grassy path from the clifftop - noting the large waterwheel on the far side of the mill, with millrace cascading over the cliffs to the sea far below.
Head through a pedestrian gate and along the grassy path that runs close by the cliff edge. The path is occasionally reinforced by sections of wooden walkway which make progress swift, but the dramatic vistas of rocky cliffs above a turquoise sea hardly encourage rushing. Eventually the famous Castle o'Burrian sea stack comes into view - well known in Orkney as one of the best and easiest places to view puffins at close range.
May to July are the best months to see the puffins, which nest both with other birds on the stack, and all along the coastline nearby.
Continue along the clifftop path, with some more excellent coastal scenery and opportunities to see more nesting seabirds such as fulmars, guillemots and shag, as well as inquisitive seals surveying you from the sea below. The path eventually reaches the impressive headland of Stanger Head - a strong swell at high tide can force the sea to break through two small apertures in the cliff, shooting out as waterfalls.
Soon after this point the path moves away from the cliff edge to hug the field boundary; the going can be wet in places. A stile is reached above the Geo of Rustling Stones - a narrow break in Rapness Crags. Cross this and then turn inland along a rough farm track. The track improves as it heads gently uphill and inland, before becoming a surfaced road at the Sangar Mill. This old 19th century windmill was used to thresh oats and bere barley, and is accompanied by a kiln to dry the grain before being transported for grinding at Rapness Mill. Continue along the surfaced road to reach the main B9066 road, and cross onto a grass farm track opposite, heading for the sea.
The track ends at the Bay of Tafts, one of the 17 white sandy beaches dotted around Westray's coast. Facing southwest this beach is effectively lapped by the Atlantic, whereas the dramatic rocky headlands experienced earlier project into the North Sea. Stroll along the beach accompanied by the plaintive call of the ringed plover. Look out for where a sandy farm track heads inland and follow this. It improves and passes a small walled cemetery before reaching the main road. Turn left along the quiet road, pass the old school on the left and then turn right to return to Rapness Mill and the start.
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