St Magnus Way: Finstown to Orphir

Summary

The fifth stage of St Magnus Way climbs from coastal Finstown onto the moor, passing an impressive chambered cairn. Boggy moorland paths and tracks lead down to the road at Fea, then a path traverses the side of Ward Hill before the main road is followed to Orphir and a final coastal circuit.

Grade

Bog Factor

Rating

Terrain

Paths and tracks, very boggy in places, farmland with livestock, busy section of A road.

Getting there

Start

Finstown.

Public Transport

Finstown and Orphir are both served by bus.

Start Grid Ref

HY361136

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Walk Statistics

Distance: 17.2km / 10.75 miles
Time: 5 - 7 hours
Ascent: 360m (Profile)

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Explorer 463 - Orkney West

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Walk Description

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Stage 1

Start from the car park at the shore in Finstown where there are toilets. Turn left along the main road towards Kirkwall and very soon fork right onto Old Finstown Road. Soon turn right uphill passing Firth Community Centre and continuing past houses to follow a grassy path at the end of the road.

Stage 2

Head uphill keeping the fence on your right with good views back to Finstown. At a waymarker turn left onto a smaller path to head up to the stone stacks on Cuween with the masts on Keelylang Hill visible in the distance.

Stage 3

From Cuween it's well worth the short detour NE down to the fenced grassy mound of Cuween chambered cairn. A stile and then a crawl through the entrance tunnel leads to five burial chambers built in the same style as Maes Howe. Built about 5000 years ago, many dog bones were discovered here in addition to human burials. Return to Cuween Hill and bear left on the clear path through the heather. Go straight across an old track and head uphill, bearing left when a larger path is reached.

Stage 4

Before a fence is reached a waymarker shows where to turn left onto a very boggy path, keep heading towards the masts in the distance. The path descends to reach a track, turn right up this and follow it onto the ridge towards Keelylang Hill. Well before the summit turn right at a waymarker to follow an old peat cutting SW. Soon go through a gate with distant sea views ahead. The boggy track bears right across the moor and descends to a farm gate.

Stage 5

Go through this and follow the track and continue ahead at a bigger track with the house at Oback just to your left. Pass the farm and house at Kebro to reach the road. Turn right here and soon turn left signed for Fea. Continue past a couple of houses until just before the final house turn right onto a signed path with a walker's gate which skirts to the right of the house at Naversdale. The tussocky path reaches a ruin and turns left here to follow the left side of a burn.

Stage 6

Keep the fence on your left and go through a metal gate and continue through a boggy overgrown area to soon cross a footbridge. Follow the path on the far side of the burn and go through or past a couple of metal walker's gates to reach another gate. Turn right here to follow the remains of the Burghir track next to a ditch with burn. The indistinct and boggy path climbs across the rough grazing land to traverse the side of Ward Hill. Near the crest of the path go through a gate and past a water tank and follow the track as it descends towards the coast. After a cattle grid the main A964 road is reached.

Stage 7

Turn right along the road - taking care with traffic - to reach Orphir. This stage of St Magnus Way ends here, but first it makes an additional 6km circuit as a detour to visit Earl Hakon’s Round Kirk. After passing the school (on your right), go through the pedestrian gate before the church on the left, passing through the parking area and up the road directly ahead. This eventually curves right, then left, then right again (after just over 1km) - leave it at this bend and take the road off left, signed for Breck.

Stage 8

Continue along this road for a further 1km until a small parking area on the right. Turn right here onto a grassy footpath that leads to the coast, then turn right along the clifftop path. Continue along the coastal path for 1km until the outflow of a burn; the path heads inland here, crossing the burn on a footbridge and then following a wall inland.

Stage 9

The wall on the left encloses a graveyard - when you reach a gate, head through. Inside the graveyard are the ruins of the Round Church, the oldest surviving round church in Scotland, dating from the twelfth century and features in the Orkneyinga Saga. Leave the graveyard by the main gate (to the right), crossing a lawn with the ruins of the Earl's Bu - also featured in the saga as the setting for a great feast. At the road beyond turn right, then follow the tarmac until it rejoins the outward route at the next bend. Continue along the road right back to Orphir village.

Next stage: Orphir to Kirkwall

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