Wideford and Inganess, near Kirkwall, Mainland

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A circular walk from sandy Inganess Bay following the course of the Burn of Wideford; the walk is within easy reach of Kirkwall.

Terrain

Grass/earth footpaths - boggy in parts - and quiet surfaced roads

Public Transport

The route passes within 2km walk of the centre of Kirkwall, or can be joined from the Deerness bus along the A960.

Start

Car park at Inganess Bay by the Sand of Wideford. Open start point in Google Maps for directions.

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Walk Description

Stage 1

If walking from Kirkwall take the A960 out of town towards the airport and turn left at a sign for Inganess. Follow the road to the car park at Inganess Bay, with the rusting hulk of former blockship Juniata visible offshore. This bay has a beach of wonderful white sand and is a great location for swimming in the summer and birdwatching in the winter, when waders and grebes are frequent visitors. The small loch behind the car park is inhabited by moorhen, mallard and teal, with the distinctive call of curlew floating over the wetlands beyond.

Stage 2

Leave the car park by the kissing gate in the south-east corner and follow the course of the Burn of Wideford through unsurprisingly boggy wetlands. Whilst this is inconvenient for walking, it's an ideal habitat for wildflowers and wooden duckboards span the wettest sections of the path. Regardless - after significant rainfall you'll regret wearing sandals on this route.

Stage 3

Cross the burn via a footbridge, then negotiate two stiles before crossing the A960 road with care. On the far side of the road take the small grassy path running close to the burn through planted native woodland on a series of wooden duckboards. The path begins to rise above the burn opposite Wideford Farm and heads into a patch of scrubland, with more developed trees such as hawthorn, rowan and alder - a rarity on windswept Orkney - further down the slope in the sheltered valley.

Stage 4

The path opens out onto farmland, and several stiles must be crossed as the path heads from one field to the next. Ignore the track crossing the burn and leading up to Wideford Farm and remain on the south (left) bank until the path weaves over a couple of simple footbridges and turns right along a grassy lane between two field boundaries. Cross a stile and follow the arrow-straight path to a junction, where the path leading left should be ignored. Continue forward through the yellow-flowered gorse as the path becomes a bridleway and passes Caldwell Cottage. Reaching a minor road turn right to pass a flooded quarry and reach the A960. Turn left - taking extreme care as this is quite a busy road - and take the first turning on the right.

Stage 5

Follow this to a T-junction and turn right to follow the minor road back to the car park at Inganess Bay or turn left to walk into Kirkwall.

Route: Phil Turner

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Wideford and Inganess, near Kirkwall, Mainland

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Download our route guides and use offline with free GPS mapping

Terrain

Public Transport

Start

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