Scapa Flow Visitor Centre

Lyness, on the eastern side of Hoy, was an important naval base during both world wars, when the British Grand Fleet was based in Scapa Flow. It isn’t a pretty place, but this fascinating museum and photographic display, located in an old pumphouse that once fed fuel to the ships, is a must-see for anyone interested in Orkney's military history.

Take your time to browse the exhibits about WWI and WWII, and have a look at the folders of supplementary information: the letters home from a seaman lost when the HMS Royal Oak was torpedoed are particularly moving. You'll find the story of the first-ever landing of an aircraft on a moving ship in 1917, and the construction of the Churchill Barriers in the 1940.

The museum features a fine collection of armaments, including a torpedo, plus photographs of and artefacts retrieved from the wrecks of various historic vessels which sailed from or sank in Scapa Flow. Included in the admission price is an evocative audio-visual show in a vast oil tank behind the centre, which also houses various boats, a Bofors anti-aircraft gun and a DUKW amphibian landing craft.