Things to do in Rousay
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Taversoe Tuick
Taversoe Tuick is an intriguing burial cairn constructed on two levels, with separate entrances – perhaps a joint tomb for different families, a semi-detached solution to a shortage of afterlife housing. You can squeeze into the cairn and descend a steel ladder to explore both levels, but there’s not much space.
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Midhowe Broch
Next to the Midhowe Tomb is Midhowe Broch, the sturdy stone lines of which echo the stratifications of the rocky shoreline. The best example of a broch in Orkney, it's a muscular, Iron Age fortified compound with a central partition fashioned out of stone slabs, with two hearths, water tanks, quern stones and lots of Skara Brae–style stonebuilt storage shelves.
Dating from around 100 BC, it has a cluster of well-preserved outbuldings, including dwelling houses (you can see the holes for the hinge pins of wooden doors) and a forge for smelting iron.
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Pier Restaurant
Just above the ferry, this simple place does burgers and standard bar meals, and is good for a coffee or a whisky while waiting for the boat or a chat and a game of pool after a long day’s walking. There’s also internet access and a list of local residents who offer B&B.
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Trumland House
Undergoing extensive restoration at the time of research, this is probably the largest private house in Orkney. The grounds, with their thicket of native trees, are worth a stroll – you enter the walled garden through a medieval gate.
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Prehistoric Sites
The major archaeological sites are clearly labelled from the 14-mile road that rings the island. Heading west from the ferry, you soon come to Taversoe Tuick, an intriguing burial cairn constructed on two levels, with separate entrances – perhaps a joint tomb for different families; a semi-detached solution in posthumous housing. You can squeeze into the cairn to explore both levels, but there's not much space. Not far beyond here are two other significant cairns; Blackhammer, then Knowe of Yarso, the latter a fair walk up the hill but with majestic views.
Six miles from the ferry, the mighty Midhowe Cairn has been dubbed the 'Great Ship of Death'. Built around 3500 BC a…
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Westness Walk
The south shore of Rousay from Midhowe Tomb to Westness Farm has been described as the richest archaeological mile in Britain, recording 5000 years of Orkney history. Here you can see the remains of human habitation ranging from the neolithic through the Iron Age to Viking and Pictish burial sites, medieval farms and the 12th-century St Mary's Church.
The coast here is a good place for watching seals and otters, looking out across the turbulent tidal waters of Eynhallow Sound to the Broch of Gurness. The little island of Eynhallow, now uninhabited, was once a sacred place, and houses the ruins of an early Celtic chapel (the name is Old Norse for 'holy island').
Tourist of…
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Rousay Tours & Taxis
Offers guided taxi tours of the island, including wildlife-spotting (seals and otters) and visits to the prehistoric sites. They also provide general taxi service.
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Midhowe Tomb
Dating from around 3500 BC, the 30m-long Midhowe Tomb, dubbed the ‘Great Ship of Death’, is the longest chambered cairn in Orkney. The vast stone tomb is covered by a modern stone building, and has a suspended walkway allowing you to walk above the main passage and see the 24 stone ‘stalls’ where the bones of 25 people were discovered.
As well as human remains, many bird and animal bones were found in the cave, perhaps meant as food for the deceased. The cairn is 5.5 miles west of the pier and a steep 550m walk down from the road.
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Marion's Shop
Rousay's only grocery store is at the east end of the island, 2.5 miles north of the ferry pier.
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Knowe of Yarso
A boggy half-mile walk from the road leads to the Knowe of Yarso, a stalled cairn; it contained the remains of 29 adults, and was in use from 2900 BC to 1900 BC.
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Blackhammer Cairn
Blackhammer, 1.5 miles west of the ferry pier, is a chambered cairn that served as the burial place for a farming community around 2500 BC. Only two sets of human remains were found here, along with animal bones and fragments of neolithic pottery.
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