Picture: Spot the seals in the bay – St Margaret’s Hope in the winter
Getting started
Many people begin their visit to St Margaret’s Hope in the Cromarty Square. It is where the buses and coach tours stop, but it is also a good starting point. If you are in a car, with luck, there will be a free parking space, otherwise, it is a case of street parking or heading up to the Church Road car park via Back Road (click for a map).
There are toilets at one end of the square – next to the Smiddy Museum, which is also well worth a visit! In the middle of the Square is the Cromarty Hall. At the other end (by the corner with the anchor), you can view the bay, harbour and surrounding countryside.
From the Square, it is easy to tour the village and return to where you started. You can also listen to local people talking about the village’s history as you move around.
| The Listening Walk. Plaques with QR codes are dotted around the village. Scan the codes with your phone and listen. Alternatively, you can also access these conversations via direct links from this page, just click the highlighted stops. This will open a new page and there should be a play symbol (an arrow head) on the left at the bottom of the screen. Press it and you will hear people talking about their experiences (which can be short – just over a minute – or longer perhaps five minutes). |
Accessibility: The first part of the walk is flat, but involves crossing roads and walking along a street with limited traffic. It has eleven stops and some great views across the bay. All, bar one stop, are reachable by car; however, several stops (6, 7, 14 and 19 lack pathways appropriate for people with mobility difficulties.
Starting the Listening Walk
Begin your walk to the right of the front door to the Cromarty Hall.
The Hall was donated to the people of South Ronaldsay in 1878 by William Cromarty. It has served the community ever since. Over the years, it has hosted innumerable dances, concerts, weddings, parties and pantomimes, as well as countless fund-raising events and even military funerals. It also operates as a cinema.
The Hope’s Listening Walk begins here with sledging. Children used to sledge down the hill by the front of the Smiddy at the top of Cromarty Square. This was before the days of the road to the left of the Smiddy that leads to the main road.
In the third window on the right of the front door to the Hall, you will find a QR Code (it is the top pane, above the poster for the walk). Alternatively, if you are not keen on QR codes, click the following to listen: Stop 2: sledging. It tells the story of children and young people sledging down School Road into the square.
Then go to the wall by the bay. To the left of the anchor by the bay, you will find three white squares attached to the lamppost. These are Stops 3 – Spence’s Pier; 4 – Spence’s Stores; and 5 – Cafe. Alternatively, you can click to listen: Stop 3: Spence’s Pier, Stop 4: Spence’s Store, and Stop 5: Cafe. The front end of Spence’s Store (by the side of the pier) has now been converted into two cottages. The Cafe was a little way along the road, roughly on the site of Seaview today. The front of the first building was fairly close to the road [click for mapview].
Front Road and Marengo
Front Road was the heart of the village in its heyday as a fishing port. The bank, post office and various shops were here, alongside slipways for boats, sheds and warehouses. As we have seen, the two cottages by the slipway were, in fact, originally Spence’s stores). Today, the first shop (and only shop on Front Road) is the Workshop and Gallery (a craft co-op in which all the founding members of Hope CoHousing were involved). Previously, the shop had been Leith’s – the clothier and draper.
Leith’s shop in the early 1900s. [Orkney Library & Archives]
Your next stop is by the Front Road (road sign). Under it are two further QR codes – 8) which discusses Leith’s shop, and 9) about cows. Alternatively, click the following to listen: Stop 8: Leith’s shop, and Stop 9: About cows. The cows concerned were brought down from the fields and milked here, close to the old public toilets.
The car park opposite the Bellevue Inn was the site, for some time, of St Margaret’s Hope market. If you look out into the bay, to your right, you will see some surviving slipways (there were more in the heyday of the fishing industry).
On the right-hand house wall next to the car parking, there are more QR codes: 11) reflects on Herbert Mackenzie’s shop; 12) discusses Front Road itself; and 13) explores The Crafty. You can also click to listen – Stop 11: Herbert Mackenzie’s shop, or Stop 12: Front Road, and Stop 13: The Crafty.
From this point on, the walk involves steps, uneven pathways, and fairly steep hills. If you experience limited mobility or are using a wheelchair, we advise you to go back to the left turning just past the Bellevue Inn. Turn left. Ahead, where the road meets Back Road, you will see the Murray Arms. {Click to rejoin the walk at stops 10 and 10a)
Otherwise, walk along the street until you reach a second parking area. Just by Garleton Cottage (which is ahead), turn right and walk up the steps. This will take you to the back gate (straight ahead) for the Marengo Community Garden. Established and maintained by local people, the garden is well-used. The map of the ‘Listening Walk’ is by the front entrance on Marengo Road. By the map, you will find stop 16) Canaries [you can scan the QR code straight from the board] or click Stop 16: Canaries.
Return to the back entrance and turn right. Follow the path past some cottages and continue by the bay until you are close to Hope Cottage. The QR code for Stop 14 – Spies is on a fence post just before the cottage. You can also listen to the conversation by pressing Stop 14: Mrs Herring and Spies. It concerns a German spy who lived and worked here during the Second World War, and another operative.
The next stop – 15 [Marengo] involves going up the steps you passed to get to ‘Spies’. Go through the passage, and immediately on your left, you will find the Marengo Centre Noticeboard – the QR code is in the bottom right corner – otherwise click Stop 15: Marengo. [Marengo was a boat that went ashore at Hoxa Head. The cabin was rescued and used here as a garden shed].
Church Road and St. Margaret’s
From here, it is worth turning right onto Marengo Road and then left onto Church Road. Before starting uphill, look back down the road to the bay. At the bottom, on the left, is the Gospel Hall.
Up the hill, we find Doull’s Store, and to the left of the entrance are another two QR codes. 17) is about Doulls itself [Stop 17: Doulls], and 18) is about vans [Stop 18: Vans].
Opposite it is Robertson’s Coffee House and Bar. Further up the hill is St Margaret’s Kirk (it is after St Peter’s). Even further up the hill and a left turn onto St Margaret’s Road and right turn onto the A961, you will find, by the war memorial, the QR code for 19) P.O.W.S. Otherwise, it’s a case of pressing Stop 19: POW’s.
You can return to Cromarty Square by walking back down Church Road and turning left just past Doulls. This takes you down Back Road. It goes past another product of community-led activity: the children’s play area. A little further on, you will see a short road to Front Road on your right and next to the Murray Arms is another road to your left.
Close to here, you will find another two QR Codes in the left window of the Murray Arms opposite the turning to Front Road. QR code 10 tells the story of two of Winston Churchill’s visits to the Hope (he was here on both naval and defence issues, particularly linked to the construction of the Barriers). Click to listen: Stop 10: Churchill. The second discusses Back Road itself. Click to listen to Stop 10a: Back Road.
Returning to the square, you will find further examples of community-led activity – The Cromarty Hall and The Smiddy Museum. A few metres along St. Margaret’s Road are three more community initiatives the golf course, the bowling green and the tennis court.
If you still have the energy – School Road and/or the Harbour
Walk up School Road past the Smiddy Museum. It is a fairly steep hill. On the opposite side of the road, just before the tennis court and bowling green, you will see a track. Walk a few metres up this and look to your right. You will see a garden and a shed. This is listed as the site of Sant Margrat in the Howp (St Margaret’s Chapel).
There is a further stop on the Listening Walk by the school if you have the energy. Continue climbing the hill. One concerns the tennis court – 20). Tennis Court or press Stop 20: Tennis Court. The other involves reflections by old pupils on life in the old school Stop 1: School. You will pass three houses on your left, and then the old school (now a Healthy Living Centre) on your right. You will find the QR codes on the wall ahead of you, where the path turns into the school. Go to the school’s page to read more about the school].
A further option is to return to Cromarty Square and then walk along the road to the Harbour.
Take care as there is no pavement and this could cause problems for those with mobility difficulties. You will see plenty of interesting sea birds, and seals at the right time of year (winter). About halfway, you will find an old Bothy that has served various purposes such as housing (for around 13 people), a hospital/clinic, and storage.
A little further on, you will find two more stops on the listening tour – 6). Reflections on Sailing and 7). Exploring the Pier. They are on the second post along the front of the dock. Currently, they are to the left of the model lighthouse (but this may be moved). Alternatively, click the following to listen: Stop 6: Reflections on Sailing and Fishing and Stop 7: Exploring the Pier.
On your return along the road, walk up the steps opposite the slipway (and next to the Bothy). At the top, you will see a Renaissance gateway at Smiddy Banks dating from the 1600s. The farmhouse was built on the site of a two-storey post-Medieval Mansion (Canmore). You can return to the village by walking down the farm track and picking up the road. If you have dogs, keep them on a lead. There are often lambs and sheep in the adjoining fields, and vehicles visiting the farmyard.
All colour photographs – mks – ccbyaas2 licence.
Referencing this page: Contributors to The Listening Walk + additional material from ESR and the Cromarty Hall (2025). Exploring and visiting St Margaret’s Hope. Exploring South Ronaldsay. St Margaret’s Hope. https://exploringsouthronaldsay.net/st-margarets-hope/. Retrieved: ]
updated: June 4, 2025