Our choices
Exploring Old St Mary’s Church aka Lady Kirk, the sea, and Burwick: St Mary’s offers a fascinating short circular walk that takes in 13 different listening points that come alive on your mobile phone. Subjects include the Ladystone, creels, coastguard, sheep, smallpox, the Sunday School, and the Island of Swona, which can be seen across the Firth. Click for more about the church and setting – just scroll down to St Mary’s. The graveyard is accessible from the car park on the main road via a short, but rising, grassed path. The gates look to be wide enough for wheelchairs. It is a short distance to the Church door (which we need to check for width).
Exploring Olav’s Wood: It is well worth downloading the short guide to the Wood as it provides the background to the place, a guided walk, and a warning about the need to take care when walking – it emphasises that it may not suit everyone. The wood is rightly described as a magical place. [Click for the guide].
Exploring Kirkhouse – St Peter’s, the standing stones, and the beach and sea: The church was built in the 17th century (there is date stone of 1642 over the door) and renovated in 1801 (and in 1967). It was likely built on the site of an older church. You will find the inside of the Church fascinating, and you can then walk along the beach to the south or take in the various historic sites beside the sea to the north and inland to an ancient standing stone. Click for more about the church and setting – just scroll down to St Peter’s. It is possible to enter the Church with a wheelchair, but it will probably be best to enter via the back door.
Exploring St Margaret’s Hope: This circular walk (with a couple of optional extensions) introduces you to some of the key places to visit in the village. As is the case with Old St Mary’s Church, plaques with QR codes are dotted around the route. Scan the codes with your phone and listen to local people talk about the village’s history. Get further details from our page on the Hope. We also highlight a route that is suitable for those with wheelchairs or who need to take care when walking.
See, also, the Hoxa Head and Sands o’ Wright walks below.
There are also two popular sites that provide a selection of walks on the islands: walkhighlands.co.uk and komoot.com
Walkhighlands
Brough Ness circuit, Burwick, South Ronaldsay. The walk takes around 2 hours and is listed as 5.75 km. [Walkhighlands]
East Coast walk, South Ronaldsay This walk takes around 5 hours and is listed as 14.5km. [Walkhighlands – this is not a circular walk]. It ends around 3km from St Margaret’s Hope – and, at the moment, there is no regular bus from the Hope back down to the starting point in Burwick. You need someone to drop you off at the start and pick you up at Kirkhouse. Another option is to do a shorter version and return e.g. Burwick to Windwick or Kirkhouse to Windwick.
Hoxa Head, South Ronaldsay – The walk takes around an hour and is listed as 2.7km. [Walkhighlands – circular walk]
Sands o’ Wright, South Ronaldsay The walk takes around two hours (max) and is listed as 6km. [Walkhighlands – circular walk).
Komoot
If you go to the South Ronaldsay section on this site you should watch out for the Roseness and Cornquoy walk (which is well worth taking). However, it is actually on the mainland rather than South Ronaldsay. The same applies to the Flotta Circular – while being a relatively close neighbouring island – you have to travel over 49 km (30 miles) to get to the ferry at Lyness that takes you there.
Hoxa Head and Sands of Wright Loop – This walk – variations of which are popular with people who live here – takes around 2 hours 45 minutes (or more with stops) and is just under 10km or 6 miles. There are also some hills to climb. You start at the Sands of Wright car park.
Hoxa Head – Balfour Coast Battery loop from Hoxa – This is a great walk for those interested in military sites. Hoxa Head was a key control point (paired with Flotta) for entry into Scapa Flow during the Second World War. The walk is pretty flat and starts at the car park towards the end of Uppertown Road in Hoxa. There are display boards. You may also want to visit the Hoxa Tapestry Gallery, which is nearby. The walk is under 2 miles (3km).
Picture: Photo by Samuel Hepper on Unsplash. It was taken in Nowton, Bury St. Edmunds!
updated: April 27, 2025