Sailing to Orkney with NorthLink Ferries: Aberdeen to Kirkwall

Background

With their southernmost point sitting around ten miles to the north of the Scottish mainland’s most northerly tip, the Orkney Islands are neither the cheapest nor easiest place to reach from London. After years, I finally fulfilled my duty as a UK-based aviation enthusiast and booked a seat on Loganair’s Britten-Norman Islander island hopper service which would incorporate a brief ride between Westray and Papa Westray (the world’s shortest commercial flight). Meanwhile, I made use of a British Airways pandemic-era voucher for the return leg which would see me fly down to Glasgow on a Loganair Saab 340 before changing onto a BA CityFlyer Embraer 190 for the flight to London City. Thus leaving me with just the outbound leg still to arrange. Kirkwall enjoys direct Loganair services to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness, and is thus relatively well-connected to the mainland by air. However, with flight tickets on every possible service that I could take proving to be incredibly expensive, I decided to shake things up a bit and turn to the sea. 

Two ferry companies operate frequent services between the mainland and Orkney – NorthLink Ferries and Pentland Ferries, who, combined, left me with a decent number of options for my journey north. Specialising in short high-speed crossings of the Pentland Firth, Pentland Ferries operates services from a remote harbour at Gills Bay in rural Caithness to St Margaret’s Hope on the Orcadian island of South Ronaldsay. However, without a car, I soon worked out that reaching Gills Bay would be a difficult undertaking. That left NorthLink Ferries – the primary ferry company operating between the mainland, the Orkneys and Shetlands, operating two services between the mainland and Orkney. One of these takes the form of the short hop between Scrabster, located just outside of Thurso, and Stromness. The other is a longer voyage which connects Aberdeen with Kirkwall, with this ferry then heading onwards overnight to Lerwick in the Shetland Islands. 

With both of NorthLink Ferries’ services proving to be viable options, seeking an adventure that would encompass Britain’s northernmost railway station at Thurso, I ended up going for the Scrabster to Stromness ferry. Purchasing a ticket through the company’s easy-to-use website for £20.85 for the one-way Saturday evening voyage, I then turned to examine ways to reach the remote far north. Living in London, I opted to enlist the help of EasyJet’s Airbus A319 operated Friday evening service from Gatwick to Inverness. Once there, I would stay the night in an Airbnb in the UK’s northernmost city before continuing northwards on a three-hour train journey to Thurso the following morning. 

With everything booked, I was all set to head off on my big Orcadian adventure. However unfortunately, several days prior to my trip I received a notification informing me that my train from Inverness to Thurso had been cancelled. With just a small number of services each day, unfortunately, there was no alternative service on this route that would enable me to get up to Thurso in time for my ferry up to Stromness. Much to my delight, it was at this point that I realised that NorthLink Ferries has a nice flexible booking policy and I was able to amend my booking with minimal fuss via their website to instead take the Saturday evening service from Aberdeen to Kirkwall. In order to do so, I only had to pay the £13.15 fare difference (plus £12.11 as I was lured in by the two-course meal option). This service would depart Aberdeen at 1700 and would take six hours to reach Kirkwall, leaving me with plenty of time to get the train over from Inverness. 

The Journey

Following a delayed and full EasyJet flight from Gatwick, I arrived in Inverness in the late evening sunshine at 2230, with the fact that this was still bright serving as a reminder that I was no longer in the far south! The next, whilst I could have done with a lie-in, leaving myself plenty of time and not wanting to pay a premium for later services, I booked a seat on the 0855 service to Aberdeen. In spite of this being my second visit to the city, I still wanted to have a walk around the pleasant and compact centre and thus woke up bright and early. Heading out onto the chilly yet sunny June morning streets, I enjoyed a stroll around the town and along the banks of the River Ness before heading back to the terraced house where I had spent the night to pick up my things. After checking that I had everything with me, I made the short walk to Inverness’ modest-sized station which is located in the heart of the city. Upon arriving there, I was presented with a trio of ScotRail trains. One of these took the form of an iconic HST that departed southwards on its long journey to Glasgow moments after I arrived at the station. Meanwhile, a pair of diesel multiple units could also be seen in the form of a Class 158 and Class 170 – the former unit being the train that would take me on the 108-mile journey to Aberdeen. 

Still with a fair amount of time, I stopped for a quick toilet break before making my way to the Class 158. Whilst the manufacturer of this type of train ended in 1992, having been refurbished, once onboard I found the train to be bright, clean and modern, with USB ports provide for those looking to charge their personal devices. As the clock struck 0855, the train pulled out of the station and we soon headed out, passing Inverness Airport before making our way into the countryside. With Scotland spoilt with its many picturesque train journeys, the line between Inverness and Aberdeen is not often cited as being one of the country’s most spectacular rail trips. However, this does offer passengers vistas of the picturesque Scottish countryside – with the line heading eastwards from Aberdeen and running just to the south of the Moray Forth before heading inland and cutting through Aberdeenshire. 

Around two hours into the ride, the train neared its penultimate station, Dyce. Still with heaps of time on my hands, and aware of the fact that this is near one of Aberdeen Airport’s main spotting locations, I couldn’t resist the temptation to disembark and have a wander over to the airport’s perimeter fence. Once there, I was treated to superb views of a near-constant stream of Airbus H175 and Sikorsky S-91s shuttling in and out carrying offshore workers to and from their platforms. Other interesting rarely seen aircraft for a London-based enthusiast included a Wideroe Dash 8 Q100 operating that day’s Bergen service and a US Air Force King Air parked at the remote stands. 

Once all spotted out, I wended my way back to Dyce Station and caught the next train to the Granite City. Upon arriving there, I enjoyed a leisurely walk around the city centre and enjoyed everything that this had to offer. Following a bite to eat and a trip to the Aberdeen Maritime Museum, journeyed out along the harbourfront where I caught the first glimpse of the trusty ship that would be taking me northwards sitting amongst the flotilla of large vessels that support the local offshore oil and gas industry. With NorthLink Ferries operating a daily service in each direction from Aberdeen to Lerwick via Kirkwall, two ferries are assigned to this duty. These are the MV Hjaltland and MV Hrossey, 125-metre-long sisterships that were constructed by Finland’s Aker Finnyards and launched in 2002 before being sailed to their new home in Scotland where they have remained ever since. That day, I would be heading north on the Hjaltland, with this taking its name from the Old Norse name for Shetland. 

Following a pleasant walk out to Girdle Ness Lighthouse and back, all worn out I returned to the harbour. With NorthLink Ferries opening check-in for both foot passengers and those travelling in vehicles two hours prior to departure, I made my way into the terminal just before 1500. This terminal consists of a small waiting area, with a vending machine, toilets and several displays and seemed to be rather similar in its design, layout and size to a Scottish island airport terminal! Once inside, I presented myself at the check-in desk where I was soon handed a boarding pass, as well as my meal voucher before being advised by the friendly agent that boarding would commence a short time later. 

True to their word, boarding commenced just after 1500 at which point I headed up the ramp and steamed towards the large ferry. After snapping a few photos, I handed over my boarding pass to a staff member before stepping into what may be considered to be the ship’s atrium on the lowermost of its two passenger decks – this being home to a reception desk and the passenger cabins. Talking of accommodation, for those willing to pay a premium but not splurge out on their own cabin, sleep pods and recliner seats are also available, although I would not have use for either of these on this ‘daytime’ crossing up to Orkney. 

Whilst the ship was twenty years old, I found the interior to be pleasant and relatively modern – with its distinctively Northern Isles identity adding a nice touch. In terms of facilities, the ship features a restaurant, a café-bar, a shop, plenty of vending machines, a cinema and a kid’s play area, whilst a fair amount of outdoor deck space is on offer for those looking to get some fresh sea air during their voyage. Once I had a walk around, with little to see until departure and the restaurant yet to start serving food, I decided to grab my first ever Shetlandic beer – opting for a bottle of Skipper’s Ticket, an ale brewed by the Lerwick Brewery. 

After polishing this off, as our departure time neared I decided to head outside and was presented with two smoking funnels indicating that we soon head out to the high seas. Whilst not scheduled to depart until 1700, ten minutes prior to this, the Hjaltland slowly powered away from its berth and proceeded slowly down the narrow channel that connects the Aberdeen harbour to the sea. After cautiously passing the large ships on either side of the vessel, the ship made its way passed Girdle Ness before picking up speed as it headed out to sea. At this time, realising that a large queue was likely soon to form, I decided to return to the restaurant to make use of my meal vouchers. In terms of options, onboard passengers can enjoy a range of hearty meals as well as lighter options such as sandwiches and jacket potatoes. Glancing at the menu, it was clear that NorthLink Ferries are proud to use local Orcadian and Shetlandic ingredients, and I looked forward to the culinary treat that would be in store! 

Whilst I arrived just before a gigantic line formed, I still ended up queuing for around five minutes before placing my order. Standing behind two locals from the Shetland Islands who had recognised one another, it became obvious that this ferry serves as an important connection for local people. One of whom was undertaking an apprenticeship on the mainland and travelling back to see their family, whilst the other had accompanied a relative down to hospital in Aberdeen on the air ambulance (presumably the Gama Aviation operated King Air) and was now on their way home. On that note, my fellow passengers appeared to be a mixture of locals as well as tourists who hailed from across Europe and further afield. Eventually, I reached the front of the queue and placed an order for a burger, also picking up an unhealthy chocolate cake for dessert. After another short wait, the burger, chips and salad were handed over to me and I voyaged out into the sea of chairs and tables to find a quiet spot to enjoy my loot. Overall, this was a filling and enjoyable meal and saw me through the entire voyage until we reached Orkney. Once I had polished this off, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to try my first Orcadian beer – opting for the Swannay Brewery’s Scapa Special, a pale ale. 

Once suitably food and beveraged out, I made my way outside for some fresh air just as the mainland faded away somewhere near the fishing town of Peterhead. Soaking up the evening sunshine, as we headed away from land, the waters got a little choppier and once in a while we would be swayed from side to side rather significantly. Thankfully, not yet having suffered from seasickness, I wasn’t too concerned and for those that did, plenty of sickbags could be seen all over the passenger decks ready for use. Walking around, there seemed to be quite a joyous atmosphere onboard, which was unsurprising seeing as most were either on holiday or heading home. Many seemed to be making use of the small onboard bar, the Midship Bar, although a good number ended up appearing to be rather intoxicated. Meanwhile, many passengers could also be seen sprawled out across many of the seating areas and were having a mid-journey nap. 

As we cruised northwards, the blue skies disappeared and were replaced with thick white clouds with visibility dropping rather significantly for a time. Meanwhile, below, the waves became choppier, and whilst I am sure regular passengers will have experienced far worse, we were thrown about a little as we cruised northwards at a speed of around 20 knots. With the sun not setting in Kirkwall until around 2230 (and even then remaining comparatively light until after midnight), the entire voyage took place in daylight and thus there was something of an exciting atmosphere onboard once Orkney’s Deerness Peninsula came into view at 2200. 

On the car deck below, crew members soon appeared and began preparing for our arrival as we passed Renwick Head, the village of Work and Helliar Holm Lighthouse before the ship turned and made a beeline for Kirkwall. Following announcements, at this time those who would leave the ship by vehicle made their way to the car decks whilst foot passengers gathered in the atrium as we pulled up alongside the ferry terminal. Just like an aircraft, once the ship came to a halt, a jet (ship?) bridge was lowered and connected up to a door on the side of the ferry and just after 2300, disembarkation commenced. Soon, I made my way out and into the terminal building where the friendly and eccentric owner of the B&B where I would be staying could be seen waiting for me and a pair of passengers who were visiting all the way from the US! 

To summarise, whilst I may be an aviation enthusiast, I was happy to have voyaged up to Orkney by ship and was left with nothing to complain about regarding my experience with NorthLink Ferries. This is certainly a more economical and relaxed way of travelling compared to flying up to Kirkwall.