Welcome to the Northern Isles
Beyond the Scottish mainland, beyond even the Outer Hebrides, lie Orkney and Shetland. Together these two archipelagos sit closer to Bergen in Norway than to London, and they feel like it. Orkney’s landscape is green and fertile, with some of the best preserved Neolithic monuments in Europe. Shetland lies further north still, wilder and more windswept, almost at the edge of the map.
Both island groups spent over five centuries under Norse rule, before passing to Scotland in 1468. That Viking inheritance still shapes daily life today. Shetland’s Up Helly Aa fire festival, held every January, sees a full sized replica Viking longship carried through Lerwick and set ablaze.
Layered on top is more recent history. Scapa Flow sheltered the British fleet through two world wars, and the wrecks and memorials left behind are as much a part of the Northern Isles story as the standing stones.
Lord of the Highlands has explored Orkney in past seasons, while Hebridean Princess is the only ship in the fleet to venture further north to Shetland.
Both are small enough to reach anchorages far beyond any larger ship, nosing into narrow sounds and quiet harbours that bigger vessels cannot enter.
What to Expect on a Northern Isles Cruise
From five thousand year old villages to cliffs thick with puffins, a Northern Isles cruise builds a deeper picture of Scotland’s far north with every anchorage. Here is what awaits.
Neolithic Wonders & Viking Legacy
Skara Brae, Maeshowe, the Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness make up the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Skara Brae is Europe’s best preserved Neolithic settlement, and gives a remarkable picture of everyday life 5,000 years ago. On Papa Westray, the Knap of Howar is thought to be the oldest standing house in north west Europe. Inside the ancient chambered tomb of Maeshowe, Viking raiders once broke in and carved runes across the walls, leaving one of the largest collections of runic inscriptions found outside Scandinavia.
Wartime History & Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow sheltered the Royal Navy through both world wars. It was here that the defeated German fleet scuttled itself in 1919. After a U-boat sank HMS Royal Oak in 1939, Italian prisoners of war built the Churchill Barriers to seal the flow. The same men built the small, moving Italian Chapel from two Nissen huts. The Scapa Flow Museum at Lyness on Hoy tells the fuller story.
Wild Cliffs & Seabirds
Orkney and Shetland are among Britain’s finest birdwatching grounds. Puffins nest in their thousands at Sumburgh Head and on Fair Isle. Gannets, skuas and razorbills crowd the cliffs of Noss and Hermaness. The Old Man of Hoy is a 137 metre sea stack, and Muckle Flugga’s lighthouse marks Britain’s most northerly point. Both are among the most dramatic sights from the water.
Northern Isles Cruise Itineraries
Every Northern Isles voyage is shaped by tides, weather and the Captain’s judgement. No two are quite the same, but previous cruises give a flavour of what awaits ashore and afloat.
Kirkwall & Mainland Orkney
Guests have explored Orkney’s capital on foot, calling at the twin towered St Magnus Cathedral and the Bishop’s and Earl’s Palaces, two of the finest examples of medieval and Renaissance architecture in Scotland. The Italian Chapel and Churchill Barriers, reached by coach across the causeways, are a short but unforgettable detour into wartime history. Evenings alongside have included a ceilidh from local family band Kirkjuvagr.
Stromness & Neolithic Orkney
At the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, guests have toured Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness, walking among monuments older than Stonehenge. Stromness itself has flagstone streets winding down to the harbour. Stromness Museum tells a different story. For two centuries this was the last port of call for Hudson’s Bay Company ships and Arctic explorers bound for Canada, and their logbooks and relics still fill its cases today.
Hoy & Scapa Flow
Cruising close beneath the Old Man of Hoy has been a highlight of past voyages. Ashore at Lyness, the Scapa Flow Museum tells the story of Orkney’s role in both world wars through a major collection of wartime artefacts.
Shetland's Lerwick & Sumburgh
On Hebridean Princess sailings that continue to Shetland, guests have explored four thousand years of layered history at Jarlshof, from Neolithic to Norse. From there it is on to Sumburgh Head, an RSPB reserve where puffins nest within arm’s reach of the path. Gannets, guillemots and kittiwakes wheel above Robert Stevenson’s lighthouse close by. Lerwick itself, Shetland’s capital, offers the Shetland Museum and Archives and characterful lanes down to the harbour.
Fair Isle & the Far North
Some Hebridean Princess voyages have reached as far as Fair Isle, renowned for its knitwear and seabird colonies. Others have called at Unst, Britain’s most northerly inhabited island, where the lighthouse at Muckle Flugga marks the very edge of the country.
Northern Isles Map
Use the interactive map below to explore the islands of Orkney and Shetland, and see where a Northern Isles voyage might take you.
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Northern Isles Cruise Deals
The Northern Isles are among our most special voyages, and among our rarest. Orkney and Shetland sit outside our regular sailing programme. Reaching them means a longer voyage across more open water, and a wider weather window is needed to make the crossing work. That is why we plan a Northern Isles cruise only in certain years.
When we next return to the far north, the voyage is announced on our Cruise Calendar, and demand for the handful of available berths tends to be high. If nothing is showing below, browse our current Offers instead. Or get in touch, and we will let you know as soon as a Northern Isles voyage is confirmed.
Book Your Hebridean Island Cruise Today
Choose your ship, and register your interest in a future voyage to Scotland's far north.
Lord of the Highlands has sailed to Orkney in past seasons, and Hebridean Princess is the only ship in the fleet that continues on to Shetland. Neither has a confirmed Northern Isles departure at the moment.
Explore both ships below, and sign up for updates to be among the first to hear when the far north returns to the schedule.