Balfour
Balfour is a village on the island of Shapinsay, Orkney. The village is situated on Elwick Bay, which was used as an anchorage by Haakon IV of Norway before sailing south to eventual defeat at the Battle of Largs in 1263.| Tap on a place to explore it |
Photo: Shirley Grant, CC BY-SA 2.0.
- Type: Village
- Description: village in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK
- Also known as: “Balfour, Orkney”
Places of Interest
Highlights include Balfour Castle and Helliar Holm.
Balfour Castle
Hotel
Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Balfour Castle is a historic building on the southwest of Shapinsay, Orkney Islands. Though built around an older structure that dates at least from the 18th century, the present castle was built in 1847, commissioned by Colonel David Balfour, and designed by Edinburgh architect David Bryce.
Helliar Holm
Islet
Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Helliar Holm is an uninhabited island off the coast of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. It is home to a 42-foot-tall lighthouse, which was built in 1893 and automated in 1967.
Vasa Loch
Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Vasa Loch is a brackish lagoon in southwestern Shapinsay, Orkney Islands. This water body has been shown on early maps of the island in a very similar shape and size to its current geometry, separated from the North Sea by a narrow strip of raised beach.
Places in the Area
Nearby places include Head of Holland and Kirkwall.
Head of Holland
Locality
Photo: Adam Ward, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Head of Holland is a locality, which is situated 3 miles south of Balfour.
Kirkwall
Photo: Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Kirkwall is the chief town of the Orkney Islands, which lie off the north tip of mainland Scotland. With a population of about 10,000 in 2020, Kirkwall has accommodation and other amenities and is the obvious base for exploring these islands.
Quholm
Hamlet
Photo: C Michael Hogan, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Quholm is a farm in the northeast of Shapinsay, in the islands of Orkney, Scotland. Quholm is situated 4 miles northeast of Balfour.
Balfour
- Category: locality
- Location: Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, Britain and Ireland, Europe
- View on OpenStreetMap
Latitude
59.03313° or 59° 1′ 59″ northLongitude
-2.9118° or 2° 54′ 43″ westElevation
16 feet (5 metres)Open location code
9CFV23MQ+77OpenStreetMap ID
node 611095542OpenStreetMap feature
place=village
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Satellite Map
Discover Balfour from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
In Other Languages
From Basque to Japanese—“Balfour” goes by many names.
- Basque: “Balfour”
- Catalan: “Balfour”
- Danish: “Balfour”
- Dutch: “Balfour”
- French: “Balfour”
- Greek: “Μπάλφουρ”
- Italian: “Balfour”
- Japanese: “バルフォー”
- “Balfour”
Places with the Same Name
Discover other places named “Balfour”.
Localities in the Area
Explore places such as Balfour Mains and Lady’s Kirk (site of medieval chapel).
Notable Places Nearby
Highlights include Shapinsay Heritage Centre and Balfour Post Office.
Orkney Islands: Must-Visit Destinations
Delve into Kirkwall, Stromness, Hoy, and Shapinsay.
Curious Places to Discover
Uncover intriguing places from every corner of the globe.
About Mapcarta. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors and available under the Open Database License". Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikipedia page “Balfour”. Photo: Shirley Grant, CC BY-SA 2.0.