St Ola

St Ola is a parish on Mainland, Orkney. It is in the centre of the island, east of the parish Firth and north of Holm. It contains the capital and largest town of the Orkney archipelago, Kirkwall.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Type: Locality with 8,270 residents
Description: parish of Orkney
Also known as: “Kirkwall and St Ola”

Places of Interest

Highlights include St Magnus Cathedral and The Orkney Museum.

St Magnus Cathedral

Church

Photo: Robert Scarth, CC BY-SA 2.0.

St Magnus Cathedral is a Church of Scotland parish church in Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland.

The Orkney Museum

Museum

Photo: Andrew Abbott, CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Orkney Museum, formerly Tankerness House Museum, is a history museum in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland. Run by Orkney Islands Council, the museum covers the history of the Orkney Islands from the Stone Age through the Picts and Vikings to the present day.

Grain Earth House

Archaeological site

Photo: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Grain Earth House is an archaeological site.

Places in the Area

Nearby places include Kirkwall and HMS Royal Oak.

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.

HMS Royal Oak

Locality

Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.

HMS Royal Oak was one of five Revenge-class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Completed in 1916, the ship first saw combat at the Battle of Jutland as part of the Grand Fleet. HMS Royal Oak is situated 3½ miles south of St Ola.