Balfour Castle
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.Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0.
- Type: Hotel
- Description: country house on Shapinsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK
- Also known as: “Balfour Castle, Shapinsay”
Places of Interest Nearby
Highlights include Shapinsay and Helliar Holm.
Shapinsay
Photo: Purplebaron, Public domain.
Shapinsay is one of the smaller Orkney Islands, a short ferry ride from Mainland Orkney. It measures about 7 miles north-south by 3 miles east-west, with a population in 2011 of 307, and Balfour the only village.
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.
Thieves Holm
Islet
Photo: Des Colhoun, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Thieves Holm is a small island in Orkney, Scotland.
Places in the Area
Nearby places include Balfour and Head of Holland.
Balfour
Village
Photo: Shirley Grant, CC BY-SA 2.0.
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.
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 Castle.
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.
Balfour Castle
- Categories: country house, castle, building, tourism, historic site, and accommodation
- Location: Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, Britain and Ireland, Europe
- View on OpenStreetMap
Latitude
59.03175° or 59° 1′ 54″ northLongitude
-2.91675° or 2° 55′ 0″ westInception
1847Open location code
9CFV23JM+M7OpenStreetMap ID
way 204661302OpenStreetMap feature
building=yesOpenStreetMap feature
historic=castleOpenStreetMap feature
tourism=hotelWikidata ID
Q4850755
This page is based on OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikipedia.
We’d love your help improving our open data sources. Thank you for contributing.
Satellite Map
Discover Balfour Castle from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
In Other Languages
From Basque to Portuguese—“Balfour Castle” goes by many names.
- Basque: “Balfourreko gaztelua”
- Dutch: “Balfour Castle”
- French: “château Balfour”
- French: “Château Balfour”
- German: “Balfour Castle”
- Japanese: “バルフォー城”
- Portuguese: “Castelo Balfour”
Places with the Same Name
Discover other places named “Balfour Castle”.
Notable Places Nearby
Highlights include Shapinsay Heritage Centre and Balfour Post Office.
Nearby Places
Explore places such as Shepperd Cottage and Sound Cottage.
Orkney Islands: Must-Visit Destinations
Delve into Kirkwall, Stromness, Hoy, and Shapinsay.
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