Stromness Harbour

Stromness, Orkney's second town, is younger than thousand-year-old Kirkwall. The town flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries when it was a main recruitment center for the Hudson Bay Company. The town still has strong connections with the families of emigrés who headed west to make their fortunes in Canada. The port, around a bay known by its Norse name, Hamnavoe, is the first stop for the ferry service from Scrabster in Scotland.