Summer is whale-watching season around Orkney:
Visit Orkney during the summer months, from June through September and your chances of spotting a killer whale, minke whale or long-finned pilot whale in the waters around Deerness and Scapa Flow are pretty good.
Any time of year, you can expect to see grey and common seals. They hang around coastal areas, keeping fat in Orkney's fish rich waters, all year round.
Orcadians have been chasing whales for years:
In times past, a whale stranding on Orkney would have been considered a lucky extra source of food. Pods of small whales were driven onshore for food and oil. And, in the 19th century, Orcadian sailors, renowned for their small boat prowess, were regularly recruited for whaling ships heading for the South Atlantic.
Eighteen different species of whales and cetaceans have been spotted:
Besides the killer whale, minke whale and long-finned pilot whale, Orkney whale watchers have seen:
- blue whale
- beluga whale
- sperm whale
- sei whale
- fin whale
- northern bottlenose whale
- narwhal
- Cuvier's beaked whale
- Sowerby's beaked whale
Chase the whales across open waters:
If you take the ferry across Pentland Firth, from Scrabster in Scotland to Stromness on Orkney's West Mainland, keep a sharp eye for whales. Or book a coastal wildlife tour. Explorer Fast Sea Charters run 2 1/2 to 3-hour whale watching tours in June, July and August. They won't guarantee a sighting and they warn that you'd better have good sea legs because the waters can sometimes get rough.
Whale watching for landlubbers:
If your sea legs aren't what they should be, you are in luck. This is one place that you can whale watch from land. Watch the western waters, off the cliffs and shores of Orkney's western islands and you've a good chance of spotting a whale or two. Locals recommend Cantick Head on Hoy, Noup Head on Westray and North Hill on Papa Westray as good places from which to watch the oceans for whales.
