Neolithic treasures and sparkling seas on Orkney all for 2 bus fares

A 111-mile, three-hour bus trip offers sweeping views of gorse-gold hills, snow-patched mountains, spring lamb fields, estuaries, cascading burns, thatched crofts, rocky bays, and birch woods. The X99 route costs just 2, and a fare cap in Orkney, Highland and Moray ensures no journey costs more than 2 until March 2026. The bus connects with the Northlink Ferry to Stromness, where the dining room serves Orkney smoked-cheddar macaroni cheese and Orkney fudge cheesecake. The ferry passes the Old Man of Hoy, a 137-metre sea stack, with seals and seabirds visible below. In Stromness, a short walk from the ferry port leads to shops, galleries, and the Pier Arts Centre, with bus services to Skara Brae and nearby wildlife.

"One of the most remarkable things about this scenic 111-mile, 3-hour trip on bus X99 is that it costs just 2. Until March 2026, a single from Inverness to Scrabster on Scotland's north coast was 28. Now, thanks to a new bus fare cap in Orkney, Highland and Moray, no journey in the area costs more than 2. The bus is timed to coincide with the Northlink Ferry to Stromness, Orkney's second biggest town, and I'm heading there to explore by bus."

"Afterwards, I stagger out on deck for blustery views of the Old Man of Hoy, its red sandstone glowing in the sunset. Scrabster to Stromness (22-26 each way for foot passengers) is the only ferry route that passes this 137-metre-tall sea stack off the coast of Orkney's most mountainous island. A seal weaves through the waves below, among wide-winged gannets and sleek guillemots. The ferry passed the Old Man of Hoy."

"I'm staying in a little whitewashed cottage called the Shed up the Lane, 10 minutes' walk from the ferry port and just off paved Victoria Street with its shops and galleries. I can stroll from a flat white in elegant Stromness Coffee to dark island cake at Julia's Shed via the Pier Arts Centre, a stylish light-filled gallery full of works by Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and others. From April to October, bus X1 runs every half an hour, with an hourly service to the neolithic village at Skara Brae."

"Baby rabbits hop over the fields and sand martins are nesting in the cliffs nearby. You can still see where people slept, ate and kept bone tools on slab-built shelves 5,000 years"

Read at www.theguardian.com