What are some unique outdoor experiences near Kirkwall?

Rugged Hoy is like no other Orkney Island—wild and mountainous where others are neat and flat. There are lots of places to overnight in the outdoors here: Rackwick’s bothy and wild camping are perhaps best. The best hike is from Rackwick to one of Scotland’s most famous rock stacks, the Old Man of Hoy. It’s not far from Kirkwall to the far side of Orkney mainland, with Birsay, reaching its spectacular best at weather-bashed tidal island the Brough of Birsay, as far as you can go without needing a boat. The Birsay Outdoor Centre provides lush flat pitches in what is otherwise one of the mainland’s wildest moorland areas. You can also explore different options for camping near Kirkwall on Hipcamp.