Orkney Islands
Orkney is made up of some 70 or so islands, 17 of which are inhabited.
The sixteen identified on this map have routine ferry links, and each has its own page where it is discussed in more detail.
As can be seen the largest island by far is Mainland (split here into West and East Mainland). This island has a population of over fifteen thousand.
Orkney has a strong sense of community and each island has its own community council (more than one on Mainland) and often other associations aimed at promoting various aspects of island life. There is an Orkney Community Councils website giving details of all the councils and minutes of their meetings. Again, specific details are provided on each islands own page.
Climate
The climate is temperate, inevitably being influenced by the sea.
The Gulf stream flows north east across the Atlantic ocean making Orkney's climate milder than one might expect this far north. The gulf stream has the effect of keeping the temperatures in summer and winter within about 10 deg C of each other. Orkney has mild winters with the temperature rarely getting below 5 - 6 deg C, with summer highs of around 15 deg C
What makes Orkney often seem colder is the pretty much constant breeze. These can often become much wilder bringing salt and spray from the sea. In winter gales are very common, with wind speeds of over 90 mph occurring quite frequently albeit not sustained.
Snow is not as frequent as one might imagine and when it comes the warm air from the Gulf Stream and the Sea Spray mean that it rarely stays for long.
