This absolute gem of a hostel in the Orkney Islands is open in line with the latest Covid restrictions. Bookings are limited so that groups of guests are not sharing facilites.

We request that visitors follow good hand hygiene practice and social distancing, and not to travel to Orkney if unwell.

If you have a booking July or August please let us know if you’re still planning to travel.

Sometimes, when writing these natters, a hostel comes up which makes me go, “Wow!” and sit back in my chair.
The Observatory Hostel on North Ronaldsay just did that to me.

Knowing nothing about it, I assumed the ‘observatory’ part of its name meant a telescope-type observatory: gazing at the stars through the no-doubt-crystal-clear Orcadian nights. I was wrong. The full title is “North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory”. It is part of a complex around a scientific bird-monitoring facility on the most far northern Orkney Isle.

There are 3 hostel buildings available to groups or individuals: The Byre sleeps four in two rooms with en suite facilities; The Barn and the Bøl sleeps four and two respectively and shares facilities. The adjacent Observatory Guest House is available for meals if you don’t fancy self-catering.

Glancing through the amazing Social media picture gallery you get some sense of why the observatory is there. They’ve just tweeted that the Autumn migration is beginning and they’re expecting a deluge of birdlife to pass through. What a fabulous experience that must be. Scrolling further though their observations, you get a sense of the range of wild, almost arctic life to see including seals, humpbacked whales and orcas.

What a treat for anyone into wildlife!