Loch of Swannay, Mainland

Name: Loch of Swannay
Address: Mainland, United Kingdom

#2 among attractions in Mainland

Nature, Natural attraction, Lake

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Facts and practical information

The Loch of Swannay is the most northerly loch on the mainland of Orkney and lies within the parish of Birsay in the north west of the island. It is an elliptically shaped, freshwater loch and is close to the lochs of Hundland and Boardhouse. The grassland at the shore of the loch is the main feeding area for a wintering flock of rare Greenland white-fronted geese and the rare flat-stalked pondweed is found in the waters. Many varieties of birds use and nest in the loch including mute swans, skylarks, meadow pipits, twites, gulls and sedge warblers. It is also popular for trout fishing. ()

Length: 2 miWidth: 3485 ftMaximum depth: 9 ftElevation: 135 ft a.s.l.Coordinates: 59°8'3"N, 3°12'19"W

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Mainland United Kingdom

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Day trips

Loch of Swannay – popular in the area (distance from the attraction)

Nearby attractions include: Broch of Gurness, Earl's Palace, Brough of Birsay, Midhowe Chambered Cairn.

4.4 miE
History museum, Historical place, Museum
Broch of Gurness, Birsay
114 min walk • The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village on the northeast coast of Mainland Orkney in Scotland overlooking Eynhallow Sound, about 15 miles north-west of Kirkwall. It once housed a substantial community.
3.9 miW
Forts and castles
Earl's Palace, Birsay
100 min walk • The Earl's Palace in Birsay, Orkney, Scotland, is a ruined 16th-century castle. It was built by Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, illegitimate son of King James V and his mistress Euphemia Elphinstone. The palace is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
4.8 miW
Lighthouse, Vernacular architecture
Brough of Birsay, Birsay
122 min walk • The unmanned Brough of Birsay Lighthouse lighthouse was built in 1925 by David A Stevenson. It is located on the Brough of Birsay, an uninhabited tidal island off the north west coast of Mainland in Orkney, Scotland, in the parish of Birsay.
4.1 miNE
Archaeological site
Midhowe Chambered Cairn, Rousay
104 min walk • Midhowe Chambered Cairn is a large Neolithic chambered cairn located on the south shore of the island of Rousay, Orkney, Scotland. The name "Midhowe" comes from the Iron Age broch known as Midhowe Broch, that lies just west of the tomb.
4 miNE
Archaeological site
Midhowe Broch, Rousay
104 min walk • Midhowe Broch is an iron-age broch located on the west coast of the island of Rousay in the Orkney Islands, in Scotland.
3 miSW
Nature, Natural attraction, Lake
Loch of Boardhouse, Birsay
77 min walk • The Loch of Boardhouse is a freshwater loch in the parish of Birsay in the north west of the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. It acts as a reservoir for public water supply and is popular for trout fishing.
1.6 miSW
Nature, Natural attraction, Lake
Loch of Hundland, Birsay
42 min walk • The Loch of Hundland is a shallow freshwater loch in the parish of Birsay in the north west of the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. The loch lies between the larger lochs of Swannay and Boardhouse and acts as the main water catchment for Loch of Boardhouse.
3.4 miS
Watermill
Dounby Click Mill, Mainland
87 min walk • Dounby Click Mill is a mill located on the Mainland of Orkney, in Scotland. It is the last of the horizontal or "Norse" watermills of Orkney still in working order. The mill is constructed with drystone walls and roofed with flagstones and turf.
4.2 miW
Stela
Buckquoy spindle-whorl, Birsay
107 min walk • The Buckquoy spindle-whorl is an Ogham-inscribed spindle-whorl dating from the Early Middle Ages, probably the 8th century, which was found in 1970 in Buckquoy, Birsay, Orkney, Scotland.
3 miE
Church
Eynhallow Church, Eynhallow
77 min walk • Eynhallow Church is a medieval church located on the uninhabited island of Eynhallow in Orkney, Scotland. The church dates back to the 12th-century and is thought to have originally been a monastery.
4.5 miW
Island
Brough of Birsay
116 min walk • One of the main attractions on the Brough of Birsay is the remains of a Norse settlement, dating back to the 8th century. Visitors can wander around the well-preserved ruins of a Norse church and dwellings, gaining insight into the lives of the early settlers in this...