WITH all the hype around the release of The Outrun film, with its principal Orcadian setting of Papa Westray, it’s easy to forget about other isles in the archipelago. Like Shapinsay.
Shapinsay is hidden in plain sight, less than half an hour by ferry from Kirkwall and a brilliant wee isle to explore with history, a lively community and the UK’s most northerly tea plantation.
Easing out on the MV Shapinsay, this seven-mile-by-three-mile isle soon starts to take shape – an emerald field-kissed gem sparkling against the cobalt sea. A Stevenson lighthouse blinks back to starboard as the hulk of Balfour Castle welcomes us into a village of the same name. It sports a trim waterfront of stone cottages and a wee harbour, the sort of idyllic scene that evokes a Hollywood version of the Scottish isles.
Shapinsay, though, is very much a living, breathing isle with an energetic population. Farming is the main industry, but a swathe of creative souls have flocked to the isle inspired by the big skies and the rugged landscape.
Chimene Taylor (below) is one of those artists and craftspeople who have chosen to make Shapinsay their home. Clearly inspired by the island around her and the spirit-soaring local landscapes, she fashions glasswork using glass powder, with other elements of mixed media woven in. She shares her work with me in her studio and her new collection exploring the Covid years on a theme of “Stories to be told, voices to be heard”, with a striking new piece based around a Covid mask part of it.
Chimene talks highly of Shapinsay. “The sea and changing nature, the plant life and the rocks inspire me,” she smiles. “But the real beauty of Shapinsay is a palpable sense of community with around 300 people living here. Orkney in general has become more popular in recent years, more visible. You’re more anonymous in a city than you are here.”
I wander back down into the village seeking out the Smithy Café, Restaurant And Bar, the brilliant community-owned hub (revamped in 2023) that is a great place to eat, drink and take the pulse of the island. I’m surrounded by warm chat and glorious soup, as well as a local beef sandwich. It’s a lovely space and clearly popular with the islanders, who come and go as I sit.
The Smithy has an upstairs level, which houses the island’s heritage centre. I learn that the Viking fleet gathered here before the seminal Battle of Largs, which signalled the start of the demise of Viking power in Scotland. I learn too that Shapinsay boasts a whopping 70 or so historical and archaeological sites, which I resolve to set off and explore.
Lisa-Marie Muir, from the dynamic Shapinsay Development Trust, walks me along to the efficient shed where you can pick up a well-maintained e-bike. Enthused by Lisa’s talk of orcas, wild swimming spots, seabirds and tranquillity, I bash off to explore, my first stop, a tea plantation. In Scotland. The UK’s most northerly tea plantation.
The creative behind the tea venture, Lynne Collinson, shows me around her expanding collage of hot houses and polytunnels, even some brave tea plants open to the vagaries of the Orkney weather.
Lynne has conjured up tea for sale but is currently struggling to find anyone in the UK capable of processing her tea, so she is delving into other avenues, such as using tea flowers and leaves in Orkney mainland restaurants. She has big plans too. “I want this place to become a real hub and haven for people to come and do all sorts of things, with a visitor centre and an accommodation element.”
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Lynne is a fan of Shapinsay too, misty-eyed as she peers seawards and says: “Tesco is only half an hour away so we are not remote, but we are peaceful with all the advantages of more distant isles. You can hardly hear a dog bark, never mind a car.”
This sense of peace and reflection is something that Lynne advocates, telling me about the Shapinsay Reflective Routes project, which both the community council and the Church of Scotland back.
The booklet she gives me details a slew of gorgeous walks where you are encouraged to reflect, no matter your own beliefs. The island’s church is also in the process of setting up an actual sanctuary where visitors can spend the night.
I find my own sense of peace. I cycle along the quiet roads, startling the cows as I venture down the hilly spine of the island in search of Burroughston Broch. I delve inside and ponder these most mysterious of Scottish historic buildings. What exactly was it used for and by whom?
Then I sit against the broch’s walls, the sun warming my face as I nod at a bobbing seal and scan the waters for the dolphins and orcas you find in these parts. My own slice of paradise in an Orkney island hidden in plain sight.
I recall what one of the island artists told me earlier: “When I’m off Shapinsay for six days it feels like six years. I’m just desperate to get back.”
Northlink Ferries (www.northlinkferries.co.uk) sail to Orkney. Orkney Council Ferries then service Shapinsay from Kirkwall. More information www.visitscotland.com
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