Neolithic standing stones on the Orkney Islands

Floating a few miles off the northeast tip of mainland Scotland, the Orkneys are an archipelago of 70 blustery islands of which only 17 are inhabited.

They are a stunning and rugged bunch with sweeping sandy beaches, fish-rich lochs and rivers, towering cliffs and green fields. Wildlife is abundant here and the Orkneys are a great place for seal and puffin spotting.

Despite a latitude that keeps the Orkneys in virtual winter darkness, thanks to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream, the climate remains relatively mild.

The Orkneys is home to the greatest concentration of prehistoric sites in Europe and boasts a glut of Neolithic settlements, stone circles and burial chambers. Viking ruins also abound.

Residents of the Orkneys - many of whom scrape out a living as artists - are a fiercely independent bunch and think of themselves as Orcadian rather than Scottish.

Ferries link the Orkneys with mainland Scotland as well as the Shetland Islands (be sure to pop a motion sickness tablet if you are prone to seasickness).

The largest of the Orkney islands - known confusingly as Mainland - is linked by causeways to the southern islands of South Ronaldsay, Lamb Holm, Glimps and and Burray. Otherwise, inter-island ferry services connect all inhabited islands with Mainland.