No architect listed in St Ola yet.

An architect designs buildings, extensions and renovations - turning your ideas into detailed plans that meet building regulations and planning requirements.

Whether you're planning a new build, converting a barn or adding an extension, an architect will manage the design process from initial sketches through to construction drawings.

In Scotland, look for an architect registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and ideally chartered with the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).

St Ola is a parish immediately surrounding Kirkwall, effectively forming the rural hinterland of the Orkney capital on the Mainland.

The parish includes Orkney's airport at Grimsetter, which offers flights to the Scottish mainland and operates the world's shortest scheduled air route - the two-minute hop to the island of Papa Westray.

Scapa Bay, on the southern edge of the parish, looks out over Scapa Flow and is home to Highland Park and Scapa distilleries, two of the northernmost whisky distilleries in Scotland.

St Ola is largely residential and agricultural and many of those living here work in Kirkwall while enjoying the quieter pace of the surrounding countryside.

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Orkney is an archipelago of around 70 islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland, separated from Caithness by the Pentland Firth - one of the most powerful tidal races in Europe.

Of those 70 islands, roughly 20 are inhabited and most of the population of around 22,000 lives on the largest island, known simply as the Mainland, where the towns of Kirkwall and Stromness serve as the administrative and cultural centres.

Orkney's history stretches back over 5,000 years. The Heart of Neolithic Orkney - a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising Skara Brae, Maeshowe, the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness - represents some of the best-preserved prehistoric sites anywhere in northern Europe. The islands were under Norse rule for around 600 years and that Scandinavian heritage remains visible in place names, dialect and culture.

The islands are reached by ferry from Scrabster and Aberdeen and by air from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness. Orkney's economy is built on agriculture, fishing, renewable energy, whisky and tourism and the islands have a quality of life consistently rated among the highest in Scotland.

Orkney is at the forefront of marine renewable energy, home to the European Marine Energy Centre which tests tidal and wave power devices in the waters around the islands. The strong community life, low crime and dramatic landscape make Orkney one of the most distinctive and self-reliant places in Scotland.