Tradespeople in Longhope, Orkney

Longhope is a scattered community on the southern peninsula of Hoy, centred on the sheltered natural harbour of Aith Hope.

The Longhope Lifeboat disaster of 1969, when the lifeboat TGB capsized with the loss of all eight crew, is one of the most tragic events in RNLI history and is commemorated by a memorial overlooking the harbour.

Hackness Martello Tower and Battery, built during the Napoleonic Wars to protect merchant shipping in Longhope Bay, is the best-preserved Martello tower in Scotland and is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland.

Longhope is a close-knit community with a strong sense of identity, connected to the rest of Hoy by a single road and to South Ronaldsay by a seasonal passenger ferry.

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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.