Tradespeople in Sandwick, Orkney

Sandwick is a parish on the western coast of the Orkney Mainland, best known as the location of Skara Brae - the Neolithic village preserved for 5,000 years beneath sand dunes on the Bay of Skaill.

Skara Brae, part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most remarkable prehistoric sites in Europe, offering a window into daily life in the late Stone Age with stone furniture, hearths and drainage systems still intact.

Skaill House, the 17th-century manor beside Skara Brae, is open to visitors and tells the story of the lairds who farmed this land for generations - including William Watt, who first uncovered the Neolithic village after a storm in 1850.

Sandwick is a farming parish with a scattered population, dramatic Atlantic coastline and the weight of deep history visible at every turn.

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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.