Orkney

Pentalina aground at St Margaret's Hope on April 29 Picture: RNLI/Longhope RNLI

Suspension of ferry sailings after grounding extended to six weeks

Hebridean Isles should have returned from annual maintenance in February. Picture: Mn28/Wikimedia Commons

CalMac ferry disruption to continue under at least end of June

Books in a bedroom at Skaill House, Orkney. Pic: J Christie

Janet Christie’s Mum’s the Word - A road trip to Orkney fires the imagination

Pentalina aground at St Margaret's Hope on April 29 (Picture: RNLI/Longhope RNLI)

Curious case of Pentland Ferries, CalMac, Alfred and Pentalina – Alastair Dalton

Skara Brae, a Neolithic settlement on Orkney. New research will examine whether Orkney's stunning Neolithic landscape was painted in colour around 5,000 years ago. PIC: Bill Henderson/ geograph.org

Orkney's Neolithic wonders may have been painted with colour

Ancient ceremonial locations or time travelling sites? Here are the Scottish standing stones that inspired Outlander's Craigh na Dun set.

13 Scottish stone circles and standing stones that inspired Outlander's set

MV Pentalina. Picture: PA

Ferry services face further fortnight of disruption after Pentalina grounding

Alfred in Ayr harbour on Wednesday. Picture: John Devlin

New delay to CalMac deploying relief vessel Alfred from Pentland Ferries

Alfred in Ayr harbour on Wednesday. Picture: John Devlin

CalMac expected to deploy newly chartered ferry Alfred on main Arran route

Pentalina aground at St Margaret's Hope on Saturday. Picture: RNLI/Longhope RNLI

Investigation demanded into safety of grounded ferry amid 'pressure' claims

MV Pentalina had been out of passenger service apart from some brief private contracts since 2019.

Minister ‘not aware’ of pressure to give MV Pentalina safety certificate

Pentalina aground at St Margaret's Hope on Saturday. Picture: RNLI/Longhope RNLI

Pentalina ferry grounding ‘caused by sudden mechanical failure’

MV Pentalina had been out of passenger service apart from some brief private contracts since 2019.

Dozens of passengers evacuated as ferry MV Pentalina runs aground on Orkney

Erland Cooper PIC: Alex Kozobolis

Album reviews: Erland Cooper | Cloth | Alison Eales

Bog cotton grows on the vast blanket bog during certain times of the year making parts of it turn white

A closer look at Scotland's vast and ancient peatland tipped for UNESCO status

The Isle of Soay only has one permanent resident.

The 21 populated islands in Scotland where fewest people live

Stuart and Adelle Brown have got the green light to build a new whisky distillery in Orkney , the first for nearly 140 years. Picture: Stewart Attwood

Gold rush: Why Scotch whisky distilleries are popping up all over the country

Hoy in the Orkney Isles. A petition has been launched on the island against plans by RSPB Scotland to cut its ranger position from a full-time to part-time position. PIC: Peter Stenzel/Flickr/CC.

Island sorely ruffled by RSPB Scotland plans to cut warden's job

Orbital has been awarded an Option Agreement from Crown Estate Scotland regarding the project in the Westray Firth. Picture: contributed.

Orbital Marine Power gets key nod to create major new Orkney tidal project

Sightings of the stonechat in spring carried particular superstitions in Scotland. PIC: Ziva & Amir/Flickr/CC.

Spring equinox: the ancient beliefs of the new season in Scotland

Kirkwall, Orkney islands

Orkney islands linked to gene mutation which increases cancer risk

Prof Zosia Miedzybrodzka

Breast cancer gene linked to Orkney islands in groundbreaking study

Weather warnings are in place until Thursday

Two more days of weather warnings set for Scotland amid cold snap

The Met Office have issued a further weather warning for Tuesday across Scotland

Further snow warnings issued for Scotland - watch latest forecast

Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said many business travellers understood the importance of supporting a route to keep it operating year round. Picture: Loganair

Future Flight: Loganair's ‘very difficult message’ over year-round flight fares

The Ness of Brodgar site

Key Neolithic site on Orkney to be covered over by field after 20 years of digs

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for snow and ice for Monday and Tuesday with some disruption expected. PIC: SWNS.com

Coldest temperature of year expected as snow and ice forecast for Scotland

A bottle of Highland Park

Big birthday releases from Highland Park and Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Erland Cooper

The Scotsman Sessions #351: Erland Cooper

A weather warning is in place for much of Scotland

Storm Otto: Scotland braced for 75mph winds as Met Office issue weather warning

Pentalina is undergoing survey work at King George V Dock in Glasgow ahead of sea trials. Picture: The Scotsman

Catamaran ferry eyed by CalMac to undergo sea trials this week

CalMac chief executive Robbie Drummond said it was in "positive dialogue" over leasing Pentalina. Picture: Rachel Keenan

CalMac hopes to lease catamaran to improve resilience of ageing fleet

Midhowe Broch on Rousay , which dates from the Iron Age, will be surveyed this week for damage caused by extreme weather patterns and climate change. PIC: Michael N Maggs/CC.

Team lands in Orkney to check damage at some of Scotland's oldest historic sites

Cruise ships will be able to come ashore at Stornoway Port for the first time with the opening of the £49 deep water terminal next summer, with around 60,000 passengers expected to arrive every year. PIC: Stornoway Port Authority.

Scottish island prepares itself for arrival of 60,000 cruise ship passengers

The Jarl Squad set light to the galley in Lerwick on the Shetland Isles during the Up Helly Aa fire festival. Originating in the 1880s, the festival celebrates Shetland's Norse heritage. Jane Barlow/PA Wire

11 pictures as thousands gather at Up Helly Aa fire festival in Shetland

A yellow weather warning for wind is in place for the whole of Scotland between the hours of 8pm on Tuesday and 9am on Wednesday.

80mph winds on way for Scotland as yellow weather warning issued

Gravitis space port first commercial rocket launch
Historic first for UK as commercial rocket launch takes place in Outer Hebrides

A historic UK first has taken place in the Outer Hebrides today (Thursday) with a unique commercial rocket launch conducted by a wholly-owned British company and a Scottish spaceport team.

Spaceport 1 joined forces with East Anglian firm Gravitilab Aerospace Services on the launch of flight test vehicle 'ADA', named after Ada Lovelace, the 19th century English mathematician who is considered the world's first computer programmer.

ADA took off from Benbecula Airport marking a successful launch for Spaceport 1, the consortium led by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), which aims to open at Scolpaig, North Uist, in 2022. From this base, commercial sub-orbital space launches will begin to take place from within the UK.

The landmark moment represents the first success for this unique commercial partnership between Spaceport 1 and Gravitilab, providing proper physical evidence of how companies can work together commercially under the new Government space framework to deliver a successful rocket launch from the UK.

It is a significant step in the history of Gravitilab, which aims to make space more accessible by providing reliable and affordable microgravity research and testing services. ADA is the company's first rocket designed to offer this, and the sub-orbital launch at Benbecula Airport is part of the company's ongoing development programme.

It also comes just weeks after the Government's new framework to regulate the space industry came into force. This framework has the potential to thrust Scotland and the UK into the global forefront of the growing space sector making spaceport developments and space launches a reality.

For Spaceport 1, this offers the opportunity to become a working, viable commercial spaceport, as it looks to complete its site by 2022, with full commercial operations commencing in the same year

'Game-changing' £100m deal for islands is signed

Skara Brae village on Orkney is one of the key Neolithic sites in North West Europe with a study finding that violence and warfare was rife during the period. PIC: World Heritage Encyclopedia.

Skeleton study finds violence and warfare 'widespread' during Neolithic period

A snow plough clears the A939 after heavy snowfall in the Highlands last month.

Ice and snow warning for north as temperatures plunge to -10

Senior manufacturing engineer Dr Jill Miscandlon said electric long-haul flights may still be 20 years away. Picture: National Manufacturing Institute Scotland

Electric long-haul flights the focus of groundbreaking Scottish research

Keeping the fires burning over Hogmanay was considered paramount with bad fortune predicted for those who let their hearths dim over New Year. PIC: Flickr.

Hogmanay: Scotland enters the traditional 12 'daft days' for New Year

A CalMac ferry sails near Jura in the Inner Hebrides (Picture: Allan Wright/Scottish Viewpoint/Shutterstock)

Late CalMac summer timetable is yet another unacceptable blow to islanders

Rikki Ross of Deacon Blue performs at the "Concert For Tsunami Relief" charity concert in Glasgow in 2005. Picture: James Williamson/Getty Images

Limited edition whiskies to try this Christmas

According to Stelrad's research Newburgh had 261,248 Instagram hashtags.

Scottish Winter: New list shows 10 ‘Most Picturesque’ Scottish Winter locations

Orkney, the archipelago off the northeastern coast of Scotland, takes first place with a life satisfaction score of 8.2 out of 10.

Where is the happiest place in Scotland? 10 Happiest Scottish places named

Stromness in Orkney. More powers are needed in the Northern Isles to allow for better governance and better delivery of services, writes Alistair Carmichael MP.

Orkney and Shetland want more powers of their own, not SNP identity politics

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Ad Feature Deals: Open to new opportunities

Helen Inkster, managing director of Pentland Ferries, said some CalMac routes could be commercially viable for private operators. Picture: Scottish Parliament TV

Splitting up CalMac ‘would dramatically improve services’ – Pentland Ferries

When installed the Waveswing device is moored to an anchor on the seabed using a single tension tether and sits around three metres below the surface.

Wave energy converter is 'real deal' after upbeat trials at Orkney test site

Skeklers on Shetland in 1909. PIC: Courtesy of Shetland Museum and Archives.

The 'intriguing and unsettling' Scottish island tradition of skekling

Residents have been left without phone and internet since the early hours of Thursday due to the break in the cable connecting Shetland to mainland Scotland.

BT give update after residents on Shetland communications outage

An x-ray of the jawbone of The Elder with her teeth now giving fascinating insight into the life of the woman who lived in Orkney around 1,800 years ago. PIC: UHI Archaeology Institute.

Teeth of 'The Elder' shed new light on woman who lived on Orkney 1,800 years ago

An avian flu “prevention zone” has been declared across Great Britain in the face of rising case numbers as the country battles the largest ever outbreak of the disease.

Bird flu ‘prevention zone’ declared across UK as virus hits Lewis and Orkney

The close confinement of chickens can create the perfect breeding ground for new types of diseases to emerge (Picture: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)

Wild birds are paying a deadly price for cheap chicken. And we could be next

Remains of the settlement at Links of Noltland on Westray. Around 35 buildings have been found so far, including houses, workshops and a sauna, with the community believed t have lived in relative stability and peace. PIC: www.geograph.org

Island attracted 'influx' of women from Continent around 4,000 years ago

Half the passengers were evacuated by lifeboat after the ferry Alfred grounded. Picture: Pentland Ferries

Passengers injured by ferry grounding seek compensation after ‘shocking ordeal’

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