Burwick, Orkney

Human settlement in Scotland
  • South Ronaldsay and Burray
Council area
  • Orkney
Lieutenancy area
  • Orkney
CountryScotlandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townORKNEYPostcode districtKW17Dialling code01856PoliceScotlandFireScottishAmbulanceScottish UK Parliament
  • Orkney and Shetland
Scottish Parliament
  • Orkney
List of places
UK
Scotland
58°44′24″N 2°58′23″W / 58.740°N 2.973°W / 58.740; -2.973

Burwick (/ˈbʌrwɪk/) is a small harbour on the island of South Ronaldsay in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. It is the closest Orkney harbour to the Scottish mainland and is the terminus of a passenger ferry which operates in the summer to John o' Groats in Caithness.

The name was first recorded in about 1225 as "Bardvik", derived from the Old Norse bar vík, meaning "bay of the extremity", for its position near the southernmost point of the island.[1]

The remains of the Castle of Burwick, a defended Iron Age fort and probable secondary monastic settlement, occupy the promontory west of the harbour.[2]

References

  1. ^ Mills, A.D.; Room, Adrian (2002). A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press. Burwick.
  2. ^ "South Ronaldsay, Castle of Burwick". Canmore. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 4 May 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Burwick.
  • Ports and Harbours of the UK - Burwick, South Ronaldsay
  • Canmore - Three Friends: Burwick, 19th century shipwreck.
  • Canmore - Burwick Lifeboat Station