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North Ronaldsay
 North Ronaldsay (ON Rinansey, Ringan’s or Ninian’s
Isle) lies to the north east of Sanday, which it resembles
with its low lying landscape and sandy beaches. The island
has a distinctly different character, and still retains many
traditions and language usages now extinct in most of the
rest of Orkney. It is the most isolated of the North Isles
and is mostly served by air link.
The sheep dyke is a unique feature of the island. This 12-mile
drystone dyke was built about 1832 to keep the sheep off
the agricultural land. The small, hardy North Ronaldsay Sheep
are similar to Soay sheep, and graze the seaweed off the
shore as well as grass on the small areas outside the dyke.
The lean meat has a distinctive flavour because of the unique
diet.
 During lambing time the ewes are allowed onto grass for
a time, and special sheep punds around the shore are used
for clipping and dipping. The white and brown fleeces are
fine and suitable for knitwear, but the coloured ones are
rather coarse.
Most of the houses are renovated traditional longhouses,
while the farming itself tends to be less intensive and more
traditional than elsewhere in Orkney. As a result the island
is a haven for breeding and migrant birds, and has its own
Bird Observatory, from where staff observe and record the
bird visitors, but also offer human visitors meals and accommodation.
North Ronaldsay is especially well situated on a migration
crossroads for birds on passage to northern breeding grounds
in spring and on their return in autumn. A number of rarities
turn up every year.
There are several sites of archaeological interest. These
include the Iron Age Broch of Burrian at the south end, the
Standing Stone which has a small hole through it near the
pier, and the Muckle Gairsty, an ancient “treb” dyke
which divided up the island.
 North Ronaldsay lighthouse, at Kirk Taing on Dennis Head,
was the first in Orkney, and it was established in 1789.
This was the only lighthouse in the North Isles until the
Start Point light was built in 1806 on Sanday. The Dennis
Head beacon was extinguished in 1809 and its light replaced
by the ball of masonry removed from the old Start Point beacon.
There are ambitious plans to renovate the beacon and associated
houses.
By 1852 the need for a lighthouse was clear and the new
brick-built lighthouse was first lit in 1854. It was the
last one in Orkney to be made automatic, in 1999. At 42m
it is the highest land-based lighthouse in Britain. Dennis
Head lighthouse is open to the public by arrangement. The
North Ronaldsay trust owns the lighthouse buildings, some
of which now house a small mill to process the local wool.
A shop and cafe is open in summer.
North Ronaldsay is good walking country, whether the long
walk around the dyke or the shorter walk to the lighthouse,
the island will not disappoint visitors.
Transport
While it is possible to reach North Ronaldsay by sea from
Kirkwall once a week or on a few trip days in summer, most
people travel on the Loganair Islander aircraft from Kirkwall
Airport.
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