Pentland Ferries

The Pentalina B arriving at St Margaret's Hope

Since 2001 those intending to visit Orkney have had an additional ferry option available with the launch of the Pentland Ferries service from Gills Bay near John o' Groats to St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay. For current timetable and fare information, and for bookings, visit the Pentland Ferries website.

Pentalina B arriving at Gills Bay Seen From St Margaret's Hope En Route in Scapa Flow Claymore Moored at St Margaret's Hope

The long-established car ferry routes to Orkney are from Scrabster near Thurso to Stromness, together with an alternative from Aberdeen to Kirkwall en route to Lerwick. Since October 2002 these services have been operated by NorthLink. You can find out more about the Scrabster to Stromness ferry here and about the Aberdeen and Lerwick service here.

To complete the picture there is also a passenger-only May to September ferry from John o' Groats to Burwick, at the southern tip of South Ronaldsay. This is operated by John o' Groats Ferries.

Pentland Ferries' route provides the shortest current car ferry crossing to Orkney. They have also taken a competitive approach to pricing. The ferry originally used on the route was the Pentalina B. This vessel was originally built for Caledonian MacBrayne as the MV Iona in 1969. More recently (and since we last photographed the route) the ex-CalMac and ex-Campbeltown to Northern Ireland ferry MV Claymore has taken over the route, offering a capacity of 50 cars and 220 passengers.

We've heard the Pentland Ferries service described as "cheap and cheerful", which it is. It is also fair to say that neither the Pentalina B nor the Claymore are either the newest ferries operating in Scotland or the prettiest. But the service is good, the passenger areas clean, the food excellent, and the staff friendly and helpful: and it takes two thirds the time of the alternative.

Cafeteria

Lounge

The ferry terminals carry through the cheap and cheerful theme. Gills Bay and St Margaret's Hope continues to undergo fairly major works. At the Orkney end, vehicles waiting to board the ferry currently queue along the road from the berth back towards St Margaret's Hope and earth moving work underway is clearly designed to resolve this.

Things are due to change dramatically in May 2008 when Pentland Ferries expect to take delivery of a new catamaran car and passenger ferry being built at Cebu in the Phillipines specifically for this route. The new ferry will have a much greater capacity than either Pentalina B or the Claymore and will be able to make the crossing in as little as 45 minutes. Booking will remain advisable all year round.

The Pentalina B leaving St Margaret's Hope