Ayre's Rock Hostel and Camp Site

Ayres Rock Hostel and Camp Site is in a stellar spot for all manner of activities like surfing, kayaking and windsurfing, as well as archaeology hunting, guided and wandery walks, beachcombing and rockpooling or spotting the local wildlife… Attractions nearby recommended by Julie and Paul include the Neolithic Quoyness chambered cairn, dating back to at least 2000BC and one of the Orkney's best-known archaeological sites. The cairn has a main chamber and six cells and is open all year with free admission. Other options are: The tidal sandy bay and series of dunes at Cata Sand; waders and common seals can be seen here and in nearby Newark Bay. Tresness Farm, a nineteenth century horse engine house with an octagonal pyramidal roof. Tresness and the Broch of Wasso, part of the wall of the broch (a drystone hollow-walled structure unique to Scotland and dating back to the Iron Age), and the chambered tomb at the end of the Ness. The wreck of a German destroyer at the Bay of Lopness, viewable at low tide. A picnic area and information board are at the site. The lighthouse Start Point, fitted in 1806 with the first revolving light in Scotland by Robert Stevenson, grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson. The wartime radar station at Lettan. The Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at Northwall, an area of shallow lochans (small lochs) and wet machair (flat, low-lying sand plains), and home to waders, breeding ducks, swans and migrants. The Holms of Spurness, a breeding site of the grey seal; look out for pups in October. Tofts Ness, a prehistoric funerary complex made up of 500 burial mounds. The burial mound of Rethie Tain, probably a chambered tomb similar to Quoyness. The Pagan Viking graves of the Ness of Brough. Waders and seals at Otterswick. The nineteenth century Westove estate house at Scar and the nearby remains of a stone windmill. Boloquoy Mill, an early nineteenth-century water-driven meal mill constructed of random rubble with a slated roof. The medieval church and burial ground of Cross Kirk, dating back to the sixteenth century but probably standing on the site of a Viking settlement.