What’s going for it? The Orkney islands are my Plan B (though I haven’t told my wife). When all hell is breaking loose at home and post-postmodern chaos engulfs the world, when CBeebies is cranked up to 10 and I’m tripping over the Lego, I think of Orkney. I picture myself collecting seaweed on a beach on Sanday, staring out at a startled sheep from a little stone cottage on Hoy, clambering over the moors to a cairn, or dancing to folk jigs at a Stromness inn. Life on these isles is, if not simpler (have you tried getting from A to B on 70 islands?), then more elemental. The sea is everywhere. The sky is gigantic. The people fabulous and resourceful. And they have CBeebies, too. I’m still working on Plan C.
The case against Remote, naturally. Better get used to wind, rain, more wind, more rain, then sunshine: the weather is wild and unpredictable. Life can be tough, and ferries and flights pricey.
Well connected? Surprisingly so. There are daily flights to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Shetland; others to Manchester, Birmingham, Belfast and European cities. Ferries: several from Scotland’s northern coasts; Orkney Ferries get you about the islands. Driving: Kirkwall and Stromness are 20 minutes apart. Decent bus services.
Schools Primaries: Papdale and Glaitness are mostly “good”, Education Scotland says; Firth, Shapinsay and Burray are “very good”. Secondaries: Kirkwall Grammar is mostly “good”.
Hang out at… Every port, every island, has its favourite spot. For me it’s the Ferry Inn or the modern Pier Arts Centre in Stromness, and the Reel beside St Magnus’s for coffee in Kirkwall.
Where to buy Orcadian beginners might want to keep close to bustle in the two towns, Kirkwall and Stromness. Expect stone cottages and terraces, plus suburban pebbledash and bungalows. Both are on the main island, decently populated and dominated by farming. There are causeways to the southern islands, such as South Ronaldsay. More intrepid? Hoy is pretty, but rocky and wild; quieter and more remote, Sanday is, as its name suggests, blessed with powdery beaches. Large detacheds and town houses, £250,000-£600,000. Detacheds and smaller town houses, £100,000-£250,000. Semis, £65,000-£150,000. Terraces and cottages, £65,000-£130,000. A paltry rental market.
Bargain of the week How can you/I resist? An island for sale, Holm of Grimbister, with one-bed cottage, £300,000, with savills.com.
From the streets
Gareth Crichton “A walk through Stromness to Ness Point, then up the Brae of Wit and back is all that is best about Orkney: friendly chat along the way; stunning sky and sea; peace and space.”
Steve Sankey “We moved to South Ronaldsay from Edinburgh, to start a wildlife tourism business, raise our son and farm organically. Fresh clean air, beautiful scenery, sea, friendly neighbours, good schools and healthcare, and great wildlife.”
• Do you live in Kirkwall and Orkney? Join the debate below.
Live in Rhayader and the Elan valley? Have a favourite haunt or pet hate? If so, email lets.move@theguardian.com by Tuesday 14 February.
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