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Geonivora
Island

Papa Westray Island

Local name: Papa Westray

Located in Orkney Islands, Scotland Coordinates: 59°21′00″ N 2°54′00″ W

Papa Westray Island
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Elevation
28 m
above sea level
Nearest town
Pierowall
6.2 km SW
Local time
UTC+00:00
Europe/London · UTC+00:00
Population
90
90
Airports
EOI Eday Airport19 km
KOI Kirkwall Airport44 km

About Papa Westray Island

Papa Westray Island is an island. Location: Orkney Islands, Scotland. Population: 90.

From Wikipedia

Papa Westray ( PAP-ə WEST-ree; Scots: Papa Westree), also known as Papay, is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, United Kingdom. The fertile soil has long been a draw to the island. Attractions on the island include Holland House with an associated folk museum and the Knap of Howar Neolithic farmstead run by Historic Scotland. It is the ninth largest of the Orkney Islands with an area of 918 hectares (2,270 acres).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

Length
7 km
Area
9.2 km²
Official website
papawestray.co.uk

Source: Wikidata

Travel notes for Papa Westray Island

From Wikivoyage

Papa Westray is one of the Orkney Islands north of mainland Scotland - nearly the northernmost, but North Ronaldsay edges it by half a mile. Papa Westray measures 4 miles north-south and a mile across, and is more low-lying and fertile than nearby Westray. In 2011 it had 90 residents, who usually just call it "Papay", pronounced Papee — the name refers to medieval priests. There's no travel information centre, but see the island website for info.

Get in+

By plane: Twice daily Loganair flights link Kirkwall with Papa Westray. These flights also stop at Westray just across the channel, making it the world's shortest scheduled flight, at just under two minutes. The flight between Kirkwall and North Ronaldsay also calls at Papa Westray on some days of the week.

1 Papa Westray Airport (PPW IATA) is midway along the island.

By boat the usual route is to first take the car ferry from Kirkwall on Orkney Mainland, which sails 2 or 3 times a day to Rapness at the south tip of Westray. There it's met by a minibus which takes you six miles north to Pierowall for the little inter-island ferry to Papa Westray. This sails May-Sep 3 to 6 times a day, taking 25 min, for foot passengers and bicycles only. Until April 2025, return fares from Kirkwall are £11.90 adult, £8.90 conc, £4.90 child. Day trips between Westray and Papay are also possible and the return fare is £5.90 adult.

Sailing Oct-April, or if you need to bring a vehicle, you need to take the Tuesday car ferry, which sails a triangular route between Kirkwall, Papay and North Ronaldsay.

2 South pier is the landing point for all ferries.

Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0 · abridged

Climate of Papa Westray Island

This month · November

A wet month

Day 9° · Night 5° · Rain 135 mm

Hottest month
August (day 15°)
Coldest month
February (night 3°)
Wettest month
November (135 mm)
Driest month
May (50 mm)

Bars: average monthly low and high temperature. Below: precipitation. Monthly averages for 1970–2000 at about 18 km resolution, adjusted for elevation. Highlighted months are mild and relatively dry. Source: WorldClim 2.1 (CC BY 4.0).

Show values as a table
Climate of Papa Westray Island
Month JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Average high (°C)7°7°7°8°10°13°14°15°13°11°9°8°
Average low (°C)3°3°3°4°6°8°10°10°9°7°5°4°
Precipitation (mm)117901036750546074107125135124

How to get to Papa Westray Island

The nearest airport is Eday Airport (EOI), 19 km to the south as the crow flies. The nearest large city is Aberdeen, 250 km to the south.

Airports

  • Eday Airport (EOI) Eday 19 kmsouth
  • Kirkwall Airport (KOI) Kirkwall, Orkney Islands 44 kmsouth
  • Wick John O'Groats Airport (WIC) Wick 100 kmsouth

Nearby large cities

  • Aberdeen Population: 198.6K 250 kmsouth
  • Dundee Population: 148.2K 321 kmsouth
  • Edinburgh Population: 515K 379 kmsouth
  • Glasgow Population: 626.4K 396 kmsouth

Straight-line distances; road distances are longer. Airport data: OurAirports.

Day trips from Papa Westray Island

Within 100 km: 30 historic and cultural sites, 468 natural sites, 152 lakes, rivers and coasts.

0–25 km134 places

  • Rousay Island 22 kmS
  • Eday Island 20 kmS
  • The Wart Island 20 kmSE
  • Westray Island 7 kmSW

25–60 km338 places

  • Shapinsay Island 33 kmS
  • Flotta Island 59 kmS
  • Wyre Island 26 kmS
  • Auskerry Island 40 kmSE

60–100 km178 places

  • Hoy Island 60 kmSW
  • Hesta Head Natural site 63 kmS
  • Clett Island 89 kmSW
  • Switha Island 62 kmS

Straight-line distances.

Nearest towns and villages

  • Pierowall Village, Orkney Islands
    6.2 km SW
  • Aikerness Village, Orkney Islands
    3.5 km W
  • Rackwick Village, Orkney Islands
    4.4 km SW
  • Broughton Village, Orkney Islands
    6 km SW
  • Braehead Village, Orkney Islands
    6.3 km SW
  • Skelwick Village, Orkney Islands
    7 km S

Nearby attractions & nature

Everything nearby

Sources & licences

Data last updated: · 2 independent sources