Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
49.4km²
Area
70km
Coastline
118m
Highest point
909
People
13°C
Warmest sea
August
470km
To the mainland
When to go to South Ronaldsay
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (13 °C) and coolest in March (7 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
One of the Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK
South Ronaldsay is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to Orkney Islands. It covers 49.4 km², with 70 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 118 m. About 909 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 470 km away.
Getting there
- Kirkwall Airport (KOI)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 19 km in a straight lineCar hire at KOI airport (Kirkwall, Orkney Islands)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesGills Bay - St Margaret's Hope ferry
- 470 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on South Ronaldsay.
- 5beachesLong Ayre, Ayre of Banks, Sands of Wright and 2 more
- 5viewpointsOlad's Summit and 4 more
- 1lighthousesHoxa Head Lighthouse
- 2ferry terminalsSaint Margaret's Hope - Gills Bay Ferry Terminal
- 7named peaksWard Hill, Sandy Hill, Vensilly Hill and 4 more
- 1castles and fortsCastle of Burwick - promontory fort (ruins)
- 54ruins and archaeological sitesLiddle (Liddel) Burnt Mound and Bronze Age Building, Tomb of the Otters, The Wart and 51 more
- 1waymarked walking routesHoxa Head
- 2campsitesWheems Hostel, Wheems Campsite
- 6hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 2restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 35 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 76 %0–50 m
- 24 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 8 |
| Night low (°C) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Sea (°C) | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 115 | 88 | 83 | 60 | 66 | 74 | 82 | 97 | 98 | 127 | 109 | 109 |
| Wet days | 21 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 21 |
| Sun h/day | 0.0 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 5.6 | 7.1 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 35 | 33 | 31 | 27 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 27 | 31 | 34 | 34 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | +0.1 | −0.5 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +0.9 |
| 2023 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2024 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.6 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +0.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Mainland
United Kingdom517 km²260 m25 km away
HoyUnited Kingdom132 km²481 m21 km away
ShapinsayUnited Kingdom27 km²64 m30 km away
RousayUnited Kingdom47 km²249 m43 km away
WestrayUnited Kingdom48 km²165 m57 km away
Fair IsleUnited Kingdom8.1 km²271 m112 km away
FoulaUnited Kingdom13 km²418 m158 km away
MainlandUnited Kingdom948 km²450 m193 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q584681) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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