Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
48.4km²
Area
81km
Coastline
165m
Highest point
588
People
13°C
Warmest sea
August
455km
To the mainland
When to go to Westray
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.
Island of the Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK
Westray is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to Orkney Islands. It covers 48.4 km², with 81 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 165 m. About 588 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 455 km away.
Getting there
- Eday Airport (EOI)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 18 km in a straight lineCar hire at KOI airport (Kirkwall, Orkney Islands)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesKirkwall - Westray, Westray - Papa Westray, Westray - Papa Westray ferry
- 455 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 Westray.
- 10beachesOuse, Grobust beach, Mae Sand and 7 more
- 1lighthousesNoup Head Lighthouse
- 2ferry terminalsWestray Ferry Terminal
- 6named peaksFitty Hill, Gallo Hill, Knucker Hill and 3 more
- 2castles and fortsNoltland Castle
- 47ruins and archaeological sitesBarrow, Links of Trenabie - Viking graves, Bay of Skaill - Cist and 44 more
- 3campsitesChalmersquoy Camping, Mount Pleasant Caravans
- 4hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 5restaurants, 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.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Westray in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Westray, each with its own numbers.
1lakeLakeyas
Largest lake
0.13km²
Loch of Swartmill
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
17.0°C
Loch of Swartmill
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
1 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Loch of Swartmill0.13km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 25 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 86 %0–50 m
- 14 %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.
10 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) | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 |
| Night low (°C) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Sea (°C) | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 133 | 100 | 92 | 65 | 68 | 71 | 80 | 92 | 99 | 132 | 120 | 122 |
| Wet days | 22 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 0.0 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 5.6 | 7.2 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 38 | 35 | 33 | 28 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 24 | 29 | 33 | 36 | 36 |
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 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | +0.1 | −0.4 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +0.9 |
| 2023 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2024 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 |
| 2025 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +1.5 | +1.6 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +1.1 | +1.3 | +1.3 | +1.1 | +0.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Mainland
United Kingdom517 km²260 m34 km away
RousayUnited Kingdom47 km²249 m15 km away
ShapinsayUnited Kingdom27 km²64 m29 km away
HoyUnited Kingdom132 km²481 m53 km away
South RonaldsayUnited Kingdom49 km²118 m57 km away
Fair IsleUnited Kingdom8.1 km²271 m82 km away
FoulaUnited Kingdom13 km²418 m106 km away
MainlandUnited Kingdom948 km²450 m146 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1506018) · 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 |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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