The most ambitious trip in the whole series. Roughly 1,800 km of driving one-way, the length of Great Britain, a Channel crossing, and a genuine open-sea ferry across the Pentland Firth — to stand in a stone village that was already an ancient ruin when the Great Pyramid of Giza was built. Budget a real 12–14 days, not a week.
Orkney is not a detour on the way to somewhere else — it's a genuine expedition. The reward: Skara Brae, a stone-built Neolithic village occupied from around 3180 BC to 2500 BC, meaning it was already abandoned and buried in sand for well over a thousand years before the Great Pyramid of Giza (c. 2560 BC) was completed, and roughly 500 years older than the main stone phases of Stonehenge. Add the Ring of Brodgar (Britain's only major henge that's an almost-perfect stone circle, erected c. 2500–2000 BC), the chambered tomb of Maeshowe, dramatic sea cliffs, real puffin colonies, and the wreck-strewn waters of Scapa Flow — this is one of the densest concentrations of prehistoric archaeology on Earth, and it sits at the very top of Scotland, across open water. Getting there means driving past Skye and Inverness and just... continuing, for another 500 km, to the edge of the mainland.
Sources: leshuttle.com, dfds.com (fares genuinely dynamic, checked July 2026 — re-check before booking).
Meudon-la-Forêt to Calais is roughly 290 km. From Calais, the real driving distance to Scrabster/Thurso in the far north of Caithness is roughly 1,510 km — call it ~1,800 km one-way from home, and honestly over 19 hours of pure driving before you've even reached the ferry. This is genuinely further than the Isle of Skye trip (~1,550 km one-way) — Skye's turnoff at Invergarry is roughly two-thirds of the way there; Orkney means continuing north past Inverness for another 3–4 hours on the A9 through Caithness.
Real Tesla Superchargers en route: the same English/Lowland chain as the Skye trip — Maidstone/Ashford (Kent), Rugby/Corley Services (M6), Southwaite Services (M6, near Carlisle), Ecclefechan just over the Scottish border, then Glasgow-area sites. Continuing north, charge at Perth and Inverness (Rose Street) — Inverness is your last Supercharger, full stop. There is no Tesla Supercharger anywhere in Caithness or on Orkney itself. From Inverness, the A9 to Thurso/Scrabster is about 170 km — comfortably within a single charge on this car's realistic ~330–370 km range — but top up fully at Inverness regardless, since your options afterward are limited.
Two real options link the Scottish mainland to Orkney by car:
Sources: pentlandferries.co.uk, northlinkferries.co.uk, general fare ranges as commonly reported for 2025–2026 sailings — both operators use seasonal/dynamic pricing, so get a live quote for your dates before booking.
Real free spots (park4night-listed): the machair above Skaill Bay, a short walk from Skara Brae itself; the shoreline at Waulkmill Bay on Scapa Flow; and pull-ins near Marwick Bay below the Kitchener Memorial. All are genuinely free, exposed, and legal under the Code.
Real paid fallback: Point of Ness Campsite in Stromness — a council-run site right on the water at the edge of town, walking distance to the ferry terminal and shops, with showers and a laundry. A basic tent/campervan pitch runs in the region of £12–16/night for one person — useful for a proper shower and laundry mid-trip.
Same opening as the Skye trip: early motorway run to Calais-Coquelles, Shuttle across, remember to keep left in Kent. Push north through England over two days, charging at the established chain of Superchargers, wild-camping or using a quiet Park4Night spot overnight.
Cross into Scotland at Gretna, then a long push north — Glasgow's edge, up past Perth, and into Inverness. Charge fully at Inverness: it's the last Supercharger of the entire trip.
The final push north through Caithness's flat, wind-swept farmland to Gills Bay (or Scrabster, if going NorthLink). Board the ferry — Pentland Ferries' short crossing takes under an hour. Watch for the Old Man of Hoy sea stack as you cross if the NorthLink route via Scrabster/Stromness instead.
Kirkwall's compact old town centres on St Magnus Cathedral (free entry, red-and-yellow sandstone, founded 1137 — genuinely striking and free to walk around), plus the ruined Bishop's and Earl's Palaces next door (small Historic Environment Scotland fee, a few pounds).
Standing Stones of Stenness (free, a short drive from Brodgar) and Maeshowe (a chambered cairn tomb, guided-tour-only entry for conservation reasons, a modest fee, book ahead — famous for Viking runic graffiti carved by crusaders who sheltered inside in the 12th century) round out the UNESCO "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" World Heritage Site, inscribed 1999.
Marwick Head (RSPB reserve, free) has real nesting puffin colonies in season, alongside guillemots and razorbills on dramatic sandstone cliffs — best light and least wind early morning. Yesnaby, a little south, has similarly spectacular sea-stack cliff scenery and is far less visited than Skara Brae just up the coast.
A short passenger ferry from Stromness to Moaness on Hoy (car not needed for this one — leave it parked and take the bike or walk), then a genuinely spectacular clifftop hike to view the Old Man of Hoy, a 137m sea stack that's one of the tallest in Britain. Free to view; only the ferry has a fare.
A spare day for whichever site or hike got rained out, or for exploring Scapa Flow's WWII history (the Churchill Barriers and the Italian Chapel, both free/cheap). For the trip's one splurge meal: Orkney is known for excellent local beef and seafood — a proper sit-down dinner of Orkney beef or fresh-landed scallops/crab at a Kirkwall or Stromness restaurant is the natural treat here, realistically £20–30 (≈€25–35) for a main and a local ale.
Ferry back across the Pentland Firth, then the long haul south in reverse — same Supercharger chain, same Shuttle/ferry crossing. Most people will want at least 3 full driving days for the return, more if tired; this is not a trip to rush at either end.
Orkney's Mainland is flat, low, and largely treeless — genuinely excellent, easy cycling between the Neolithic sites (Kirkwall–Stenness–Brodgar–Skara Brae makes a natural loop of well under 30 km on quiet roads), though the wind can be relentless and directionless in a way that catches people out. Loaded inside per the Car Camping & Bike Guide, the bike is genuinely more useful here than on most trips in this series — a great way to link sites without moving the car, and essential on Hoy where you can't easily bring the car across anyway.
| Category | Cost |
|---|---|
| Fuel-equivalent charging (France + England + Scotland, ~3,700 km round trip) | ≈ €190–250 |
| French tolls (Meudon–Calais return) | ≈ €55–70 |
| Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, return, booked ahead off-peak | ≈ £150–220 (≈ €175–260) |
| Pentland Ferries, Gills Bay–St Margaret's Hope, car + driver return | ≈ £75–95 (≈ €90–110) |
| Lodging (mostly free wild camping; 2 nights at Point of Ness Campsite, ~£14/night) | ≈ €35–60 |
| Skara Brae & Skaill House entry | ≈ £11–13 (≈ €13–15) |
| Maeshowe guided tour | ≈ £10 (≈ €12) |
| Ferry to Hoy (return, foot passenger) | ≈ £6–8 (≈ €7–9) |
| Treat-yourself dinner (Orkney beef or seafood) | ≈ £20–30 (≈ €25–35) |
| Food (self-cooked, ~13 days) | ≈ €120–160 |
| ChargePlace Scotland top-ups (Caithness/Orkney) | ≈ €20–30 |
| Total | €900–1,200 |
Ferry and Tunnel fares are genuinely dynamic — re-check nearer your travel dates on pentlandferries.co.uk, northlinkferries.co.uk and leshuttle.com. Rate used: £1 ≈ €1.17 (July 2026, approximate).