We are back in Orkney next month for a nine day stay and are starting to pull together an itinerary for some of the islands we want to visit. Papa Westray, one of the smallest, is on this list. It sounds just the sort of place we like: it has 60 archaeological sites, lots of wildlife and is home to just over 90 people (according to the 2011 census). Bill Bryson, no less, has cited Papa Westray as one of his favourite places in Great Britain. And if it's good enough for Bill, it's going to be good enough for us.
How to get there from the Mainland island? Two options: ferry from Kirkwall (2.5 hours) or flight from Kirkwall (30 minutes). We've opted for the latter as we are ferrying to Westray earlier on in the week. By taking the plane, we have the excitement of having the shortest scheduled flight in the world as the final leg from Westray to Papa Westray. Apparently we'll get a certificate to prove it. Yippee! You can experience the flight by watching the YouTube clip at the bottom, timed at 2.36 minutes, which includes take-off and landing. Here's hoping we get such clear conditions when we fly.
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And here's our boarding pass to show that it's a 2 minute flight: depart Westray at 8.49am and land on Papa Westray at 8.51am.
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| The distance of 1.7 miles is scheduled at 2 minutes, but depending on the wind direction, it can be as short as 47 seconds. |
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