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  • Hobbister

Hobbister

All covid rules and restrictions have now been lifted in Scotland. We will continue to make our reserves and centres as safe as possible for all. Please help protect yourself and each other by using covid sense, washing or sanitising your hands, wearing masks if appropriate and giving everyone space to enjoy their day. Thank you and we hope you enjoy your visit.
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Address
RSPB Hobbister, KW17 2RA (situated 3.1 miles / 5km west of Kirkwall off the A964)
Grid ref
HY395069
What3Words
tempting.scatters.data

Hobbister is where sweeping sea views meet spring birdsong, a magical mixture of land and sea, from sea cliffs to saltmarsh, moorland to sandflats. On the moor, keep an eye out for hen harriers, short-eared owls and red-throated divers, while the coastal walks will reveal red-breasted mergansers and black guillemots.

Plan your visit

Opening times

Open at all times.

Entrance charges

Free entrance to RSPB members
Yes
Adults
Free, but donations are very welcome.
Children
Free, but donations are very welcome.

Facilities

  • Car park
  • Picnic area
  • Viewing point
  • Nature trails
  • Educational facilities

Accessibility

  • Full accessibility information (external website)

How to get here

By bus

Bus route 2 runs along the A964 past the reserve regularly throughout the day. Up to date travel information can be found on travelinescotland.com.

By bike

Cycle route 1 of the National Cycle Network runs along the A964 directly to the reserve.

By road

The reserve is 3.1 miles (5 km) west of Kirkwall off the A964. The main access points are from the car park at Grid Ref HY395069 or from the car park at Waulkmill Bay at Grid Ref HY382068.

Sat nav POI file: If you have a satellite navigation system that can accept POI files, please see our POI page for a download link and instructions.

Other ways to get there

For flights and ferry information to Orkney, contact VisitOrkney at West Castle Street, Kirkwall, KW15 1GU. Website: visitorkney.com Tel: 01856 872856.

Get directions from Google Maps
View on What3Words
RSPB reserves on Google Earth

Group booking information

Group visits are welcome. For more information please contact the Orkney office on 01856 850176.

Schools booking information

School visits are available on our Orkney reserves on a variety of topics. Please contact the Orkney Office on 01856 850176 for further details.

Downloads

Helping you find your way around. PDF, 283Kb

Hobbister trail guide

Contact Hobbister

  • RSPB Hobbister, KW17 2RA (situated 3.1 miles / 5km west of Kirkwall off the A964)
  • orkney@rspb.org.uk
  • 01856 850176
  • Find us on facebook

What will you see?

Our star species

    Wading curlew illustration

    Curlew

    In spring, you can hear their gorgeous, 'bubbling' song.

    Hen harrier male

    Hen harrier

    Hen harriers breed on the moorland here.

    Peregrine adult

    Peregrine falcon

    Keep your eyes peeled for a dashing peregrine on a high-speed hunt, or cruising the clifftops.

    Short eared owl

    Short-eared owl

    Short-eared owls can be seen hunting here all year. The afternoons are a good time to spot them.

    Male red grouse

    Red grouse

    Keep an eye out for red grouse.

Nature spectacles

A walk around the coastal footpath at Hobbister is a pleasure in all seasons, whether it is twittering twites overhead, distant bubbling curlews or yodelling great northern divers on the impressive Scapa Flow. The colours, sky and seascape always provide an impressive masterpiece.

Seasonal highlights

  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Autumn
  • Winter

On the moorland, you can hear the bubbling song of curlews displaying over their territories and you may catch a glimpse of a red grouse. Red-throated divers call overhead and can be seen fishing in Scapa Flow. Look for peregrines, fulmars and tysties (black guillemots) along the low cliffs.

You might see hen harriers hunting over the heather moors and merlins in pursuit of pipits and larks. Look for hunting short-eared owls, reed buntings and twites near the coastal path. On a walk down to Waulkmill Bay, look for the small, ancient aspens clinging on to the cliff sides.

You can look for stonechats in and around the scrub. Whilst walking the coastal path, you may see wintering waterbirds such as long-tailed ducks, divers, shags, Slavonian grebes and tysties (black guillemots) in Scapa Flow and Waulkmill Bay.

You can get excellent views of red-throated, black-throated and great northern divers as well as Slavonian grebes and other wildfowl in Scapa Flow from the coastal footpath.

About Hobbister

Habitat

This reserve has a mosaic of internationally and nationally important habitats from sea cliffs to saltmarsh, from moorland to sandflats.

Conservation

We are working to maintain a mosaic of moorland habitats, sea cliffs and saltmarsh providing suitable conditions for breeding hen harriers, curlews and short-eared owls.

We will continue to reduce disturbance to breeding birds, promote sustainable grazing regimes, and slow down and halt further agricultural improvement and fragmentation of these important moorland sites through liaison with neighbours. 

Site information

This 781 ha reserve is a magical mixture of land and sea, from sea cliffs to saltmarsh, from moorland to sandflats. Stroll through the moorland and you may well see hen harriers, short-eared owls and twite, all of which nest on Orkney's moorland. When you're admiring the beauty of the coastal walks, look out for red-breasted mergansers and black guillemots.

Please note there are livestock on this site.

RSPB Scotland welcomes responsible access, in line with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

Latest forum posts

  • Vandelism at RSPB reserve Brodgar

    I've just been reading sadly that there has been vandalism at RSPB reserve Brodgar in Orkney. It’s nothing to do with any wildlife. But sadly the historical stone circle at that RSPB reserve has been covered in graffiti. It a big criminal effence to ...

    Posted 11/04/2019 by THOMO
  • Wrapping up the Fortnight

    Our fortnight is over, back to the daily grind - but time for a last thread to finish off our time in the Orkneys. You may have noticed a lack of Bonxies on the previous threads - I was simply saving them up.  They get a bit of a bad press as Pirates...

    Posted 25/06/2018 by Whistling Joe
  • Do You Ever Feel Like You're Being Watched?

    There's a lot of coastline to stroll along on Orkney, some of it very dramatic, like the cliffs here at Yesnaby.  With the winds pushing the waves, it's very impressive Incidentally, the car was parked on the clifftops, just out of shot top right.  W...

    Posted 22/06/2018 by Whistling Joe
  • Island Hopping

    We're staying on Mainland, but there are lots of smaller islands you can catch a ferry to go and see.  One of the closest and most obvious is Hoy, so the other day we packed our lunch and caught the boat.  The ferry bounced around a bit on the way ac...

    Posted 20/06/2018 by Whistling Joe
read our forum

Latest blog posts

  • Stoat Snippet 102

    Welcome to the latest news and updates from the Orkney Native Wildlife Project New to our blog and want to find out more about the project, how to volunteer with us or have a question?  Visit our Facebook page, our website or email us at info@on...(r...

    Posted 01/07/2021 by Orkney Native Wildlife Project
  • Stoat Snippet 101

    The latest blog from the Orkney Native Wildlife Project, the world's largest stoat eradication, explaining the impact of invasive non-native species during this year's Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) week.(read more)

    Posted 28/05/2021 by Orkney Native Wildlife Project
  • Curlews in Orkney - Outrageous Goals, Extravagant Hope , by Richard Clubley

    photo courtesy of RSPB Images When Stephen Hawking was writing “A Brief History of Time” someone advised he would lose half the potential readership with each equation he included; so he settled on just e=mc² in the entire book. I’m thinking the same...

    Posted 21/04/2021 by EleanorD9
  • Stoat Snippet 100

    Welcome to the latest news and updates from the Orkney Native Wildlife Project New to our blog and want to find out more about the project, how to volunteer with us or have a question? Visit our Facebook page, our website or email us at stoatsig...(r...

    Posted 21/04/2021 by Orkney Native Wildlife Project
read our blog

Activities and events

Activities for children and families

We run family-friendly events in the summer.

For more information on events and to book tickets, please visit events.rspb.org.uk/hobbister

Leisure activities

  • Walking: The 2-mile (3.2 km) circular trail around the reserve offers beautiful views across Scapa Flow, with the towering hills of Hoy in the background.
  • Photography: You will be spoilt for choice for photographic opportunities at Hobbister, whether lichens, mining bees, peregrines or landscapes are your thing.

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