Mill Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Orkney Islands, UK)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Mill Bay Surf Guide

Mill Bay in Orkney is an exposed break. that has fairly consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the southwest. Windswells and groundswells in equal measure and the ideal swell direction is from the northeast.. Rarely crowded here.

Mill Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
-	4	fairly consistent	8.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Mill Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Mill Bay occur when a Northeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Southwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Mill Bay (for consistent clean waves)?

octoberBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Mill Bay with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of October. Clean surfable waves are typically found 9% of the time in October while 20% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 71% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

20%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

71%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Mill Bay Location Map

Interactive Mill Bay surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Mill Bay is Kirkwall Airport (KOI) in Scotland, 26 km (16 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Mill Bay is Wick Airport (WIC) in U.k., 80 km (50 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Mill Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 06:41 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	4AM	7AM	10AM	1PM
Wave (m)	N	N	N	N
Period (s)	8	9	9	10
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	cross- on	cross	cross

Tides at Mill Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Mill Bay, 0 km from Mill Bay.

Next High Water: 01:31pm | 2.23m

Next Low Water: 07:00am | 0.46m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Mill Bay Sea Temperature

Very cold water temperature (8.8 °C) at Mill Bay. Despite the sunshine, even with a thick winter wetsuit, neoprene hood, gloves and boots it will be difficult to stay comfortable in the sea for long today.

Today, many surfers would wear a winter wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots.