Orkney Surf

Detailed Orkney surf forecast maps and the latest eyeball surf report from local surfers in the region. Near-shore swell is shown on the map together with the surf forecast rating for spots in Orkney. Find the best places to surf in offshore conditions by selecting the wind option on the forecast map. Windsurfers and kite surfers can also use this option to find more favorable cross-shore conditions in Orkney. Our local Wavefinder indicates where some of the best conditions are likely to be found in Orkney over the next 7 days. Surf photos from Orkney and reviews of the best spots and surfing conditions have been provided by local surfers.

Orkney Surf Forecast

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Wave Energy Map

Wave Height Map

Wind Map

Please enable JavaScript to access the following map views:All map types that you can enable here: Orkney Colour Base Map, Wave Height, Wave Energy, Orkney Swell 1 Energy, Swell 2 Energy, Windwave Energy, Orkney Precipitation, Wind, Temperature, Orkney Cloud Cover.Map overlays available for display: Orkney Pressure, Wind.Symbols shown on the map: Orkney Surf Breaks, Tide Forecasts, Cities, Orkney Ski Resorts, Live Wave Buoys, Live Webcams, Orkney Wind Now, Temperature Now, Weather Now, Orkney Swell at breaks, Rating at breaks.

Orkney Surf Forecast map for predicting the best wave and wind conditions across the region. For surfers, the map shows the most powerful swell tracking across near-shore open water and not the peak waves experienced by boats out at sea. Move your mouse over the ocean swell symbols or the surf breaks on the coastline to see a more detailed surf forecast including wave period and wind conditions. The forecast updates every 6 hours and most live weather reports update every hour. You can animate the Orkney Surf map or show live wind and wave conditions as reported from wavebuoys and local weather stations. Surf breaks shown along the Orkney coastline are also listed below.

Orkney Photos

Orkney Wavefinder

Long range 3-hourly Hourly

	Sun		Monday 27			Tuesday 28			Wednesday 29			Thursday 30			Friday 01			Saturday 02			Sun
	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM
Best forecast wave conditions in Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Birsay Bay Scot - Orkney	Grim Ness Scot - Orkney	Grim Ness Scot - Orkney	Grim Ness Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Birsay Bay Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Birsay Bay Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Birsay Bay Scot - Orkney
Rating	2	0	0	0	1	1	2	3	4	0	0	0	4	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Wave Height (m) & direction	1.4 N	1.3 N	1.0 N	0.9 N	0.8 N	0.6 N	0.4 W	1.0 W	1.7 W	0.1 NW	0.1 NW	0.1 NW	2.1 WNW	1.8 WNW	1.7 WNW	1.5 WNW	1.4 WNW	1.1 WNW	1.7 W	1.6 WNW	1.5 WNW	1.5 WNW
Period(s)	11	11	11	10	10	9	15	13	12	16	15	15	13	13	12	11	11	10	10	10	10	10
Energy	441	429	258	181	134	85	131	423	996	24	10	10	1581	1062	780	540	432	255	552	621	416	428
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	off	cross- off	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- off	off	off	off	cross	cross	cross	off	cross- off	cross- off	off	cross- on	cross- on	on	cross- on	cross- off	cross- off
High Tide / height (m)	6:24PM 2.44		6:23AM 2.73		10:06PM 2.24	7:13AM 2.84		7:55PM 2.74	7:55AM 2.93		8:29PM 2.86	8:33AM 2.98		9:21PM 2.91	9:08AM 3.00		9:29PM 3.00	9:42AM 2.98		9:59PM 3.00	10:16AM 2.92
Low Tide / height (m)		12:18AM 0.94	12:57PM 0.42				1:40PM 0.30	1:54AM 0.59		2:17PM 0.23	2:31AM 0.46		2:50PM 0.22	3:26AM 0.37		3:22PM 0.25	3:39AM 0.33		3:53PM 0.32		4:11AM 0.34	4:25PM 0.43
Weather Advanced Surf Forecast

Summary	light rain	light rain	some clouds	some clouds	some clouds	some clouds	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	some clouds	light rain	cloudy	clear	clear	some clouds	cloudy
Rain (mm)	2	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
High °C	9	10	10	10	10	10	11	12	12	12	12	11	13	10	10	11	11	9	9	9	9	9
Low °C	9	9	10	10	10	9	10	11	12	12	8	7	11	8	9	10	9	9	9	8	8	9
Chill °C (?)	6	8	7	8	8	9	9	10	10	10	9	8	10	7	8	10	9	6	6	7	7	7
Sunrise	-	-	5:28	-	-	5:24	-	-	5:22	-	-	5:18	-	-	5:16	-	-	5:13	-	-	5:11	-
Sunset	8:52	-	-	8:54	-	-	8:58	-	-	8:57	-	-	9:01	-	-	9:05	-	-	9:07	-	-	9:09
Swell1 (m) & direction	1.4 N	1.3 N	1.0 N	0.9 N	0.8 N	0.6 N	0.6 N	1.0 W	1.7 W	0.2 N	0.1 NW	0.1 NW	2.1 WNW	1.8 WNW	1.7 WNW	1.5 WNW	1.4 WNW	1.1 WNW	0.1 SE	1.6 WNW	0.1 SE	0.4 N
Period (s)	11	11	11	10	10	9	9	13	12	8	15	15	13	13	12	11	11	10	6	10	6	8
Swell2 (m) & direction	0.1 SW	0.4 W	0.1 W	0.1 W	0.4 WNW	0.3 W	0.4 W	0.5 W	0.4 WNW	0.1 NW	0.1 N	0.1 N	-	0.5 W	0.4 SE	0.2 WSW	0.2 WSW	0.1 SE	-	0.8 WNW	-	-
Period (s)	10	5	10	10	6	5	15	9	19	16	8	8	-	10	6	10	10	7	-	10	-	-
Wind waves (m) & direction	0.1 SW	0.6 W	0.8 W	0.6 W	-	-	-	0.3 SW	-	0.6 SSE	1.4 SSE	1.4 SSE	0.7 SSE	0.7 SSE	0.2 SSE	-	-	-	1.7 W	-	1.5 WNW	1.5 WNW
Period (s)	7	5	5	4	-	-	-	5	-	4	5	5	3	4	6	-	-	-	10	-	10	10

	Sunday 26			Monday 27								Tuesday 28								Wednesday 29
	4PM	7PM	10PM	1AM	4AM	7AM	10AM	1PM	4PM	7PM	10PM	1AM	4AM	7AM	10AM	1PM	4PM	7PM	10PM	1AM	4AM	7AM
Best forecast wave conditions in Orkney	Birsay Bay Scot - Orkney	Birsay Bay Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Grim Ness Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Saviskaill Bay Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney
Rating	3	3	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	3	3
Wave Height (m) & direction	1.6 N	1.6 N	1.3 N	1.3 N	0.6 NNE	1.1 N	1.0 N	1.0 N	0.9 N	0.9 N	0.8 N	0.8 N	0.7 N	0.6 N	0.6 N	0.6 N	0.4 W	0.5 W	0.8 W	1.0 W	1.4 W	1.6 W
Period(s)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	15	14	13	13	13	12
Energy	590	672	418	429	107	332	258	238	181	171	135	134	96	67	85	105	131	147	270	423	667	827
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	off	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- off	cross- off	off	off	off	off	off	off	off
Tide State	-	high	mid-ebb	low	low	high	mid-ebb	low	mid-flow	mid-flow	high	mid-ebb	low	mid-flow	high	mid-ebb	low	mid-flow	high	mid-ebb	low	mid-flow
High Tide / height (m)		6:24PM 2.44				6:23AM 2.73					7:15PM 2.60				7:13AM 2.84				7:55PM 2.74
Low Tide / height (m)				12:18AM 0.94	3:17AM 0.93			12:57PM 0.42					1:11AM 0.75				1:40PM 0.30				1:54AM 0.59
Weather Advanced Surf Forecast

Summary	cloudy	light rain	light rain	cloudy	cloudy	rain shwrs	some clouds	some clouds	some clouds	some clouds	some clouds	some clouds	cloudy	cloudy	some clouds	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear
Rain (mm)	-	2	1	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Temp. °C	9	9	9	10	10	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10	10	11	11	11	12	12
Chill °C (?)	6	7	7	8	8	6	7	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	7	9	8	9	9	9	10	10
Sunrise	-	-	-	-	-	5:28	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5:22	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5:22
Sunset	-	8:52	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8:54	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8:58	-	-	-	-
Swell1 (m) & direction	1.6 N	1.6 N	1.3 N	1.3 N	0.6 NNE	1.1 N	1.0 N	1.0 N	0.9 N	0.9 N	0.8 N	0.8 N	0.7 N	0.6 N	0.6 N	0.6 N	0.6 N	0.5 N	0.8 W	1.0 W	1.4 W	1.6 W
Period (s)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	13	13	13	12
Swell2 (m) & direction	0.1 W	-	0.2 ESE	0.4 W	0.5 SE	0.2 N	0.1 W	0.1 W	0.1 W	0.1 W	0.5 W	0.4 WNW	0.3 W	0.3 W	0.3 W	0.3 W	0.4 W	0.5 W	0.5 N	0.5 W	0.4 NNE	0.4 NNE
Period (s)	10	-	5	5	5	11	10	10	10	9	4	6	5	5	5	5	15	14	9	9	8	8
Wind waves (m) & direction	0.4 SSE	0.2 SSW	0.2 WSW	0.6 W	-	0.9 WSW	0.8 W	0.7 W	0.6 W	0.5 W	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.3 SW	-	-
Period (s)	3	10	4	5	-	5	5	5	4	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	-	-

	Sunday 26										Monday 27
	2PM	3PM	4PM	5PM	6PM	7PM	8PM	9PM	10PM	11PM	0AM	1AM	2AM	3AM	4AM	5AM	6AM	7AM	8AM	9AM	10AM	11AM
Best forecast wave conditions in Orkney	Birsay Bay Scot - Orkney	Birsay Bay Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Grim Ness Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Saviskaill Bay Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney	Bay of Skaill Scot - Orkney
Rating	3	3	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	3	3
Wave Height (m) & direction	1.5 N	1.5 N	1.4 N	1.4 N	0.7 NNE	1.4 N	1.4 N	1.4 N	1.3 N	1.3 N	1.3 N	1.3 N	1.2 N	1.1 N	1.2 N	1.2 N	1.1 N	1.1 N	1.1 N	1.1 N	1.0 N	1.0 N
Period(s)	10	11	11	11	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Energy	492	510	441	458	173	486	486	485	418	411	437	429	378	288	377	385	326	332	319	309	258	257
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	off	off	off	off	cross	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross	cross	cross	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on
High Tide / height (m)						6:24PM 2.44												6:23AM 2.73
Low Tide / height (m)												12:18AM 0.94
Weather Advanced Surf Forecast

Summary	cloudy	cloudy	cloudy	cloudy	cloudy	light rain	light rain	cloudy	cloudy	cloudy	cloudy	cloudy	cloudy	light rain	cloudy	cloudy	cloudy	some clouds	some clouds	some clouds	some clouds	some clouds
Rain (mm)	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
High °C	8	9	9	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10
Chill °C (?)	5	6	6	8	6	7	8	8	7	7	7	8	8	6	6	5	5	6	6	6	7	7
Sunrise	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5:28	-	-	-	-	-
Sunset	-	-	-	-	-	-	8:52	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Swell1 (m) & direction	1.5 N	1.5 N	1.4 N	1.4 N	0.8 SE	1.4 N	1.4 N	1.4 N	1.3 N	1.3 N	1.3 N	1.3 N	1.2 N	1.1 N	1.2 N	1.2 N	1.1 N	1.1 N	1.1 N	1.1 N	1.0 N	1.0 N
Period (s)	10	11	11	11	5	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Swell2 (m) & direction	0.1 W	0.1 W	0.1 SW	0.1 SW	0.7 NNE	0.1 W	0.1 W	0.2 ESE	0.2 ESE	0.2 ESE	0.4 W	0.4 W	0.4 W	0.4 SSE	0.5 W	0.5 W	0.5 W	0.2 N	0.2 N	0.1 W	0.1 W	0.1 W
Period (s)	10	10	10	10	12	7	7	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	11	11	10	10	10
Wind waves (m) & direction	0.5 S	0.5 S	0.1 SW	0.1 SW	-	-	-	0.2 WSW	0.2 WSW	0.2 WSW	0.6 W	0.6 W	0.7 WSW	0.6 WSW	0.7 WSW	0.8 WSW	0.8 WSW	0.9 WSW	0.8 WSW	0.8 W	0.8 W	0.8 W
Period (s)	4	3	7	7	-	-	-	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5

Orkney Surf Breaks

beach

beach

reef

Orkeny and the shetlands are very remote islands in the very north of Scotland which attracts the more hard core surfer in search of some of the most perfect waves you can get in this part of the world. There is a small but keen group of surfers that live there. You need to bring all of your own equipment with you as this place is as remote as remote gets. The Bay of Skaill offers the largest surf and tends to be the most poplar spot with locals. The coastlines are very exposed so is known for some big swells powering through and hammering the shores.

Orkney has a range of sandy bays, intense reef breaks and near perfect point breaks. Luckily the gulf stream runs all of the way up offering a slightly warmer surf.
The swell window is very generous allowing breaks to go off from a multitude of directions. The weather can be quite fierce so be prepared for cold and strong winds. If the swell is flat take five to absorb one of the most beautiful untouched places in Europe. Getting there can be quite tricky and expensive but is worth it, for the waves awaiting are world class and uncrowded.

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