Burroughston Broch
Burroughston Broch is one of the finest and best-preserved Iron Age brochs in Orkney, sitting on the northeastern coast of the island of Shapinsay. Brochs are remarkable dry-stone tower structures unique to Scotland, built during the Iron Age roughly between 200 BCE and 200 CE, and Burroughston stands as an exceptional example of this architectural tradition. What makes it particularly compelling among Orkney's many prehistoric sites is the quality of its preservation — the walls survive to a substantial height, the internal features remain clearly legible, and visitors can still trace the spatial logic of how people lived within this tightly engineered structure nearly two thousand years ago. It is listed as a scheduled ancient monument and represents one of those relatively unsung Orcadian treasures that rewards those willing to make the short journey to Shapinsay to find it.
The broch was constructed sometime during the Iron Age, though the precise dates of its building and occupation are not firmly established. Like most brochs, it would have served as a defended residence for a local elite family or community, providing both shelter and a visible statement of power and status in the landscape. The structure follows the classic broch design: a hollow-walled circular tower with an internal courtyard, the walls thick enough to contain internal galleries, stairs, and a low entrance passage. At Burroughston, a well or water source was identified within the interior — a practical and telling detail, suggesting the structure was designed to withstand sieges or extended periods of occupation. No dramatic historical events are specifically recorded here, but the sheer ambition of its construction speaks to a sophisticated society capable of organising significant communal labour.
Physically, Burroughston is a deeply satisfying structure to visit. The walls rise to a height of around three metres in places, giving an immediate sense of enclosure and scale when you step inside. The stonework is dry-laid with extraordinary precision — flat slabs of local sandstone fitted together without mortar yet still standing after roughly two millennia. The entrance passage is low and narrow, requiring visitors to crouch as they enter, which gives an almost ceremonial quality to the approach. Inside, the circular courtyard opens up, and the remains of internal wall cells and the door to the internal gallery are visible. The textures are rough and elemental: grey-green lichen on the outer face of the wall, the smell of damp stone and grass, and the sound of wind sweeping in off the sea.
The setting amplifies the experience considerably. Burroughston sits close to the shore on the northeastern side of Shapinsay, with views across the sound toward the Orcadian mainland and the open sea. The surrounding landscape is typical of Orkney's low-lying, fertile, wind-shaped character — rolling agricultural fields, wide skies, and a particular quality of light that shifts dramatically with the weather. A small herd of Highland cattle is sometimes pastured in the field adjacent to the broch, adding an unexpectedly photogenic and atmospheric element to a visit. The coastal setting, with the broch positioned as if keeping watch over the water, underscores the strategic thinking behind its placement: commanding visibility in every direction.
Reaching Burroughston requires a short ferry crossing from Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, to Shapinsay. The ferry is operated by Orkney Ferries and the crossing takes approximately twenty-five minutes, making it an easy and pleasant excursion. From the pier at Balfour village on Shapinsay, the broch is roughly three kilometres away, accessible by a pleasant walk or cycle along quiet roads. There are no visitor facilities at the broch itself — no café, toilets, or interpretation centre — so visitors should come prepared. The site is unfenced and freely accessible at any time. Sensible footwear is advisable, as the ground around the structure can be wet and uneven. Summer visits offer the long northern daylight hours for which Orkney is famous, but the site has a raw, melancholy grandeur in autumn and winter too, when the winds are up and the light is low.
One of the quietly fascinating aspects of Burroughston is how it sits in Shapinsay's broader landscape of history. The island is also home to Balfour Castle, a Victorian baronial pile that serves as a hotel and speaks to the island's more recent agricultural improvement era. The juxtaposition of the Iron Age broch and the nineteenth-century castle on the same small island gives Shapinsay an unusual compressed historical depth. The broch itself was investigated archaeologically in the nineteenth century, and some finds from excavations there were recorded, though the full extent of its archaeological potential remains only partially explored. It is, in many ways, a place that has been quietly waiting — sitting in its field, overlooking its stretch of sea, largely undisturbed and impressively intact.