Cubbie Roo's Castle
Cubbie Roo's Castle is one of the oldest stone castles in Scotland, and indeed among the earliest examples of stone castle construction anywhere in the British Isles. Located on the island of Wyre in Orkney, this remarkable structure dates to around 1145 and was built by the Norse chieftain Kolbein Hrúga — a powerful figure whose name evolved over centuries of oral tradition into the legendary giant "Cubbie Roo." The castle is a scheduled ancient monument and is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland, drawing visitors with an interest in Norse heritage, medieval archaeology, and the wild northern island landscapes of Orkney. Its age alone makes it extraordinary, predating many of the famous castles of mainland Scotland by well over a century, and it sits in a landscape that feels almost untouched by the modern world.
The historical Kolbein Hrúga is mentioned in several Norse sagas, most notably the Orkneyinga Saga, which describes him as one of the most powerful men in Orkney during the mid-twelfth century. The saga records that Kolbein built a fine stone castle on Wyre and that it was considered virtually impregnable. Over time, the Norse name "Kolbein Hrúga" shifted in local Orcadian folk memory into "Cubbie Roo," and the figure became inflated into a legendary giant who was said to have strode between islands, left his fingerprints on the landscape, and performed impossible feats of strength. This mythologisation is a fascinating example of how historical memory blends into folklore, and the castle itself became a site of local legend that persisted long after the Norman and Norse political context that produced it had dissolved into history.
Physically, the remains consist of a small square stone tower set within a roughly circular earthwork with a surrounding ditch. The tower walls are thick and sturdy, built from local Orcadian sandstone that has weathered to a warm reddish-buff colour over nearly nine centuries. Though the structure now stands only a few courses high above the ground level in places, the robustness of the masonry is still clearly visible and gives a strong sense of the original solidity of the building. The interior of the tower is compact, reflecting the functional priorities of a Norse fortification — strength and defensibility over spaciousness. Nearby, and sharing the same sheltered setting, are the remains of St Mary's Chapel, a small Romanesque church contemporary with the castle, which adds further atmospheric weight to the site.
The island of Wyre is tiny — one of the smaller inhabited islands of Orkney — and the castle sits in open farmland with expansive views across the surrounding water to neighbouring islands including Rousay, Egilsay, and Gairsay. The landscape is characteristically Orcadian: low-lying, wind-swept, and utterly open to the sky. The grasses are short and vivid green in the warmer months, seabirds wheel overhead, and the sound of the wind and distant waves is almost constant. On a clear day the views are striking and the sense of isolation is profound despite being only a short ferry crossing from the Orkney Mainland. Wyre has no shops or tourist infrastructure to speak of, which means a visit here feels genuinely remote and unhurried.
To reach Cubbie Roo's Castle, visitors must take the small passenger and vehicle ferry that serves Wyre from Tingwall on the Orkney Mainland, sometimes via Rousay or Egilsay depending on the schedule. The ferry crossing is short but weather-dependent, and timetables are operated by Orkney Ferries. Once on Wyre, the castle is within comfortable walking distance of the small pier — the island is so small that little navigation is required, and local signage guides visitors to the site. There is no admission charge to visit the castle, and access is generally open year-round during daylight hours, though conditions in winter can be harsh and ferry services may be reduced. The summer months from May to September offer the most reliable weather and the best light for appreciating the site.
One of the more captivating aspects of a visit to Cubbie Roo's Castle is its sheer quietness and sense of historical depth. While Orkney's more famous monuments — Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar, the Italian Chapel — draw large visitor numbers, Wyre sees a fraction of the tourist traffic and the castle can often be explored in near-complete solitude. This solitude makes it easier to imagine the world of the Orkneyinga Saga, to stand within those ancient walls and feel the continuity between the twelfth-century Norse political world and the landscape as it exists today. The combination of the castle, the chapel, the saga connections, and the extraordinary island setting makes Cubbie Roo's Castle one of the most rewarding and undervisited historical sites in all of northern Scotland.