Scapa Flow Museum - Temporary exhibition in Hoy Hotel in Kirkwall

A fantastic museum, with lovely coffee and cakes in the cafe. A must trip from Mainland.

Just visited following the refurb and theyve done a brilliant job! Lots of artefacts with easy to follow explanations and stories around the museum. Definitely worth a donation when you visit seeing as its free admission!

Absolutely superb museum. Well done on all the hard work.

Wonderful museum telling an amazing history... Stunning artefacts, I particularly liked the personal stories shared. Lovely cafe too, perfect spot for lunch! Definitely worth a visit.

Good presentation, interesting and lovely new facility. Its a shame no dogs allowed, what does this achieve? We went over on the ferry as foot passengers so, as a couple, we had to look around separately whilst the other sat in the cafe, which generously allowed us in with our dog.

Great museum. Very interesting and impessionate with a lot of information. Visiting is a must if you are visiting Hoy.

Superb visitor centre, with an excellent exhibition of the naval history of Scapa Flow.Also, the café is brilliant.

What an amazing place! Absolutely full of history and amazing treasures and artefacts. If my history lessons at school had been more like this place Id have probably remembered more! I particularly liked the items that had been washed ashore, historical items are so intriguing, and I love thats many of the signs were short and laid out in a very analytical way - short and sweet facts and figures! There was lots to see and not just reading, so even younger members of our group enjoyed this visit. I found it very interesting and cant believe having studied in the west country that we were never taught any of what happened on the islands during the war. The staff in the shop were lovely and helpful and gave us a kids passport. They also threw in a pencil with their ship puzzle purchases. We found the cafe a little disappointing, there was little in the way of seating and I had to eat half my lunch standing up (soup!and my children sharing a chair. We also were a tad disappointed after studying the sandwich menu and making our choices, that by the time we got to the ladies taking orders, we found out we could only have what was in the cabinet, on the other side of the till, which were just 2 options left by that point in the day. Im not taking a star away as my review is on the museum itself, however hopefully it can be useful for the owners/managers for suggestions :)Ive attached a couple of photos to give you an idea of what you can see, but wont post anymore so I dont spoil it!

Newly opened, very informative with interesting displays. Also has a café and entrance is free. Worth wandering around the whole area.

Great exhibits and enough information for you to wander around and pick up the information and follow the story of the navy at Scapa. Just of the ferry so can fill the time waiting for the ferry and if you are hungry the cafe can fill this but this usually closes after 2 apparently so may miss this if you are getting the last ferry. Well worth the visit

Excellent newly refurbished free museum with lots of fascinating information. Cafe on site, soup, sandwiches, panini, coffee, cake, etc. Note the cafe will close suddenly if no patrons in the afternoon. I came out of the hall for a coffee at 3pm and they had shut. The stall on the Quay did a nice tea and a good burger! Windy journey on the ferry, wrap up warm if you want to see the scenery as no windows down in the inside room. Interesting walk around the site.

Really easy access from the ferry, be prepared to spend over an hour here as theres a lot to get through. Excellent historical artifacts and info with some interactive exhibits as well and its free admission too. The cafe is worth a visit too for a coffee and a snack before getting back to the musem. We didnt take the car from Houton on the ferry so it was just over £11 return for 2 adults. Cheap day out and well worth it.

We LOVED this. Sadly we didnt have enough time, as well as seeing other things on Hoy. So much good stuff, well laid-out and well-explained. And my teenage son says the X-box (virtual 3-D roamactivity was excellent - very user-friendly and impressive graphics. Great café - awesome cakes!!

Recently refurbished with new café. Easy access from the ferry at Lyness Pier.

A fantastic museum! Congratulations to Setup something like this here! Highly recommended to everybody who is interested in Scapa Flow and it’s history

We managed to squeeze this visit in before we got the ferry back over to the mainland. So glad we did. Firstly, its free. Secondly, the staff were friendly and welcoming. But thirdly and most importantly the exhibits and displays on the Navy were ace. Very informative and expertly put together. Orkney Council have done an amazing job with this museum. Well done guys!

Excellent museum telling the story of Scapa Flow thru both World Wars. Interesting and heartfelt. Lots of remnants of buildings and machinery outside too - great map leaflet shows you how it was herein wartime.Free - so make a generous donation!!Great cafe with some gluten free/ vegan options too.On quay past ferry building is a lovely food wagon selling tasty pulled pork, vegi/burgers with gluten free buns too!! Yum!

Fabulous, well laid out great building hosting inspiring stories and exhibits - its a must, I have been three times!

Scapa Flow Museum takes you back in time to when this was the base for the Navy in the First and Second World Wars.

Really friendly museum with interesting content

There are so many interesting things in this place from items related to the scuttling through to the nature of Orkney - it well worth a visit.

Lots of great information and displays.

Very well laid out looking forward when new museum opens up

Very informative about the naval history of scapa flow and lyness

It was very interesting, but as its only a temporary exhibition it was definitely lacking. Good effort though and a very nice man who gave us lots of information. Look forward to seeing the finalised exhibition.

Although its a temp exhibition, it was still really informative, and fascinating. Very friendly staff. Definitely want to come back when they reopen the full museum.

A very interesting place for anybody who is interested in WW1 and WW2 history. If you visit Orkney, you must visit this place!

Great even when closed for refurbishment

This is closed until 2020 at the earliest. Some of the outside artefacts are showing signs of decay from what seems to be neglect. All rather disappointing and not what is expected from such a historical and valued site.

Its ok outside but closed till 2020

Brilliant place for war memorabilia but closed this year for refurbishement

This place is now closed for renovations...and once back it could become a great place to visit and eat.... interesting and not far from the ferry

If you are interested in history of WW1 and WW2 a visit is a must. You will learn a lot about the role of Scapa Flow in both world wars. Take your time, go around, watch the short movie

Some parts already cordoned off ready for the major refurbishing. Reading the personal experiences and about the huge loss of life always moving.

Overall the museum was extremely well laid out with interesting thought provoking narrative. Thank youc

Very interesting and some great exhibits. Loads of information. The cafe is great too, really nice tea and cake.

Great place to visit , very interesting,

Fantastic museum full of lots to see and great things for the kids to keep them entertained. Would highly recommend.

Visited after 50 years, my late father worked here in the 1960s, brought back so many memories. Full of all sorts of WWI and WWII things.An amazing cafe with the biggest pot of tea for two on the planet and their cakes are just sublime.Planning to not leave it as long until my next visit!

Fantastic to see and again great if you like to be left alone to view :-)

Interesting museum but let down by extortionate cafe with mediocre food.

Fantastic place to visit for young and old. Couple of minutes walk up the pier from the Ro-ro ferry. But...do allow plenty of time, as theres loads to see. Lovely little cafe too.

A fantastic museum covering world war heritage in Orkney. Great cake in the cafe too!

Unbelieveably good but i only had 30 mins here. Too much to see too little time. This museum for free? Are you joking, id pay for it.Im coming back as i really want to see it.

Interesting historic place, very remote.

A very interesting place to visit, during our dive trip to dive the wrecks of Scapa Flow.

This is not a quick visit you need about three to four hours to look around the place it is a hell of a lot bigger than you expect with an awful lot on show the history is unbelievable and will definitely leave you wanting more be sure to ask the guides the best places to visit whilst youre there, Hoy has so much to offer, there is a very mystical feeling about the island so be sure to check it out.

This wonderful museum with free admission was left to the last day of my visit to the island of Hoy, just in case of a rainy day and Im so glad that we visited in spite of the lack of rain! We first of all visited the tea room in the old coal store, but dont let that put you off as things have changed a bit since 1957. Filled with a good cup of coffee, sandwich and cake I then spent the best part of 4 hours wandering around the museum, up to the old cleaned out oil tank, and the boat store, a fascinating time spent. So be warned, if youre interested in the history of Hoy, and its huge role in WW1 and WW2, dont be fooled into thinking its something that will take no time at all.

Good to see and free, what more can you ask for!

Very interesting museum with a wide variety of history, exhibits, and things to see. Also a nice cafe for a bite to eat.