Peatfire Tales Of Orkney Evenings

Peatfire Tales is exactly what it sounds like: an evening of Orkney legend, lore and the small social customs of six islands, stitched together with music, song and a bit of dance. It runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays from March through September, and the format leans more village hall than visitor attraction — which is rather the point.

The selection on offer is called A Taste of Orkney, a curated round of tales and sketches drawn from the archipelago. Some are funny, some are sad in the resigned Northern way, and most of them are older than anyone can sensibly date. You leave knowing something you didn't, which is more than can be said for most evenings out.

If you like folk music, oral history, or the idea of an evening that isn't a pub, this lands squarely in your column. It suits couples, solo travellers and curious teenagers; it does not suit anyone hoping for spectacle or special effects. There is no fourth wall to speak of — you are in a room with people performing things their grandparents performed, and that's the appeal.

The venue sits just north of Kirkwall, an easy run from the town centre, the harbour or the airport — ten minutes by car, a short taxi if you'd rather not drive home in the half-light. Evenings begin late enough to do a proper Orkney dinner first; the Kirkwall waterfront has the obvious options.

If you're staying further out — Stromness, St Margaret's Hope, Finstown — factor in a thirty-minute drive each way and the fact that island roads at dusk are not the place to hurry. Bring a jumper. The hall is warm, but Orkney evenings are Orkney evenings.