⭐Our new children's activity book is HERE!⭐ The Marvellous Life of St Magnus Cathedral is packed with stories, jokes, games & activities for young ones. It was developed by pupils of Firth Primary School, working with local artist Britt Harcus and arts/cathedral staff. It's FREE to collect inside!

***Special Curator Tour*** On Wednesday 5 August at 2pm there will be a themed tour on The Cathedral in Literature, looking at writers inspired by St Magnus through the ages. The tour lasts 1 hour and costs £15.60 - there is no need to book, just meet the curator inside the main door.

***Special Curator Tour*** The cathedral and the British Empire Wednesday 1 July at 2pm Stories of Africa, India, Canada, South America, New Zealand...and more! The tour lasts 1 hour and costs £15.60. There is no need to book, just meet the guide inside the main door.

*Special Curator Tour: How to Read a Church* Why do churches look the way they do? Why are they east-west? What’s a piscina? Why is there a ladder in the big window? On Wed 3 June at 2pm the curator will lead a tour looking at the symbolism of features found in a church. £15.60, no need to book.

It's Monday so it's time for a tour of our historic graveyard! Join the curator at 2pm to explore some fascinating stories...the tour lasts 1 hour and costs £10.40.

For War Graves Week (16-24 May) we are offering a FREE tour of the cathedral graveyard to tell the stories of the @cwgc.bsky.social graves, the local war memorial, and those mentioned on family gravestones but buried elsewhere. Saturday 16 May 12.30pm Starts Kirkwall war memorial No need to book.

There's a tour of the historic graveyard today (Monday) at 2pm - it lasts an hour and costs £10.40. No need to book -meet inside by the custodian's office 🪦

On Wednesday 6 May, cathedral curator Fran will lead a special tour round the cathedral exploring depictions of the natural world (plants, animals, birds, weather). It starts at 2pm inside the main door. The tour takes 1 hour and costs £15.60 - no need to book.

We are delighted to be working with Firth Primary School Junior Curators to produce an activity booklet for children in the cathedral. Here is the P5 class with teacher Mr Flett and artist Britt Harcus.

Meet curator Fran at 2pm inside the cathedral for the tour of the historic cathedral graveyard! It costs £10 and takes an hour....

Tomorrow (Friday 3 April) sees the return of our popular historic cathedral graveyard tours. They run every Monday and Friday, starting at 2pm and lasting 1 hour. The tours cost £10pp and there is no need to book - just meet the guide inside the cathedral at the custodian's office.

***Special Theme Tour*** 😇Our first curator-led tour of the season is on Wed 1 April, and the theme is The Saints of the Cathedral.😇 Join curator Fran Hollinrake for stories of Magnus, Rognvald, Triduana, Duthac, Cormac, and more! It starts at 2pm, lasts 1 hour and costs £15pp. No need to book.

In the 1840s the Crown undertook a big restoration project in the cathedral. I've been looking at documents in @orkneylibrary.bsky.social and have just discovered what happened to the things they removed... :O

Please note that tomorrow (Tuesday 3 March) the cathedral will be closed for staff training from 9am to 1pm. The building will be open to visitors again from 2pm.

After weeks of rain we have some sunshine and a sprinkling of snow 💒❄️☀️

A Special Theme Curator Tour with Fran Flett Hollinrake will take place in the cathedral on Sat 7 Feb at 1000: 'The Legacy of War from the Middle Ages to Modern Times'. The tour lasts one hour, costs £15 per person and there is no need to book.

Today we are marking Holocaust Memorial Day with an art event. 101 paintings by Robert Downes of Auschwitz victims are displayed in the nave, with brief descriptions of the lives of those killed. There is a short meditation at 1315, and the paintings can be viewed until 1600.

On Tuesday 27 January, in partnership with Orkney Museum and artist Robert Downes, we are hosting a one-day art installation to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. Please join us if you can.

Today, and every day, we remember them. Unveiling of Kirkwall and St Ola war memorial, 17 October 1923. Photograph by Tom Kent.

We’re a bit behind with #31daysofgraves but here’s a ‘mistake’ from Day 18. Do you know anyone else who died on 30 February? 🤨

Earlier this year, an excavation in Rousay by @uhiarchaeology.bsky.social uncovered an expressive carved stone face. We have a similar fellow in the cathedral, so archaeologists visited today to examine them side by side!

On this day in 1939, HMS Royal Oak sank in Scapa Flow with the loss of 835 men and boys. Today, and every day, we remember them.

Squeezing this in before the end of the day! #31DaysofGraves - Day 13, Skeleton. Of course, it had to be this cheery and dynamic fellow from the gravestone of Kirkwall merchant Patrick Prince.

Catching up with #31DaysofGraves, and prompt 12, Notable Woman. Not buried here, but mentioned on her grandparents' stone - Inga Peace. Orcadian, graphic and theatre designer, wife of black artist and rugby player Eddie Oxley. Thanks to Inga Drever for letting me sharing this family photo.

Day 11 and today’s #31DaysofGraves prompt is ‘military’. We have five @cwgc.bsky.social graves but this photo is from St Olaf’s Cemetery and features Flight Officer Harry Reid who died in the ‘Salford Lancaster’ crash in 1944. Pictured with two of his relatives, @sweynh.bsky.social and Freya.

It’s Day 10 of #31DaysofGraves, and the prompt is ‘urn’. This is the grave of late 19th-early 20thC merchant and entrepreneur Robert Garden, who built a trading and manufacturing empire throughout the islands.

*** Skulls and Dancing Skeletons tour rescheduled*** We are pleased to confirm that this special curator tour is going ahead tomorrow, Saturday 11 October. The tour explores the symbolism of hourglasses, candles, bells, skulls and more, and it's all inside! Starts at 10am, costs £15, lasts 1 hour.

Day 9 of #31DaysofGraves - and the prompt is ‘hand’! Here’s a little prototype emoji from the 1600s - a hand pointing towards a Bible. This stone commemorates Kirk Minister Thomas Baikie, who died aged 42.

Today is Day 8 of #31DaysofGraves and the prompt is 'glass'. This is a 1911 postcard by Tom Kent, showing the grave of RN rating Arthur Sartin covered in glass 'immortelles' - domes filled with ceramic flowers. The other image is the same spot today.