Balfour, Orkney

For other uses, see Balfour (disambiguation).

Balfour
Balfour Harbour, quay and slipway
Balfour is located in Orkney Islands
Balfour
Balfour
Location within Orkney
OS grid referenceHY479164
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townORKNEY
Postcode districtKW17
Dialling code01856
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
59°01′48″N 2°54′25″W / 59.030°N 2.907°W / 59.030; -2.907

Balfour is a village on the island of Shapinsay, Orkney. The village is situated on Elwick Bay, which was used as an anchorage by Haakon IV of Norway before sailing south to eventual defeat at the Battle of Largs in 1263.[1] Today, the village still possesses a harbour, with mock defensive walls constructed at the same time as the castle. David Balfour even added a stone marked with the date 1725, taken from Noltland Castle on the island of Westray, to his defences.[2] A car ferry to Kirkwall, operated by Orkney Ferries, sails from a pier at the harbour. This became a roll-on/roll-off service in 1990.[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Smith was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Thomson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Smith, Robin (2001). The Making of Scotland. Edinburgh: Canongate.