North Isles Ferries
A range of projects were delivered and supported, but a key one is a website for people to enjoy as they're travelling around the isles on the North Isles ferries.
Exploring the North Isles as you travel | Travelling Orkney by ferry
Community consultation and engagement during the NILPS development phase highlighted the significance of the north isles ferries that provide a lifeline service to the communities they serve and the pier waiting rooms are also often visitor gateways to the north isles. With an ageing fleet and limited information and interpretation onboard and in the waiting rooms people can now use their own mobile and hand held devices to connect to the website, select their journey and see a range of heritage points of interest as they travel.
Heritage and youth education specialist Katy Firth researched and created the content for the website and she involved lots of young people across the isles in this project too. You'll find lots of art work, animations and photographs by north isles residents. Katy helped Westray youth group create short animated films telling folktales connected the sea, James Wilson was living in North Ronaldsay at the time, and helped young people there get invloved in an animated film about the cetaceans people may see in the waters around Orkney:
Funding from this project was also directed towards artwork in pier waiting rooms - follow the link to The Sea Around the North Isles | North Isles Landscape Partnership Scheme page for more information and photographs, and some new posters were designed for the pier waiting rooms and onboard ferries to encourage people to make records of wildlife sightings across the north isles.
New interpretation panels were created and installed in the portacabin waiting room at Shapinsay pier; along with the orientation panel outside the building, this gives visitors the chance to learn more about the history of Balfour village and points of interest especially in the village, pointing them to the heritage centre and other interesting places in the island.
In Sanday the ferry waiting room is at the top of the pier and there's a bit of a walk to the the linkspan where the boat arrives and departs so there's a bus shelter on the pier for foot passengers to gather. NILPS supported Sanday Busines Forum to give the shelter a new look - it showcases Sanday wildlife with images and text and includes a 'Welcome to Sanday' and 'Thank you for visiting' strapline.
Promotion
Other projects supported included a refresh and new print run of the Rousay, Egilsay & Wyre walking routes leaflet. Delivery of a 'Business Academy' in Stronsay in February 2020 - a series of evening sessions where local businesses could network, learn and exchange ideas. The Business Academy was a partnership between NILPS and Business Gateway Orkney and included presentations, workshops, discussion and Q&As. Covid halted the roll out of the Business Academy model in other islands, but digital workshops were delivered in 2023 and 2024 in Westray and Sanday, also in partnership with Business Gateway Orkney.
Funding supported updates and developments to content on island pages on Orkney.com as well as a new feature on the website that focussed on promoting cycling routes in the isles. Here's an example: Eday Experience Route | Orkney.com
NILPS was able to support North Ronaldsay Community Association to work towards Dark Sky accreditation and ongoing committment to the award. Funding helped the group purchase 2 telescopes and activities to promote and celebrate dark skies.
Linked to this and the various projects that were supported in North Ronaldsay some funding helped North Ronaldsay Trust to refresh and update their island website North Ronaldsay.co.uk to host, celebrate and share heritage and community information.
