St. Mary’s Village Pier to St Margaret’s Hope

Mission Statement: Sailing from St Mary’s to St Margaret’s Hope is a lovely sail to a village with amenities, along the coast of the eastern islands.

Launch point: St Mary’s Village Pier Public Slipway

Trail Introduction

St Margaret’s Hope is a village at the top of a small inlet, with toilets, a Post Office and other shops. The inlet is beautiful, very gently shelving and the ground is hard and sharp even at low tide. The surface is rough, so plan to anchor your dinghy. About mid-tide there are some calf-high rocks to avoid while landing.

About the Area

There’s so much history in and around Scapa Flow that there’s too much to mention here.

Interesting fact: Coming into “Water Sound”, the channel between Bursay and South Ronaldsay, the entrance to St Margarets Hope is completely hidden, and opens up only when you get closer.

Round Trip Distance: 13 miles

Approximate Time that the Trail will take: 4 hours

OS Map or Chart: Admiralty Chart 35: Scapa Flow and Approaches

Trail Details

Trail map from Holm to St Margaret's Hope
Image: Trail map from St Mary’s to St Margaret’s Hope
Permitted use of Openseamap under the “Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.0” license
This map is for information use only, not for navigation.
Download the .gpx file for St Mary’s to St Margaret’s Hope
  1. Launch from St Mary’s Public Slipway
  2. The rocky face of Glimps Holm is a useful pilotage point to know where St Mary’s is.
  3. There’s a fish farm which is not on the route and is easily passed to the West.
  4. You should see the Port Hand mark ahead
  5. Turn into Water Sound, and behold the invisibility of your destination until you get close.
  6. There’s a very obvious post to round.
  7. Pull up on the shore at St Margarets Hope. The two metal poles mark the end of metal pipework which is a navigational hazard – don’t sail between those metal posts and the shore. Returning is the reverse of this journey.


Trip Extensions:
On the return journey, consider a trip up to Burray for a look around before heading back.

Tidal Information

Tidal Information:
This can be sailed on any tide. If you want to work the tides, plan for a lunchtime low and take the ebb South with the low water while at St Margaret’s Hope and take the flood tide back. The tide is about 1 knot mid-tide along this side of Scapa Flow.

Best Tides:

Best times for this dinghy trail are on a day with a low tide between 12:00 and 14:00 for a leisurely lunch at the destination.

Toilets:
There are toilets at St. Mary’s and St Margaret’s Hope – just inland from the public slipway.

Further Information

Thanks to the Commodore of Holm SC for the inspiration to sail this Dinghy Trail. Holm SC Facebook Page.

Page Month Published: May 2026

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