St Peter's Church, Sandwick

St Peters Kirk was built in 1836-7 as the Parish Church of Sandwick, replacing a series of older churches on the site. It enjoys magnificent views across the Bay of Skaill, and is close to the prehistoric village of Skara Brae, now part of Orkney's new World Heritage Site.

It contained seating for 544 people, half the adult population of the parish. Worship was held on a regular basis until 1935. In 1993 St Peters Kirk was placed on the Scottish Civic Trust Buildings at Risk register where it was described as disused and in a worsening state of repair.

In May 2002, with funding from Orkney Islands Council, Orkney Enterprise, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland a large scale conservation project began. In May 2003, St Peters was officially opened by HRH The Duke of Gloucester. It now attracts many visitors and hosts concerts and other events. The kirk is also used for weddings.

Now run by the Scottish Redundant Churches Trust, The Friends of St Peters Kirk care for the kirk on a day-to-day basis.

There is parking and level access to the ground floor of the kirk. There is no toilet on site (in fact, no water, electricity, heating...) but it is very lovely!