The Royal Oak

Underneath this beautiful bay lies the remains of the Royal Oak and its crew.

In 1939 just after the outbreak of the war a submarine, in an amazing feat of seamanship, entered Scapa Flow, through the maze of sunken block ships and sank the Royal Oak with the loss of over 800 lives including 120 boys sailors between the age of 14 and 18.

For all it's beauty Orkney has long been a strategic military site and has suffered the consequences.