In the latest in our series, ANNA MELVILLE-JAMES explores the wide-open spaces and ancient ruins that make up the beautiful, remote Orkneys

WANT A Highland experience less well-trodden?

Then head to the Orkneys, six miles off Scotland's north-east tip. While most tourists opt for the Hebrides, these 70-odd craggy islands are untouched by comparison.

Click here now for amazing offers to the Orkneys!

There are said to be more cows than people; the majority of the archipelago's 20,000 two-legged residents live on the largest island called, somewhat confusingly, Orkney Mainland.

The island is a short hop from the true mainland by plane or ferry, its low-lying moorland dense with history, from Stone Age monuments to the Churchill Barriers (causeways built by Second World War PoWs). Close by are the Orkney islands of South Ronaldsay, Lamb Holm and Glims Holm.

SUITS YOU
Archaeology buffs head for west Mainland, chock-full of ancient monuments, including one of the world's greatest concentrations of Neolithic ruins. The best known include the World Heritage sites of Skara Brae, a well-preserved stone village, and the Maeshowe tomb.

Other Stone Age superstars include stone circles at Stenness and Brodgar, where the remains of a vast Neolithic cathedral were also found in 2009.

At Marwick Head, a memorial commemorates HMS Hampshire, which mysteriously sank here in 1916, along with Minister of War Lord Kitchener, rumoured to be on a secret mission to Russia. The Orkneys' other notable shipwrecks are located in Scapa Flow, a top dive spot, where the German High Seas Fleet was scuttled in 1919.

Want incredible deals to the Orkneys? Click here now...

LAZING AND GRAZING
Most Orkney hotels have a homely vibe. The Kirkwall Hotel (01856 872232/ www.kirkwallhotel.com) on Mainland's Kirkwall harbour is a Victorian grand dame with a cosy feel. Doubles from £100 per night, B&B.The Shore Hotel (01856 872200/www.theshore.co.uk), also on the harbour, is more modern with spacious rooms and neutral colours. Doubles from £85 per night, room only.

You can also rent rooms at the Creel Restaurant (01856 831311/ www.thecreel.co.uk) on South Ronaldsay which uses local ingredients, including seaweed-fed lamb, Orkney beef and unusual fish.

DATES FOR THE DIARY
Enjoy classical music from local and international orchestras, Simon Armitage poetry readings and a Dylan Thomas play at next weekend's St Magnus Festival (www.stmagnusfestival.com) from June 18-23. The Orkney Folk Festival (www.orkneyfolkfestival.com) fills four days in late May with concerts and ceilidhs.

GETTING THERE:
Loganair (0871 700 2000/www.flybe.co.uk) offers return flights from Glasgow to Kirkwall from £147pp (flights also from Inverness, Edinburgh and Aberdeen).

Orkney Tourist Board: 01856 872856/www.visitorkney.com