Meet the Team
Ciaran grew up in Glen Euchar on the west coast of Scotland. During the summers he worked in the hills as a shepherd for a local farmer.
At the field at the bottom of the road were the remains of a 17th century structure known as the Barn of the Bones. The gruesome story of how it got its name began his lifelong fascination with history and lore.
As farming changed, Ciaran left Scotland and travelled the world as a white water raft guide. He arrived back in Scotland a decade ago and became a tour guide. During this time he took groups of travellers throughout the whole of Scotland and was featured in the National Geographic and The Times.
It was on a research trip that he first visited Orkney and realised this was the place he would spend the rest of his life. For there is something about Orkney... be it the Hundred Explorers of Stromness, the Viking tomb raiders, the captured artist of Lamb Holm, shanghaied Jack Renton, Scapa Flow and the Almighty Din, the list goes on...
And so Ciaran and his partner Fiona relocated. Fiona helps with the running of Tour Orkney as well as being a local doctor. They spend their spare time exploring the 74 islands of Orkney, eating the local delicacies (especially the cheese and the ice cream and the whisky (whisky is a food group according to Ciaran's granny)) and reading by the fire. Ciaran is also a passionate writer, having ghostwritten the Queens Jubilee album among other things (he works on books during the winter months).
Fiona grew up in Central Scotland and trained in medicine. When Ciaran asked her to move to Orkney she said yes straight away. She is now a doctor on Orkney and works in teaching and patient rehabilitation. She enjoys photography and art and has taken most of the photographs across our website & social media.
There are the Orkney 'sights' - neolithic villages, standing stones and monuments known the world over and oft photographed (for good reason).
But then there are the 'undone places'
Places where all the other visitors have four legs and the entry cost is the price of a pair of boots. Places like the Caveless Cave of Mullhead and Orkney's River of Monolith.
Tour Orkney's passion is creating tours that are engaging, informative, and rich in local history and story. Come with us to the undone places and hear their stories.
It's time to Tour Orkney.
“I loved the whole experience - I had been to Orkney Islands with another tour group which was not as interesting. I found Ciaran very informative and presented the information in an entertaining way."
James, NY
PRESS FROM CIARAN'S GUIDING CAREER
National Geographic
“It’s difficult to separate mythology and history on Skye,” says tour guide Ciaran Stormonth (...) “Celtic nations have a rich heritage of storytelling,” says Stormonth. “Take fairies—they’ve been used for centuries as a way of explaining strange things that people didn’t understand, such as illnesses. True or not, it was a way of hiding the dangers of the world.”
PRESS FROM CIARAN'S GUIDING CAREER
The Times
“I am inside a sacred burial
chamber in deepest definitely darkest Argyll,
pondering the strength of its 4,000-year-old supporting walls. As our guide, Ciaran Stormonth, tells us about our forebears’ belief in the afterlife, the slab of stone above begins to make me twitchy. The scene is Kilmartin Glen, one of Europe’s most important archaeological sites.”