Kitchener Memorial and Marwick Head RSPB Nature Reserve, Orkney Islands, Scotland

In this video we take a walk along the stunning coastline at Marwick Head.
The Kitchener Memorial and HMS Hampshire Memorial are located in this stunning RSPB Nature reserve.
At the end of this video we stop off at a signpost with a very funny name 😂 don't miss it as we try to not to look like t...s.

On the 5th of June 1916 HMS Hampshire left the sheltered waters of Scapa Flow and entered the stormy seas off the West Coast of Orkney.
The ship was bound for Russia on a diplomatic mission. On board was the famous Lord Kitchener who was immortalised in the iconic recruitment posters, created during the First World War to encourage BritS to sign up to the Army. As the warship set off from Scapa Flow, a force nine gale was blowing and the 2 escorting destroyers, HMS, Unity. An HMS Victor were instructed to return to port as the weather deteriorated. The Hampshire continued on alone and at about 8:45 PM on the 5th of June it struck one of the many mines that had been laid off the coast of Marwick Head by the German submarine U-75 the week before. The ship sank in just fifteen minutes.
Sadly, there were only 12 survivors with over 700 lives lost including Lord Kitchener, although his body was never recovered. None of the survivors included Kitchener's party and events around the explosion led to numerous conspiracy theories, some even questioned whether Lord kitchener was still alive.

In 1926, the 48 foot high Kitchener memorial was unveiled after being built by public subscription. An inscription reads. "This tower was raised by the people of orkney in memory of Field Marshall Earl Kitchener of Khartoum on that corner of his country, which he had served so faithfully, nearest to the place where he died on duty."
The Stone tower punctuates the skyline at Marwick Head on the West Coast of the Orkney mainland an RSPB nature reserve with dramatic cliffs that attract an impressive number of seabirds.

In 2016, the Orkney Heritage Society raised funds to build an arc shape commerative wall at the site to better remember all the men who were killed. The wall features the names of the 737 men that died on HMS, Hampshire and the 9 men killed on the HM Drifter Laurel Crown, the Laurel Crown was part of a flotilla of 8 small vessels despatched, on the 22nd of June 1916 to sweep for mines near the wreck of the HMS Hampshire when she struck another of the minds laid by U-75 , all crew were killed.
Today, the HMS Hampshire lies on the sea bed less than 2 miles from the closed placed under official government protection as a war grave in 2002.
The kitchener Memorial stands tall over the waters where the tragedy happened and dominates the landscape for miles around, ensuring that all the men of the HMS Hampshire are permanently acknowledged from both land and sea.


The cliffs at marwick head sore nearly 90 m out of the Atlantic ocean. A walk to the top from either Marwick Bay or the small car park offers incredible views and during the summer months gives you the chance to see thousands of seabirds swirling in the breeze. Fulmar, guillemots, razorbills, cormorants and kittiwakes all make these crumbling cliffs their home. Marwick Head also an RSPB Nature reserve.
Keeping your dog on a lead on this walk is definitely advisable as the cliffs are very fragile, and erosion can cause the ground under foot to be very dangerous



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