Baton relay route announced

The route the Queen’s Baton Relay will take when it comes to Orkney has been announced.

The baton will arrive, off the Hamnavoe, in Stromness at 10.15am on Thursday, July 10, and leaves on the Pentalina, from St Margaret’s Hope, at 7.45am the following day.

In Stromness, it will be officially welcomed at a ceremony at the pierhead before setting off, along the street, to the Golf Club. It will then be run through Guardhouse Park, Back Road and North End Road, up Cairston Road and then on to Stromness Academy, where a community event is being held to welcome the baton.

The baton relay will start again in Dounby at around 2.15pm, where it will go from Baringa, on the Vetquoy Road, through to Dounby Community School, again joining a community event. It will then move on to Finstown.  Starting at 3.45pm, it will be run right through the village from the 30mph signs through to the Finstown Community Centre.

The next time the baton will be seen by the public will be when it arrives in Kirkwall Harbour on the RNLI Lifeboat at around 5.30pm.  It will then be run through Shore Street, Bridge Street, Albert Street, Broad Street, Palace Road, Thoms Street, The Meadows, Bignold Park Road, Clay Loan, Junction Road, Ayre Road, Pickaquoy Road and then on to the Picky Centre for the evening celebration concert at 6.30pm.

The relay starts again bright and early on Friday morning.  At 6.15am it leaves from the entrance to St Mary’s, travelling through the village and across Churchill Barrier No. 1 to the Italian Chapel.   It’ll start again then at the 30mph signs coming in to St Margaret’s Hope, travelling along Church Road and Back Road towards the ferry terminal, where it will then board the Pentalina for the 7.45am sailing.

More information on the community events and the evening celebration concert will be released in the lead up to July 10.