Harray (pronounced ) ( non, Herað; nrn, Herrað) is a parish on

Mainland, Orkney The Mainland, also known as Hrossey and Pomona, is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of ...

, Scotland. It has the unique distinction of being the only parish without a coastline, instead being landlocked and sitting next to a freshwater loch. Harray is surrounded by almost all the other parishes of the west mainland, extending southward from Birsay until it reaches the A965. Harray is mostly flat and swampy, and has many mounds or 'howes' (from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

word '' Haugr'' meaning mound or hill). Excavations have revealed a burial cist in the largest mound as well as a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

building nearby.Harray - Orkney’s Landlocked Parish
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References

Villages on Mainland, Orkney Parishes of Orkney Tumuli in Scotland {{Orkney-geo-stub