59 Degrees North

59 Degrees North 59° North | Eat • Stay • Explore Sanday, Orkney 🌊
Wood-Fired Pizzeria • Luxury Self-Catering • Motorhome Aire • Car Hire
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Nearly two kilometres of sand… and very often nobody else on it.Backaskaill is one of those places that makes Sanday fee...
12/09/2026

Nearly two kilometres of sand… and very often nobody else on it.

Backaskaill is one of those places that makes Sanday feel almost impossibly peaceful: a huge sweep of white sand backed by dunes and machair, with views south towards Stronsay.

But this beautiful bay holds stories too.

At its eastern end are the ruins of the old Cross Kirk, where the Orcadian folklorist Walter Traill Dennison is buried. And in December 1994, Backaskaill was the scene of one of Sanday’s saddest wildlife events when 11 young male s***m whales stranded here and died.

Today a life-sized metal whale sculpture beside the bay remembers them.

Beauty, wildlife, archaeology, folklore and history… sometimes all within a single walk on Sanday.

You probably recognise it instantly - but did you know just how special Sanday’s lighthouse is?Start Point Lighthouse fi...
08/09/2026

You probably recognise it instantly - but did you know just how special Sanday’s lighthouse is?

Start Point Lighthouse first shone on 2 October 1806, built after an earlier unlit beacon proved inadequate for the treacherous waters surrounding Sanday.

It became the first lighthouse in Scotland to use a revolving light, allowing sailors to distinguish it from other lights at sea.

And those extraordinary stripes? They were added around 1915 as a daytime marker. To this day, Start Point remains the only Scottish lighthouse painted with vertical black and white stripes.

The 25-metre tower was automated in 1962 and today its light is powered by 36 solar panels, with a range of around 18 nautical miles.

More than two centuries after it was first lit, it’s still watching over Sanday. 🖤🤍

EAST KIRK GATE, LADYSometimes all that remains of a building is enough to make you wonder what stood there before.These ...
05/09/2026

EAST KIRK GATE, LADY

Sometimes all that remains of a building is enough to make you wonder what stood there before.

These beautiful old gates in Lady once led to Sanday’s East Kirk - a large church which stood beside the Manse and was part of island life for generations.

The kirk itself survived until 1992, when it was declared structurally unsafe and demolished. Today, the building has completely disappeared, but its elaborate iron gates remain - almost like a doorway into a vanished piece of Sanday.

Records for the Lady and Sanday East Kirk congregation stretch back centuries, giving some idea of just how deeply church life was once woven into the everyday life of the island.

We love finding little remnants like this around Sanday. You can drive past them without a second thought… until you know their story.

🚨 We're closed during September 🚨The pizzeria will be back open every Friday & Saturday evening from 4-8pm, from Friday ...
03/09/2026

🚨 We're closed during September 🚨

The pizzeria will be back open every Friday & Saturday evening from 4-8pm, from Friday 9th October, through until the end of March.

📆Book your table online: www.59-degreesnorth.co.uk/cafe

There’s much more to these old walls than first meets the eye…Stove was once one of the largest and most advanced farms ...
02/09/2026

There’s much more to these old walls than first meets the eye…

Stove was once one of the largest and most advanced farms in Orkney. The main farm complex dates largely from the mid-1800s, and by the end of the century its owner, Francis MacKenzie, was determined to keep it at the forefront of modern farming - even installing a Clayton & Shuttleworth steam-powered threshing machine.

That tall brick chimney in our photograph is a reminder of a time when steam power was transforming farming on this little island in the North Atlantic.

In 1920 the estate was bought by the Scottish Board of Agriculture and divided into nine smaller holdings for First World War veterans. Much of the steading was later destroyed by fire in 1972, leaving the extraordinary ruins we see today.

Another little piece of Sanday’s story, hiding in plain sight. ❤️

And just like that… the last pizza of summer has come out of the wood-fired oven. ❤️After the most successful summer we’...
01/09/2026

And just like that… the last pizza of summer has come out of the wood-fired oven. ❤️

After the most successful summer we’ve ever had, 59° North is now closed for our September break. But before we disappear for a few weeks, we want to say a proper thank you.

When we started all of this, we could never have imagined quite what 59° North would become. Every person who makes the journey out to Sanday, books a table, orders a pizza, stays with us, recommends us to a friend, leaves a kind review or simply tells someone about us helps keep our little dream going.

To everyone who has eaten with us this summer - whether you live five minutes away or travelled thousands of miles to get here - THANK YOU. Seeing familiar faces return again and again, meeting first-time visitors and hearing people say they planned part of their Orkney trip around coming for a pizza still feels incredibly special.

And to the brilliant Team 59 - Caitlin, Grace, Henry, Logan, Natalie, Saffron, Sam, Sarah, Scarlett & Susan - thank you. We genuinely couldn’t do this without you.

A special mention too for James, who has become our unofficial motorhome recovery service and has rescued the odd unfortunate visitor with his tractor! Thank you, James - above and beyond, as always.

And thank you to our suppliers and everyone who quietly helps behind the scenes, keeping us stocked, sorted and ready to do it all again the next day.

There have been long days, late nights, thousands of pizzas, plenty of laughs and probably far too much coffee… but we wouldn’t change it.

Thank you for giving us another summer we’ll never forget.

See you in October. ❤️

Jon & Clare
59° North

🍕 Tomorrow (Monday 31st August) is our last day before we disappear on holiday! 🌿✈️After a wonderfully busy summer, it’s...
30/08/2026

🍕 Tomorrow (Monday 31st August) is our last day before we disappear on holiday! 🌿✈️

After a wonderfully busy summer, it’s almost time to switch off the pizza oven, hang up the aprons and swap Sanday for the jungles of Borneo for a few weeks.

But first… one last day of pizza. ❤️

We’re already looking really busy tomorrow, so if you’re thinking of squeezing in one final 59° North award winning, wood fired pizza before we close, please book now rather than leaving it until the last minute!

Come and help us finish the summer properly - good food, familiar faces, a roaring pizza oven and one more beautiful Sanday evening. 🍕🌅

📆 Book here: https://59-degreesnorth.co.uk/cafe

Tomorrow’s your last chance for a while… then Borneo is calling! 🦧🌴

🍕 The last few days of summer at 59° North…There’s something lovely & a little bittersweet about this time of year on Sa...
28/08/2026

🍕 The last few days of summer at 59° North…

There’s something lovely & a little bittersweet about this time of year on Sanday. The evenings are drawing in, the light is changing, the island is beginning to quieten after summer - and very soon we’ll be switching off the pizza oven, hanging up our aprons and swapping Sanday for the jungles of Borneo for a few weeks. 🌿

Before we go, there are still a few chances to squeeze in one last pizza. We’re almost fully booked, but we still have some tables free Sunday evening & during the day on Monday. Book your table: 59-degreesnorth.co.uk/cafe

If you’ve been meaning to come and see us, this is your moment - one last wood-fired pizza, one last catch-up and one last evening watching the end-of-summer light over Sanday. 🍕🌅

Thank you to everyone who has walked through our doors this summer. For the laughter, the conversations, the familiar faces and the new ones too - you’ve made it a very special season for us. ❤️

Then it’s time for a little adventure of our own… Borneo, here we come. 🌴🦧

We had a very special visitor at 59° North today - the wonderful Lorraine Kelly joined us for pizza during her visit to ...
26/08/2026

We had a very special visitor at 59° North today - the wonderful Lorraine Kelly joined us for pizza during her visit to Sanday! 🍕

Lorraine was every bit as warm, friendly and lovely as you would imagine, and it was an absolute pleasure to welcome her. We hope she enjoyed her time on our beautiful island - and, of course, her wood-fired pizza! 💙

Happy National Dog Day! Who better to show you around Clickimin than Eden, one of Team 59! From exploring Sanday’s beach...
26/08/2026

Happy National Dog Day!

Who better to show you around Clickimin than Eden, one of Team 59! From exploring Sanday’s beaches and wide-open spaces to snoozing in Clickimin’s sheltered garden nook, we think that dogs deserve a holiday as much as the humans do.

It’s time to swap hot pavements and crowded parks for cool island air, empty beaches and a dog-friendly stay in Sanday.

Clickimin sleeps two, welcomes dogs and has its own secure garden - perfect for a peaceful few days away together.

Book direct: 59-degreesnorth.co.uk/self-catering

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