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Harray Loch, Harray, Orkney, KW17 2LF
Telephone: 01856 771 366
Fax: 01856 771515
Scotish Tourist Board 3 Stars
 E-mail Establishment
  Situated on the shore of Harray Loch, the Merkister hotel stands in its own grounds in a wonderful location, commanding impressive views of this famous loch and its surroundings. The merkister has fourteen bedrooms, all but one are en suite. All rooms have colour television, direct dial telephone, tea/coffee making facilities and a host of extras.
The Merkister has a special ambience, and your hosts, The MacDonald family and staff, aim to ensure that your time with us, no matter how long or short, will remain a pleasant reminder of your visit to these islands for many years to come.
The hotel restaurant 'Skerries', enjoys breathtaking views of the loch and hills of Hoy. Some of the sunsets have to be seen to be believed! The restaurant offers varied cuisine with a table De Hote menu, which changes daily, depending on the local produce available.
We also offer a full A La Carte menu specialising in Aberdeen Angus Orkney Beef and fresh seafood. The restaurant also has an extensive wine list. Our hotel and restaurant are currently featured in six major guides.
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  The Fishermans Neuk is our residents private lounge. We have comfortable leather furniture, a small library; including books of interest about Orkney, complimentary filtered coffee is available all day and a private courtesy bar. Our guests love this room, whether it's to have a quite read on an afternoon, or to meet other guests for a chat before and after dinner.
The lounge bar is for those who enjoy a more informal place to eat. Our bar menu features specialities of the day as well as traditional bar food. The bar is a great place to enjoy a drink at any time of the day, especially the evenings, when the bar is busy with locals and guests alike exchanging stories of the day.
Voted 'Britains Best' by the readers of Trout & Salmon, The Merkister is probably best known for its fishing. We have our own pier and jetty with boats, outboards, rods, lines, rod room etc. the resident guillie, John Munson, can organize anything, from the hire of a boat, tuition for the novice angler, right up to your own personal fishing agenda.
One entry in our visitors book which includes TV personalities and Royalty! Describes the hotel as:'Simply the Best'.
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The Merkister Hotel stands in its own grounds on the edge of Loch Harray. There are 14 comfortable bedrooms, most with en-suite facilities. All have hot and cold, shaver points, electric blankets, tea making facilities, colour T.V's and direct dial phone system. Standards are as you would expect from a hotel of the Merkister's calibre.
'Other'things to do in Orkney.
As well as the fishing, you can enjoy a good game of golf. The islands are renowned for both rock climbing and sub-aqua diving. Orkney is renowned too for its abundance of subjects to satisfy those with interest in Ornithology and Archaeology.
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TARIFF
(Prices per person)
| | Daily Bed & Breakfast from | £50.00 | | Daily Dinner, Bed & Breakfast from | £70.00 | | Superior Room Supplement | £10.00 | | Superior Terraced Room Supplement | £20.00 | | Single Room Supplement (only on a twin/double) | £10.00 | | Weekly Inclusive Rate Standard Room D.B.B. | £460.00 | | Weekly Inclusive Rate Superior Room D.B.B. | £530.00 | | Weekly Inclusive Rate Terraced Superior Room D.B.B. | £600.00 | | | *Superior Terraced Rooms were completed in 2006, they are Extra Large Rooms, Emperor Doubles or Twins ,Full Wet Room with Italian Ceramics En-Suite, Ivory Leather Lounge Furniture, Widescreen Digital TV, DVD/CD Player, Private Furnished Terrace overlooking the Loch. All suites are on ground level. |
FISHING
| Hotel Boat Daily Hire
Half Shift when Available | £20.00
£10.00 | Fibreglass Boat Hire
Half Shift When Available | £27.50
£15.00 | Hotel Boat & Outboard Motor
Half Shift When Available | £30.00
£15.00 | Fibreglass Boat & Outboard Motor
Half Shift When Available | £37.50
£20.00 | | Ghillie, Boat & Motor and 1 Angler | £80.00 | | Ghillie, Boat & Motor and 2 Anglers | £95.00 | | Ghillie, Boat & Motor for ½ shift from | £60 - £75 |
SHOOTING PARTIES
Guides Available from November - January
OCTOBER - APRIL
Out of season specials Bed & Breakfast from £25.00 |
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Skerries Restaurant
Open every evening 7 - 8:30
Specialising in Orkney Aberdeen Angus Beef & Fresh Seafood
A La Carte - Menu changes every 3-4 days and daily specials list changes daily.
Table De Hote - Changes Daily
Full Vegetarian Table De Hote Menu
Lounge Bar
Lunches 12 - 2
Suppers 6 - 9
Menu changes daily.
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Table D'Hote Menu
2 Course £17.50
3 Course £22.50
SATURDAY'S DINNER MENU
Starters
Home-made Green Pea & Ham Soup
Chilled Fruit Juice
Grapefruit & Mandarin Cocktail
Deep Fried Crispy Mushrooms with a Garlic or Curried Mayonnaise Dip
Spinach & Feta Cheese Goujons
Peach & Prawn
Main Course
Fresh Smoked Haddock & Prawn Crepes
Fresh "Westray" Crab Salad Platter
Breaded Plaice stuffed with Spinach, Salmon & Gruyere Cheese
Orkney Roast Lamb with Rosemary Jelly
Chicken with a Lemon, Mint & Cream Sauce
Chilli-Con-Carne
Roasted Vegetable Lasagne
(Other vegetarian dishes available, please ask)
Orkney Roast Beef Salad
Sirloin Steak Garni £5.00 Extra
Fillet Steak Garni £7.50 Extra
Sweets of the Day
Choice from the Sweet Trolley
Orkney Cheese's & Oatcakes £1. 25 Extra
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A La Carte Menu
Please note that as all dishes are cooked and prepared to order, please allow20 - 30 minutes for service from placing order - Thank You.
Starters
*Clestrian Mussels
Picked Fresh and served in a White Wine, Garlic and Fresh Parsley Sauce
£5.50
* Chef's Mushrooms
Plump Mushrooms capped with pate and garlic cream cheese,
Deep fried in Crispy Batter
£5.25
* Scapa Delight
Scallops, Prawns and Mussels in a White Wine Sauce
Served with a toping of potatoes
£5.95
* Garlic Chicken Sate
Succulent Chicken Breast in Garlic Marinade
£4.95
* Viking Horn
Local Smoked Salmon filled with fresh Orkney Crab
£6.95
* Catch of the Day
Please see today's choice
Chicken A La Merkister
Strips of Chicken Breast sautéed with a Brandy, Cream & Mushroom Sauce
£15.00
* Sauced Up Duck
Duck Breast served and garnished with a fresh Raspberry Sauce
£15.50
* Scallops Provencal
Orkney Scallops sautéed in garlic butter and herbs
£17.00
* Tournedos Rossini
Prime Orkney Fillet Steak, cooked in a Maderia Sauce, served on
A Crouton with chef's home-made pate
£22.50
All main dishes are served with Chef's fresh salad vegetables and potatoes
*All our Beef, Lamb & Fish are sourced locally
Sweets
Selection from the Trolley £4.50
Orkney Farm Cheeses and Oatcakes £5.50
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THESE SPECIALS ARE ADDITIONS TO OUR"A LA CARTE" MENU
Catch of the Day
Trio of Orkney Seafood
Fresh Salmon Fillet, Hand Dived Scallops and King Prawns
Pan-fried in a Drambuie & Cream Sauce
£16.95
Fresh "Harray" Trout
Fresh fillet of "Harray" Trout, lightly grilled,
Served with our special Merkister Sauce
£14.95
Surf & Turf Kebabs
Fillet Steak, Scallops, Monkfish & King Prawn Kebabs
£19.95
Prime "Aberdeen Angus" Orkney Beef
(Sourced from Unigarth Farm in Sandwick, Orkney)
Sirloin Steak Garni Fillet Steak Garni
£15.95 £18.95
Speciality Sauces for Steaks
Highland Park
Highland Park 12 year Old, Cream & Herbs
£3.95
Au Poivre
Green Peppercorns, Brandy & Cream
£3.95
Borderlaise
Tomatoes, Onions, Peppers, Mushroom, Red Wine, Garlic & Herbs
£3.25
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DAILY LOUNGE BAR SPECIALS
Starters
Home-made Soup with Bread & Butter £2.25
Crispy Mushrooms with a Creamy Garlic Dip £4.75
Mozarella Cheese & Chilli Mellters £4.75
Home-Made Chicken Liver Pate & Oatcakes £4.95
Orkney Smoked Salmon and Brown Bread £5.25
Peedie Crab Cocktail £5. 75
Grapefruit & Mandarin Cocktail £3.95
Deep Fried Crispy Vegetable Parcels & Mango Dip £4.50
Prawn Cocktail £5.50
Deep Fried Craigie's Cheese & Redcurrant Jelly £5.50
Main Course's
Creamy Chicken, Ham & Mushroom Vol-Au-Vant £7. 95
Baked Gammon Steak in Cider £7.50
Steak, Ale & Mushroom Pie £8. 25
Chicken Kiev £7. 95
Slow Roasted Pork & Apple Sauce £7. 95
Smoked Salmon & Prawn Salad £10.95
Deep Fried Breaded Or Battered Haddock Fillet £7. 25
Deep Fried Breaded Scampi £7. 95
Roast Turkey Crown & Oatmeal Stuffing £7.95
Fresh Orkney Crab Salad £10.95
Creamy Vegetable Kiev £7.95
Creamy Crusted Baked Salmon Fillet £10.50
Individual Nut Roast £7.50
Fresh Poached Haddock in a Cream, white Wine & Parsley Sauce £8.95
Scotch Pie Beans & Chips £4.50
Specialities of the House
Hand Dived Orkney Scallops
Pan-Fried with Orkney Butter, Garlic & Herbs £16.95
Prime "Aberdeen Angus" 8oz Steaks
This week sourced from Unigarth, Sandwick
Rib-Eye Steak Garnished with Onion Rings, Mushrooms & Tomato £12.50
Sirloin Steak Garnished with Onion Rings, Mushrooms & Tomato £15.50
Fillet Steak Garnished with Onion Rings, Mushrooms & Tomato £17.50
*Speciality Sauces for Steaks
Borderlaise - Red Wine, Garlic, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Herbs £2. 95
Roquefort - Creamy Crumbled Roquefort Cheese & Cream £2.95
Highland Park - Highland Park, Cream & Herbs £3. 95
All our Beef is Prime Orkney "Aberdeen Angus"
*Indicates Home-Made
Separate Sweet Menu & Childrens Menu Available
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 Trout fishing
The merkister hotel is most famous for its fishing, and an extract from its visitor book, which incidentally includes royalty, reads
'near to a perfect fishing pub as I have found yet', also the gamefisher states, 'perhaps the most famous, and with a reputation as the best fishing hotel in Britain.
Situated overlooking the Merkister Bay on Loch Harray, The Merkister is the perfect base for your fishing trip to Orkney
The lochs of Orkney
The Lochs of Orkney can provide some of the most spectacular wild brown trout fishing in the country and with each loch providing a unique venue in both character and scenic splendour, the angler can at times be spoiled for choice. This guide is designed to assist the visitingangler who has, or is intending to join the Orkney Trout Fishing Association, and gives a basic outline of most of the mainland, north and south isles lochs, boat hire, successful fly patterns etc. The trout fishing in Orkney can be challenging but for those who are prepared to put the effort and read the signs, the rewards can be memorable.
The mainland lochs
Swanney
The peat stained waters of swannay, the most northerly of the mainland lochs, hold some of the highest quality trout in the county, but it is probably the most enigmatic of lochs with long periods of inactivity making it very dour. On its day, Swannay can provide spectacular sport.
Boardhouse
Boardhouse tends to be the visiting anglers preferred loch due mainly to the fact that it is virtually Skerry free and fish can be taken all over, with long drifts across the middle of the loch often being the most productive.
Hundland
Hundland provides the main catchment area for water supplied to Boardhouse and is as such regarded as its sister loch with wide similarities. The water is peat stained to a degree and the loch abounds with hidden skerries, which can be difficult to spot, so caution is advised.
Stenness
Stenness is the least fished of the main Orkney lochs, probably because it is most difficult to come to terms with. Its unique semi-marine environment dictates that it is very much affected by the state and height of the tides, causing wide fluctuations in water height and salinity in the loch, both of which have marked affect on the resident trout population. Most regular Stenness anglers tend to fish it from the shore and when the loch is at its lowest.
Harray
Harray is widely regarded as the jewel in the Orkney trout fishing crown and the most famous fishery. The loch extends to over 2500 acres and features large areas of productive skerries, shallows, bays and points, and with over 14 miles of shoreline it is probably Orkney's most popular wading loch, especially in the earlier part of the season. As the season progresses and the water temperature increases the fish move out into deeper, cooler water, when boat fishing comes into its own.
Skaill
This is a trophy water and the fishing is reserved for OTFA members only. The fish average over 2lb, in fact the rules of the water say that you should return anything under this weight and only keep 2 fish per session in an attempt to conserve stocks.
Clumly
This very small water, which lies between Skaill and Harray, can also be be regarded as capable of producing specimens. Fish under 2lb should be returned to achieve their full potential weight.
Kirbister
Kirbister id full of free rising trout, which tend to be of a smaller average size than most other Orkney lochs. This could be likened more to a highland hill loch and the successful flies would certainly compound this fact with big, bushy, surface disturbing patterns being the order of the day. |
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How to reach us...
By air; by sea; by train; including Motorail to Inverness. Head for Kirwall along the A965 approx 5 miles, turn left to the A986 approx 5 miles, turn left at Russland Road, Hotel Signposted.
The hotel offers a coach pick-up at a nominal charge at frerry or airport if required. Whichever way you plan to reach us ... a real warm welcome is assured.
Your hosts: The Macdonald Family |
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Copyright © 2007, Merkister Hotel
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