Houton is a settlement southeast of
Stromness on the island of
Mainland
Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...
, Orkney, Scotland. The settlement is within the parish of Orphir, and is situated on a minor road off the
A964.
From here, a ferry sails to
Lyness
Lyness is a village on the east coast of the island of Hoy, Orkney, Scotland. The village is within the parish of Walls and Flotta, and is situated at the junction of the B9047 and B9048.
During the 1920s Lyness was briefly the headquarters of ...
on
Hoy,
Longhope
Longhope is a village in west Gloucestershire, situated within the Forest of Dean, England, United Kingdom. Arthur Bullock, who was born in Longhope in 1899, described its location as follows:
* The parish occupies the most easterly valley in t ...
on
South Walls
South Walls ( sco, Sooth Waas), often referred to as Walls, is an inhabited island adjacent to Hoy in Orkney, Scotland. The name is a corruption of "Sooth Was", which means the "southern voes" – as with Kirkwall, it was assumed that it was a mi ...
, and the island of
Flotta
Flotta () is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying in Scapa Flow. The island is known for its large oil terminal and is linked by Orkney Ferries to Houton on the Orkney Mainland, Lyness on Hoy and Longhope on South Walls. The island has ...
, as well as a smaller ferry for workers of the
Flotta oil terminal. Nearby are the remains of the
Orphir Round Church, dedicated to St Nicholas (the only medieval round church in Scotland) and the
Earl's Bu, the ruins of a former manor house of the Earldom of Orkney. These sites are in the care of
Historic Environment Scotland
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...
.
The
Holm of Houton is nearby.
RAF Houton
RAF Houton was situated nearby and was home to the following units:
* No. 306 (Flying Boat) Flight.
* No. 430 (Seaplane) Flight.
* 'F' Boat Seaplane Training Flight was formed on 15 August 1918 and operated the
Felixstowe F.3
The Felixstowe F.3 was a British First World War flying boat, successor to the Felixstowe F.2 designed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte RN at the naval air station, Felixstowe.
Design and development
In February 1917, the first pro ...
and the
Curtiss H.16
The Curtiss Model H was a family of classes of early long-range flying boats, the first two of which were developed directly on commission in the United States in response to the £10,000 prize challenge issued in 1913 by the London newspaper, t ...
before being disbanded on 25 November 1918.
* Orkney Wing.
References
External links
Overview of Houton, Gazetteer for Scotland
Villages on Mainland, Orkney
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