St Ola is a parish on

Mainland, Orkney The Mainland, also known as 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 Orkney's popu ...

. It is in the centre of the island, east of the parish Firth and north of Holm. It contains the capital and largest town of the Orkney archipelago,

Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...

. Both Kirkwall (, church-bay) and St Ola may take their name from the church of St. Olaf, built about 1035 and the remains of which can be seen on Saint Olaf's Wynd in Kirkwall. Highland Park, the most northerly Scotch whisky distillery, is on the outskirts of Kirkwall. Several ships of the North of Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Steam Navigation Company (later P&O Scottish Ferries) were named ''St Ola''. Prof John Tait was born here in 1878.

References

Parishes of Orkney Kirkwall {{Orkney-geo-stub