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 population live on the island, which is more densely populated than the other islands of the archipelago. The lengthy history of the island's occupation has provided numerous important archaeological sites and the sandstone bedrock provides a platform for fertile farmland. There is an abundance of wildlife, especially seabirds.

The name Mainland is a corruption of the Old Norse Meginland. Formerly the island was also known as Hrossey meaning 'horse island'. The island is sometimes referred to as Pomona (or Pomonia), a name that stems from a 16th-century mis-translation by George Buchanan. The term eventually fell out of widespread use by the early 1800s, yet has aided in differentiating the "Isle of Pomona" from "Mainland Scotland" by emigrants to Canada, England, and other regions, so clings on tenaciously and can still be rarely found locally, retained in the name of the Pomona Inn at Finstown in the parish of Firth, as well as a local café in the capital of Kirkwall also known as the Pomona.

The island is relatively densely populated and has much fertile farmland. The bulk of the Mainland is west of Kirkwall and is low-lying, with coastal cliffs to the north and west and two sizeable bodies of freshwater, the lochs of Stenness and Harray.

The eastern part of the Mainland is shaped like the letter "W", the easternmost peninsula being known as Deerness. To the south, causeways called Churchill Barriers connect the island to Burray and South Ronaldsay via Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm.

Mainland effectively provides the core of the Orkney Islands, linking the northern members of the archipelago with the southern ones. At the east, and west ends, islands proceed to the north and south, somewhat in the shape of an "X". The western part of the island is part of the Hoy and West Mainland National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland.

The population in 2011 was recorded as 17,162, an increase of just over 12% on the 2001 population of 15,315. By 2022 the population had grown to 17,779.

There are 13 parishes on the island. Sandwick, Birsay and Stromness lie on the west coast, Rendall and Evie to the north west. Holm, Deerness and St Andrews are located to the east of central St Ola, which contains Kirkwall city. Firth, Orphir, Stenness and Harray lie west of Kirkwall and east of the westernmost parishes. Harray has the unique distinction of being the only landlocked parish in Orkney, although it too has a significant coast along the Loch of Harray, albeit a freshwater one.