With an area of 4,980 hectares (19.2 square miles), it is the fourth largest of the Orkney islands after The Mainland, Hoy and Sanday.

[4] Ferries sail from Burwick on the island to John o' Groats on the Scottish mainland and from St Margaret's Hope to Gills Bay.

[9] South Ronaldsay's main village is St Margaret's Hope, Orkney's third largest settlement.

This name is common one in Orkney for the highest point on an island and comes from the historic use of these places used for the lighting of warning beacons.

[9] In 1627 nine chapels were recorded on the island with some of the names hinting at the existence of Christian worship prior to the Norse conquest of Orkney.

[15] During the 19th century the island's economy benefited from the herring fishing industry[17] and St Margaret's Hope became the main trading centre for the South Isles.

[18] In 1991, the island was rocked by false allegations of widespread child abuse, as part of the worldwide Satanic panic, that saw nine children being removed from their families by police and social workers.

The case was thrown out of court when it was found the social workers were using unorthodox interrogation techniques to force confessions from the children, who all denied the abuse.

The oldest known radiocarbon-dated fossil of the Orkney vole is 4600 years BP, which marks the latest possible date of introduction.