Driving

You can get to Orkney by a number of routes.  

-We've done the long sea crossing from Aberdeen 

-Friends have tried the X99 bus from Inverness .

The other alternative is the drive to the North Coast of Scotland and take the ferry , either Northlink Ferries crossing from Scrabster to Stromness or Andrew Banks's boat , Pentland Ferries  from Gills Bay , just along from John o'Groats to St Margaret's Hope. As the Wikipedia page for Pentland Ferries  points out,  Pentland Ferries is one of only 2 Ferries that receives no Government subsidy (and the other one isn't Northlink).

To drive to the North Coast of Scotland , we reckon that 

• Inverness to the North Coast is 2.5 hours 
• Edinburgh to Inverness is 2.5 hours 
• Newcastle to Edinburgh is 2.5 hours
• Sheffield to Newcastle is 2.5 hours 
• London to Sheffield is 2.5 hours

(allowing for traffic and comfort breaks)  

The first ferry is 845am (Northlink) or  930am  (Pentland) , with car checkin 30-60 mins beforehand. 

So to get the first ferry , you really need to stay overnight somewhere close to the terminal. We've stayed at the Forss House Hotel , a couple of miles from Scrabster, with breakfast at a time that lets you get to the terminal in time to check in for the early crossing. 

Lunchtime crossing is at 1300 or thereabouts for both ferries. So working backwards, car checkin will be at 1200.   And if you are ejected from a B&B  at 10 am ,you will need a drive  for a couple of hours. So the overnight stop needs to be just north of Inverness. We have stayed in Golspie , which is about 70 minutes from Thurso. So its a bit close. better would probably be at Dingwall .

The A9 

The A9 north of Inverness  is  rural dual carriageway , as described on the trip to Sutherland.

Its a very pleasant drive, as long as you don't get stuck behind a truck. Some of the road has snow poles , so I imagine it could be difficult driving in the winter. 

There are a string of villages along the A9 next to the North Sea. We have stopped at a very nice cafe in Helmsdale , one of the villages on the way. And there is still the hairpin at  Berriedale Braes to negotiate.

We've also visited Wick and John o'Groats  and found it to be an underwhelming  experience for both places so at the moment we wouldn't recommend a visit to either.