The Orkney Museum in Kirkwall is to re-open to the public on Monday 8 July, following a period of refurbishment and upgrade work.

While extensive work has been carried out to restore the A-listed building, a lot of it has taken place between the walls and floors of the premises. The works that have taken place are mainly electrical with new heating, lighting, security and fire alarm systems installed.

Janette Park, Curator at the museum said: "More than 10 kilometres of new electric cabling has been installed within the building - something that isn't necessarily visible.

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"The work has made a huge improvement to the building as a whole, providing much better environmental conditions for the collection and reduced running costs.

"Lighting in the galleries has been upgraded, to be kinder to the artefacts held in the museum, and the heating system has been improved to make it much more energy efficient and cost effective."

The Museum's collection is of international importance and it has a changing temporary exhibition programme, while its permanent exhibition tells the story of Orkney, from the Stone Age, to the Picts and Vikings, right through to the present day.

Ms Park added: "The historic nature of our building has presented a real challenge for the tradesmen who have been improving and upgrading the insulation, windows and electrics.

"We are really delighted to be opening once again to the public, now with much improved surroundings."

The Orkney Museum will open to the public on Monday 8 July, from 10.30am to 5pm.

(JP/MH)