Old Man of Hoy

The Old Man is a stack of Old Red Sandstone standing 137 metres on a base of basalt lava, one of the tallest sea stacks in Britain. It is geologically recent: maps of 1600 and 1750 show only a headland, by 1819 the stack had been cut off from the cliff, and early in the nineteenth century a storm washed away one of its two legs, so it has existed in its present form for around two centuries and is expected to fall within a similar span, since the base is undercutting. Chris Bonington, Rusty Baillie and Tom Patey made the first ascent in 1966, and a live BBC broadcast of a climb the following year drew an audience of millions and helped make British climbing a public spectacle. The walk from Rackwick gives the clifftop view; the Scrabster to Stromness ferry passes close beneath it.

What's there

• The 137-metre stack - one of the tallest sea stacks in Britain, on a basalt base.
• The recent formation - a headland in 1600 and 1750, a stack by 1819.
• The clifftop view - the standard vantage on the walk from Rackwick.
• The ferry pass - the Scrabster crossing running close beneath it.

When to go

May to September; Hoy ferries run a limited timetable and the walk takes three hours return from Rackwick, so day trips need planning around sailings. Clear weather matters, since sea fog hides the stack entirely.

Good to know

Getting there involves a ferry, a road transfer and a five-kilometre walk each way over moor, and the whole day can be lost to weather. The clifftop is unfenced with a sheer drop. Hoy has minimal facilities and no shop at Rackwick.

Nearby

Rackwick Bay is at the walk's start; Stromness lies across the sound on Mainland.

Key facts