x-default

©Justin Foulkes/Lonely Planet

Old Man of Hoy

Orkney


Hoy’s best-known sight is this 137m-high rock stack jutting from the ocean off the tip of an eroded headland. It's a tough ascent and for experienced climbers only, but the walk to see it is a Hoy highlight, revealing much of the island's most spectacular scenery. You can also spot the Old Man from the Scrabster–Stromness ferry.

The easiest approach to the Old Man is from Rackwick Bay, a 5-mile walk by road from Moaness Pier (in Hoy village on the east coast, where the ferries dock) through the beautiful Rackwick Glen. You’ll pass the 5000-year-old Dwarfie Stane, the only example of a rock-cut tomb in Scotland. On your return you can take the path via the Glens of Kinnaird and Berriedale Wood, Scotland’s most northerly tuft of native forest.

From Rackwick Bay, where there's a hostel, the most popular path climbs steeply westwards then curves northwards, descending gradually to the edge of the cliffs opposite the Old Man of Hoy. Allow seven hours for the return trip from Moaness Pier, or three hours from Rackwick Bay.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Orkney attractions

1. Dwarfie Stane

4.23 MILES

A short walk from the road through Rackwick Glen, and an obligatory stop on the way to the Old Man of Hoy, the 5000-year-old Dwarfie Stane is the only…

2. Graemsay

5.91 MILES

This tiny, low-lying agricultural island between Hoy and Stromness once supported a healthy population of crofting families (more than 200 people in 1841)…

3. Stromness Museum

6.79 MILES

This superb museum, run with great passion, is full of knick-knacks from maritime and natural-history exhibitions covering whaling, the Hudson's Bay…

4. Pier Arts Centre

7.14 MILES

This gallery has really rejuvenated the Orkney modern-art scene with its sleek lines and upbeat attitude. It’s worth a look as much for the architecture…

5. Scapa Flow Visitor Centre & Museum

9.19 MILES

Lyness was an important naval base during both World Wars, when the British Grand Fleet was based in Scapa Flow. This fascinating museum and photographic…

6. Unstan Chambered Cairn

9.52 MILES

This atmospheric neolithic tomb, on a smaller scale than nearby Maeshowe, is a site that you may well get to yourself. It's a very tight squeeze down the…

7. Orkneyinga Saga Centre

10.14 MILES

This centre has displays relating to the Orkneyinga Saga, and an interesting video depicting some of the saga’s deeds. To get here follow signs for the…

8. Earl's Bu

10.16 MILES

Earl's Bu, in Orphir, has the foundations of a 12th-century manor house belonging to the Norse earls of Orkney. There are also the remains of St Nicholas’…