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Regions - Trip reports, destination advice, recommended routes, etc. => Scotland => Topic started by: richardh1905 on 21:11:22, 10/09/19

Title: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 21:11:22, 10/09/19
The Old Man of Hoy

8th September 2019

Our house sale had stalled, which is frustrating, but the delay combined with an excellent forecast did give me the opportunity to visit the mountainous northern end of Hoy one last time.

(https://i.ibb.co/Y0zvMKm/01-Map.png)

My eldest son Gareth and I caught the Graemsay ferry from Stromness at 0930 on a fine and sunny Sunday morning; the return ferry was at 1830 so this gave us all day on the northern end of Hoy, time enough to climb over the hills to The Old Man of Hoy, and return in time for the boat. There’s something rather sociable about these weekend ferries, as most of the passengers are day trippers like ourselves, and we stayed out on deck and chatted with several people, including two mountain bikers. Our spaniel, Tess, was the focus of attention, but, being frightened by the noise and vibrations from the engine, she did let herself down and gave one of the cyclists a warning nip when he got too familiar!

The journey to Moaness on Hoy takes about 25 minutes, and we were treated to fine views of Stromness Harbour and the Hoy hills in the morning sunshine.

(https://i.ibb.co/vYKV1Vc/02-Stromness.jpg)
Stromness strung out along the water's edge

(https://i.ibb.co/NTL2JPj/03-Ward-Hill-Cuilags.jpg)
Ward Hill and Cuilags from the ferry

(https://i.ibb.co/8DhtGbR/04-Hoy-Low-Lighthouse.jpg)
Passing Hoy Low lighthouse on the island of Graemsay

After disembarking, the ferry sailed on to the island of Graemsay, whilst we headed up the road into the hills. Mary-Ann, a fellow passenger, introduced herself and asked if she could accompany us as she was planning to walk much the same route; she proved to be good company.

The road climbs steadily upwards towards Sandy Loch, beneath the gully riven slopes of Ward Hill, Orkney’s highest point (481m). Our sights were set upon Cuilags (435m), whose uncompromisingly steep grassy slopes reared up steeply ahead of us. From the dam at Sandy Loch, the path continues down into Rackwick Glen, but we turned right and tackled the slopes of Cuilags directly.

(https://i.ibb.co/zVCMnxb/05-Ward-Hill.jpg)
Ward Hill

(https://i.ibb.co/KyrsyJ9/06-Cuilags.jpg)
A much foreshortened view of Cuilags - a climb not for the faint hearted!

What a brutal climb - it starts steep and just gets steeper, and the faint trace of a path soon peters out. As we struggled upwards, we consoled ourselves with the thought that this was the hardest part of the walk - easy going after this! Despite, or perhaps because of the steepness of the slope, we gained height quickly, and fine views opened out behind us, a welcome excuse to stop and catch our breath.

(https://i.ibb.co/S55QjTB/07-Ward-Hill.jpg)
Ward Hill and Sandy Loch from the slopes of Cuilags

Tess was not as much help as I had hoped; normally she’s a good puller, but she was very erratic on the steep ground because we were walking so slowly, as likely to lurch off to the left or right as pull straight up the hill. Eventually the gradient eased, and we reached the summit plateau, covered with strange blocks of pockmarked sandstone. There is a large cairn on the edge of the plateau, with extensive views to the north along the western coast of Orkney Mainland, and the island of Westray beyond. Despite our modest elevation, it felt as though we were on top of the world!

(https://i.ibb.co/zR7byHz/08-Cuilags-Summit.jpg)
The fine cairn on the edge of the summit plateau - Orkney Mainland far below us

(https://i.ibb.co/bFnDhcD/09-View-East.jpg)
The view east towards Scapa Flow

Mary-Ann produced some cinder toffee that she had bought in the local cafe, and I watered Tess, using one of the pockmarked blocks as a bowl. Thus refreshed, we headed on over the summit, beyond which there is a shelter wall, and then on down the gentler slopes to the west, intending to keep heading westward until we hit the coast in the vicinity of St John’s Head. To the south, the ground dropped away to Rackwick Bay, and we could see the mountains of the far north laid out before us - Maiden Pap, Morvern, Ben Klibreck, Ben Loyal, Ben Hope and a jumble of hills beyond.

(https://i.ibb.co/bR4tssd/10-Figuresina-Landscape.jpg)
Figures in a landscape, Rackwick Bay far below. The cone of Morvern in Caithness is just visible.

(https://i.ibb.co/Qr9vzP4/11-Lochan-Reflections.jpg)
Moorland lochan

A couple of small lochans on the saddle to the west of Cuilags provided us with beautiful peaty water, and an excuse to stop for a snack. After this, our route took us across some fairly featureless moorland, with Bonxies above our heads and Arctic Hares making themselves scarce as we approached. I didn’t dare let Tess off the lead: she would never be able to catch a hare, but she doesn’t know that! The ground started dropping away after we passed another lochan and a trig point unusually surrounded by a wall, and suddenly we were at what seemed like the edge of the World.
(https://i.ibb.co/4Jr2sYg/12-St-Johns-Head.jpg)
St John's Head

(https://i.ibb.co/r6mPr42/13-St-Johns-Head.jpg)
Don't step too close to the edge!

The sandstone cliffs of St John’s Head drop 335m in one vertical plunge into the sea, the highest vertical sea cliffs in Britain. It is impossible to capture the grandeur and exposure of the cliffs in words or photos. St John’s Head, a sea stack in the making, protrudes somewhat from the main line of cliffs, and is not easily accessible without a dodgy scramble, and we didn’t even consider trying, perhaps overawed by the atmosphere of the place.

We dragged ourselves away, and followed a distinct path southwards, along the top of the cliffs past the fearsome chasm of Hendry’s Holes, a 1000’ slot in the cliffs capped by a giant chockstone.

(https://i.ibb.co/CndtJhx/14-Hendrys-Hole-Chockstone.jpg)
Hendry's Holes chockstone.

(https://i.ibb.co/dcH1fYG/15-St-Johns-Head.jpg)
Looking back towards St John's Head

From here the path started to descend in earnest, and, rounding a corner, we caught our first sight of the Old Man of Hoy (137m), set amongst sparkling seas, with the Scottish Mainland beyond. It was a fine viewpoint, and Mary-Ann stopped to commune with the Old Man (and have lunch), whilst Gareth and I pressed on.

(https://i.ibb.co/TbcxXgm/16-Old-Man-First-View.jpg)
First view of The Old Man of Hoy. From R to L in the far distance are Ben Hope, Ben Loyal, Ben Klibreck.

The Northlink ferry was passing below us, dwarfed by the Old Man and the higher cliffs to the north - it looked like a toy boat! We stopped for lunch of Kabanos sausage just short of the Old Man at the head of a gully, down which 3 helmeted figures disappeared - we wished them “Good Luck”.
(https://i.ibb.co/5GdR65C/17-Old-Man-Ferry.jpg)
MV Hamnavoe passing below the Old Man

(https://i.ibb.co/3Cnn72q/18-Ferry-Below-Cliffs.jpg)
The 112m MV Hamnavoe dwarfed by the cliffs

(https://i.ibb.co/WyJzt3K/21-Old-Man-2.jpg)
The Old Man of Hoy

The path from the Old Man of Hoy to Rackwick Bay is well trodden, a motorway in comparison to the paths that we had been on up to now, but there were not that many people about; the main holiday season is over. We passed dwarf willow no more than 20cm high, a real toughie surviving in such an exposed location.

The path continued easily for a while, before a short climb over the shoulder of a hill. From here the path drops down to Rackwick, and the view of the beautiful beach with cliffs beyond was lovely.

(https://i.ibb.co/BsjBwdR/22-Rackwick-Bay.jpg)
First view of Rackwick Bay

(https://i.ibb.co/JFt1Z2T/23-Rackwick-Bay.jpg)
Rackwick Bay with a seemingly endless line of cliffs beyond

We were feeling somewhat footsore and time was marching on, so we decided not to visit the beach and the bothy above it, instead traversing across the hillside to join the tarmac road as it leaves the village. We had previously abandoned our rather optimistic plan to climb Ward Hill as well, and settled on the easy walk back up Rackwick Glen.

(https://i.ibb.co/4PXV0yL/24-Heather-And-Hills.jpg)
Heather and Hills

(https://i.ibb.co/FkpMLgQ/25-Hostel.jpg)
The tiny Rackwick Hostel

This path is really rather lovely, winding past the peaty burn through young woodland, with a good crop of bright red berries on the rowan trees that are recolonising the valley. In the warm sun, out of the wind amongst lush vegetation, it felt as if we were in a different world after our bracing clifftop promenade.

(https://i.ibb.co/CJcXXJV/26-Cuilags.jpg)
Rackwick Glen - our route back. Cuilags is centre right

The path climbs slowly, traversing across the western flank of Ward Hill. On the opposite side of the valley were Berriedale woods, the most northerly native woodland in Britain, with willows, rowan, aspen, juniper, honeysuckle, dog rose and possibly one or two other species that I have missed. It is heartening to see young trees spreading out over the valley from this remnant of woodland, now that livestock no longer graze the area. Once over the top of the low pass, Sandy Loch came into view. Bonxies seem to like this loch - about 20 of them were bathing in the middle of it.

(https://i.ibb.co/ncc7vyP/27-Tess.jpg)
Tess with Sandy Loch beyond

At the end of the loch we rejoined our outbound route, and plodded down the road on tired legs. Luckily the cafe was open and we enjoyed a pot of tea for two with scones - outside on a picnic table as the cafe is not dog friendly.

Back at the ferry terminal we met up with all of the people that we had seen on the outbound sailing - interesting to swap stories of the day whilst waiting for the ferry.

(https://i.ibb.co/0rxsQhX/28-Our-Boat-Back.jpg)
MV Graemsay - our ride home

12.5 miles with about 900m of ascent - a superbly varied walk, quite unique in Britain

The route is available free on Viewranger HERE (https://my.viewranger.com/route/details/MjYxNjQyOA==?ref=58.917448259208044|-3.3113977519100217|14)
Title: Re: Old Man of Hoy
Post by: Mel on 21:32:15, 10/09/19
Worra smashing write up and pics.  A worthy final outing  :)


Hope the house move un-stalls soon  O0
Title: Re: Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 21:45:27, 10/09/19
Thanks Mel  :)


Hoy really is a special place.
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: sparnel on 23:07:38, 10/09/19
Great write up Richard!  Really enjoyed your journey........my son has climbed the Old Man,
but it was not for me!  Trust all works well for you.
Sparnel
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: Bigfoot_Mike on 23:18:42, 10/09/19
Great trip report Richard. Where are the photos of you climbing the Old Man or tight rope walking across from the cliff?
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: Jac on 07:49:35, 11/09/19
Great TR and superb pics. I did the there and back tourist path some years back, getting 'bonxied' on the way back from Rackwick. A lovely island and so different from other Orkney islands.
Maxwell Davies' Farewell to Stromness came immediately into my head looking at your photos, now have it playing -lovely.
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: vizzavona on 07:50:36, 11/09/19
Thanks for the fine images of the Hoy area.  When we went to the Old Man the wee cottage with the Hostel sign was, at that time, an open Bothy.  I recall cooking in the building and staying overnight in our tent nearby.
I am bit surprised that the top area of the stack is still in place....that final crack pitch is, by all appearances,  not too well attached to the rest of the stack.
Are you moving to the Scottish mainland or maybe further South?
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: vghikers on 08:02:41, 11/09/19
An excellent walk and superb pictures  O0.
A special place indeed, I hope it helped to relieve the stress of the house sale business.



Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: Owen on 08:17:05, 11/09/19
Great TR and nice pictures, have you climbed the Old Man?
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 09:52:59, 11/09/19
Great write up Richard!  Really enjoyed your journey........my son has climbed the Old Man,
but it was not for me!  Trust all works well for you.


Thanks Sparnel; not for me either!


Great trip report Richard. Where are the photos of you climbing the Old Man or tight rope walking across from the cliff?


Thanks Mike - as if!


Great TR and superb pics. I did the there and back tourist path some years back, getting 'bonxied' on the way back from Rackwick. A lovely island and so different from other Orkney islands.
Maxwell Davies' Farewell to Stromness came immediately into my head looking at your photos, now have it playing -lovely.


Thanks Jac - I have in mind a version of Farewell to Stromness by local band Three Piece Sweet, sadly my CDs are packed away and I cannot find it on the web!


Thanks for the fine images of the Hoy area.  When we went to the Old Man the wee cottage with the Hostel sign was, at that time, an open Bothy.  I recall cooking in the building and staying overnight in our tent nearby.
..
Are you moving to the Scottish mainland or maybe further South?


Thanks vizzavona - There is an open bothy down by the beach. We're off to South Cumbria.


An excellent walk and superb pictures  O0 .
A special place indeed, I hope it helped to relieve the stress of the house sale business.


Thanks vghikers - it was a superb day out; quite a tough walk - having to catch the ferry adds to the experience.


Great TR and nice pictures, have you climbed the Old Man?


Thanks Owen - V.Diff was about my standard back in the days when I started climbing. Gave it up due to a knee injury.
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: April on 10:05:38, 11/09/19
What a great walk, report and photos Richard  O0 I had to google "bonxies"  :)

I hope your house sale gets sorted soon  :)
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: WhitstableDave on 10:14:11, 11/09/19
Wonderful! A walking holiday in the Orkneys has just been added to the to-do list.  :)
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 11:10:44, 11/09/19
What a great walk, report and photos Richard  O0 I had to google "bonxies"  :)
I hope your house sale gets sorted soon  :)

Thanks April - Bonxies (Great Skuas) are not as fearsome as the rarer Arctic Skuas - they really mean business. But at this time of year neither are much bother as the nesting season is well and truly over.
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 11:12:43, 11/09/19
Wonderful! A walking holiday in the Orkneys has just been added to the to-do list.  :)

It was wonderful, Dave. Orkney, and in particular, Hoy, has a lot to offer the walker. I'll be happy to give advice on routes, accommodation, ferries etc if you do decide to visit.

PS - it is 'the Orkney Islands' or just 'Orkney' but never, ever  'the Orkneys'. Sorry to be such a pedant.
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: Patrick1 on 11:50:27, 11/09/19
Looks great. Exactly that walk was on my todo list when we were over there earlier in the summer, but it never quite got to the top of the list. We'll have to go back! We did have a great time following the route up the west coast of the Orkney mainland from Stromness to Birsay over a couple of days - a splendid walk.
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: WhitstableDave on 12:29:07, 11/09/19
It was wonderful, Dave. Orkney, and in particular, Hoy, has a lot to offer the walker. I'll be happy to give advice on routes, accommodation, ferries etc if you do decide to visit.

PS - it is 'the Orkney Islands' or just 'Orkney' but never, ever  'the Orkneys'. Sorry to be such a pedant.

I'm more than happy to stand corrected! (I like pedantry.)

Actually, we've been to Orkney a couple of times on cruises, but that was long before we took up walking, and it would be great to explore properly. More recently we've had walking holidays on the Inner and Outer Hebrides, but we've not been been to the Shetlands yet...  ;)
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: Patrick1 on 12:42:31, 11/09/19
Orkney, and in particular, Hoy, has a lot to offer the walker. I'll be happy to give advice on routes, accommodation, ferries etc


Actually, Richard, if you have walked more extensively on Hoy you might be able to help me judge whether an idea I had when we were up there would be feasible. Looking at the map I thought it looked potentially possible to follow the coast southeast from Rackwick right down until you met up with the road again at the bottom of the island, coming back either by walking along the road or by bus. There's no path marked, but it looked as if it might well be a feasible route. Any comments on what the terrain is actually like? Adding that on to your walk to Rackwick could make a nice couple of day loop.
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: Dovegirl on 13:03:17, 11/09/19
Inspiring TR and photos Richard    :)   


Hope your move gets sorted soon. I guess you will miss your walks in Orkney but you'll have lots of new walks to look forward to    :)
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 14:11:40, 11/09/19
Actually, Richard, if you have walked more extensively on Hoy you might be able to help me judge whether an idea I had when we were up there would be feasible. Looking at the map I thought it looked potentially possible to follow the coast southeast from Rackwick right down until you met up with the road again at the bottom of the island, coming back either by walking along the road or by bus. There's no path marked, but it looked as if it might well be a feasible route. Any comments on what the terrain is actually like? Adding that on to your walk to Rackwick could make a nice couple of day loop.


I've not walked along the cliffs south of Rackwick, but I have read about people doing it. One walk I fantasized about was parking at Stromness, catching a bus to Houton and then a ferry from there to Lyness on Hoy. Head south west along the minor road from Lyness, then cut across to Torness lighthouse in the SW corner of Hoy. From there head north along the cliffs into the wild tract of moorland, camping overnight, before descending to Rackwick (tricky), and finishing off with the walk that I did on Sunday in reverse, finishing at Moaness in time to catch the evening ferry back to Stromness. The terrain will be rough and largely trackless; all the better for it, in my opinion!
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 14:24:21, 11/09/19
Looks great. Exactly that walk was on my todo list when we were over there earlier in the summer, but it never quite got to the top of the list. We'll have to go back! We did have a great time following the route up the west coast of the Orkney mainland from Stromness to Birsay over a couple of days - a splendid walk.


The west coast of Orkney Mainland is a great walk - it is worth continuing on as far as Costa Head in the north (or starting there), some dramatic coastal scenery and fine views approaching the Brough of Birsay from the east.


(https://i.ibb.co/NsjmMXx/20180822-100627a.jpg)

Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 14:25:07, 11/09/19
... but we've not been been to the Shetlands yet...  ;)


Shetlands - don't get me started!


 ;)
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 14:27:13, 11/09/19
Inspiring TR and photos Richard    :)   


Hope your move gets sorted soon. I guess you will miss your walks in Orkney but you'll have lots of new walks to look forward to    :)


Thanks, Dovegirl  :)


Indeed - we will have lots of new walks to look forward to, as well as some old favourites.
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: sparnel on 18:37:53, 11/09/19
My daughter has just booked a trip to Orkney for next month. Boy am I jealous!
(She was the bird reserve warden on Papay for a couple of years).
Thanks again for the photos...............
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: sunnydale on 07:18:05, 12/09/19
Cracking photos Richard O0
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 11:07:32, 12/09/19
Thanks Sunnydale - it was a cracking day out.
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: barewirewalker on 11:42:14, 12/09/19
Interesting TR Richard, great photos. Being of the generation that remembers Joe Brown and Don Whillans' televised climb of the Old Man of Hoy. It is particularly interesting to see it actually presented in this more realistic position.

I met both those climbers in the course of my own climbing, so that program was particularly memorable for me. Read your TR with great interest.


 
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 16:33:08, 12/09/19
Thanks, bww - glad that you found it interesting.
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: pdstsp on 17:34:46, 12/09/19
Lovely pictures Richard - and nice to see the Old Man from a different angle - we walked to it from Rastwick a couple of years ago as we had taken the car over to Lyness.  My dad was stationed in Orkney for the early months of WW2 and we combined a half day walk to the Old Man with a bit of history.


We too had wonderful weather, and, it being April, it was quiet, and so beautiful.  Interesting rock tomb, the dwarfie stane, just off the road back to Moaness, from where we spotted sea eagles.  Fantastic day out in the most wonderful scenery.  I hope your move goes well (in the end) but I bet you'll miss Orkney too.
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 18:58:22, 12/09/19
Thanks pdstsp - we didn't have the time to take in the Dwarfie Stane on our farewell walk - I would have liked to, as it is a special place. We saw the sea eagles about 3 years ago.

..and you are right - I will miss Orkney, but there is so much on offer where I am moving to. No point in hankering after the past - better to look forward to the future.
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: pdstsp on 20:04:13, 12/09/19
Quite agree.  And it was three years ago we saw them!  Moving to the Lakes you'll be able to join the how many Wainwrights thread  ;D ;D .  I am now running for cover......
Title: Re: The Old Man of Hoy
Post by: richardh1905 on 09:56:11, 13/09/19
I have noticed that the Viewranger cartographer who drew the contour lines in the vicinity of St John's Head and the Old Man of Hoy must have a fertile imagination! This of course renders the figure for ascent invalid - it will be significantly less than the 900m that I quoted.

Same applies to OpenTopoMap.