Author Topic: The Old Man of Hoy  (Read 7498 times)

richardh1905

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12710
The Old Man of Hoy
« 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.



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.


Stromness strung out along the water's edge


Ward Hill and Cuilags from the ferry


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.


Ward Hill


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.


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!


The fine cairn on the edge of the summit plateau - Orkney Mainland far below us


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.


Figures in a landscape, Rackwick Bay far below. The cone of Morvern in Caithness is just visible.


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.

St John's Head


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.


Hendry's Holes chockstone.


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.


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”.

MV Hamnavoe passing below the Old Man


The 112m MV Hamnavoe dwarfed by the cliffs


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.


First view of Rackwick Bay


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.


Heather and Hills


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.


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.


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.


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
« Last Edit: 20:24:37, 11/09/19 by richardh1905 »
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

Mel

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10936
Re: Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #1 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

richardh1905

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12710
Re: Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #2 on: 21:45:27, 10/09/19 »
Thanks Mel  :)


Hoy really is a special place.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

sparnel

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1165
Re: The Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #3 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

Bigfoot_Mike

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2407
Re: The Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #4 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?

Jac

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3553
Re: The Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #5 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.
So many paths yet to walk, so little time left

vizzavona

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 602
Re: The Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #6 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?

vghikers

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2605
Re: The Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #7 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.




Owen

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1760
Re: The Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #8 on: 08:17:05, 11/09/19 »
Great TR and nice pictures, have you climbed the Old Man?

richardh1905

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12710
Re: The Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #9 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.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

April

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9687
Re: The Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #10 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  :)
Hate will never win

WhitstableDave

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3254
Re: The Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #11 on: 10:14:11, 11/09/19 »
Wonderful! A walking holiday in the Orkneys has just been added to the to-do list.  :)
Walk, Jog, Run : our YouTube video channel.

richardh1905

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12710
Re: The Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #12 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.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

richardh1905

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12710
Re: The Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #13 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.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

Patrick1

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 205
Re: The Old Man of Hoy
« Reply #14 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.

 

Terms of Use     Privacy Policy