Let’s go back in time some 400 million years when a large freshwater lake covered the area of Northern Scotland. The massive Orcadie Lake deposited millions of tons of sand and pebble directly on the base of volcanic basalt. Under the pressure of water and newly deposited sediment, the deeper bottom layers of sand and pebble were compressed and hardened. Over time these hardened deposits created a characteristic reddish sandstone and flagstone layers, exactly the ones that make the pillar of the Old Man of Hoy and are visible at nearby cliffs! Orcadie Lake have since disappeared and what was a lake bed hidden underwater 400 million years ago is nowadays the ‘ground’.
Fast forward to modern times, thanks to general erosion processes and hard work of the elements like wind and mighty sea waves the Old Man of Hoy stands proud as we know it today! The sea stack in its current form is a rather young formation, just over 200 years old! Its beautiful red/orange colour gives name to coastline/cliffs near Rackwick which are often referred to as ‘pillars of flame’ (add a warm sunset light and these cliffs truly are ‘on fire’!)
There’s some controversy around the Old Man of Hoy being the tallest sea stack in the UK
Some claim that the Old Man isn’t even a proper sea stack as it’s not completely surrounded by water (the pillar is connected with nearby cliffs by a pile of debris – the remains of its other leg that collapsed in 1800s) and argue that the highest sea stacks in UK are located off St. Kilda islands.
However, others (including us) cling to a definition of a sea stack being ‘a column created by erosion of the sandstone cliffs, separated from the main shoreline’; in this case the Old Man of Hoy is a spectacular example of a sea stack, the tallest in the UK, at 449 m!
Old Man of Hoy is, by far, the most iconic landmark and the greatest tourist attraction of Orkney islands, off the north coast of Scotland. The pillar is a magnet for rock climbers and keen hikers alike, not only it’s a magnificent rock tower, but also arguably the tallest sea stack in UK. A visit to the Old Man also offers a fine hiking experience and, for curious hikers, a fantastic adventure, as we are going to show you!
Continue reading to find out how to visit the legendary Old Man of Hoy in Orkney!
How to visit the Old Man of Hoy in Orkney
Old Man of Hoy is a single sandstone tower located near Rackwick, at the most western part of Hoy island (Orkney archilepago), and can be visited either during a one day trip to Hoy (the classic hike), or alternatively, it can be a part of a 2 day hike, combined with Cuilags climb and exploration of Hoy’s coastline and St John’s Head cliffs. Moreover, one can also get to the grand sea stack by bike!
We strongly discourage you from taking a car to Hoy, conveniently the island can be explored on foot or by bike, and the Hoy’s roads are sparse (meaning you’d have to walk quite a lot anyway!)
Whichever is your preferred way of visiting the Old Man of Hoy, we describe all options in detail below.
So, let’s have a look, shall we?
The classic hike to the Old Man of Hoy
Cycling to the Old Man of Hoy
Old Man of Hoy for the curious walkers – a 2 day hiking adventure
How to get to Orkney and Hoy
Orkney archipelago is located just off Scottish north coast and can be reached by ferry operated by Northlink (book online) (crossing time approximately 1,5 hrs). There are two routes between Scottish mainland and Orkney: Gills Bay to St.Margaret’s Hope and Scrabster to Stromness, so you can pick a more convenient sailing and destination, depending on your itinerary!
Isle of Hoy can only be reached from Orkney mainland.
1. boat: Stromness – Moaness – recommended crossing, especially for hikers!
2.ferry: Houton – Lyness or Longhope – the vessel lands at the furthest corner of Hoy and visiting the Old Man requires a much longer journey. Not recommended for foot visitors.
How to get around Hoy?
We believe that visiting Hoy does not require taking your car, the island can be explored by bike or on foot instead! Or, alternatively one can use a community bus service (more info).
During our trip to Hoy we crossed as foot passengers and found it perfectly sufficient for hiking purposes!
The classic hike to the Old Man of Hoy
The classic hike to the Old Man of Hoy begins at the boat landing in Moaness, at the northern shores of Hoy and can be completed during a day trip to the island.
Start & Finish: Moaness
Distance (there and back): 21 km
Total time: 7-9 hours
Having landed in Moaness follow the paved road towards the hills. Ignore the fork to the left near church and continue straight ahead. The road will narrow down but remain paved for another kilometre. Soon you’ll reach the point where road turns right (at the small utility house). Ignore the turn, and continue ahead instead, along the wide track signposted to Rackwick (4 km away)
As the track passes Sandy Loch it becomes slightly narrower and muddier, but still is very clear and easy to follow as it sticks to the left side of a spacious glen. Along the glen you’ll cross a couple of streams and pass the only trees on Hoy (here they’re called ‘trees’, but everywhere else they probably would be classified as ‘overgrown bushes’!) Nonetheless, the locals are quite proud of them!
About 1 km further you’ll suddenly join a single track road near Rackwick. Walk downhill towards the village; almost immediately the road will fork, take the right leg, pass the ‘outdoor centre’ and a small museum, then walk along a well defined track slightly uphill, towards the coast.
The path keeps close to the cliffs while it encircles the hill, with very insignificant height gain. The new, recently constructed trail is of good quality and dry underfoot, provides a very pleasant walking experience and stunning coastal views!
As soon as the path leaves the cliff edge, you will be able to spot the crown of the Old Man of Hoy in the distance ahead of you! You’ll probably feel that the last section of hike to the Old Man of Hoy is dragging as it takes you gently downhill towards the sea stack. With every step you’ll see more of the legendary pillar, only to see it in full glory once you reach the cliff edge! Take extra care while coming very close to the cliff edge, as it may be unstable. No photograph is worth more than your life!
We recommend taking the time to wander along the coast, finding various amazing viewpoints to the Old Man! It’s a place like no other and you shouldn’t rush the visit!
Overall it’s approx 10.5 km walk from Moaness, via the glen, to the Old Man of Hoy, we assure you that the scenery is worth such a lengthy walk! Ensure to enjoy the experience, if possible visit the sea stack in the afternoon, the warm sunset light amplifies the impression of the red cliffs glowing in sunshine. What an incredible hike and a stunning, one-of-a-kind destination!
Although the classic hike to Old Man of Hoy follows a straight forward route, you may like to gear with a map, this simple online hiking map will help you planning the hike.
Be mindful of a poor mobile reception on Orkney, for offline use we recommend downloading Scotland maps on maps.me app (free & off-line!)
Retrace your steps to return to Moaness.
How to visit the Old Man of Hoy by bike
Whether you landed in Moaness or Lynes/Longhope, follow road B9047 to the junction near the Bay of Quois and take the turn signposted to Dwarfie Stane (here). This is the only access road to Rackwick. Don’t make the mistake and ignore the stane on your way, ensure to visit the ancient landmark!
Further trip will depend on the type of bike you have; road bike or a hybrid bike will only be able to take you as far as Rackwick whereas a mountain bike will take you to the very Old Man of Hoy- the trail between Rackwick and the sea stack will be fun to ride, if you’re into it.
We recommend leaving your road/hybrid bike in the village or along the trail to the Old Man. Rest assured that it will be safe to just leave it unlocked if you forgot to take one, Scottish islands are famous for bike safety! Just remember to drop it in a spot where the bike won’t disturb the locals and hikers;
From Rackwick follow the trail towards the coast, pass the hostel and mini museum, stick to the well maintained path whether on foot or by mountain bike.
To return, retrace your steps to Rackwick.
Why you shouldn’t miss Dwarfie Stane!
This unique landmark has attracted attention for centuries and many scholars have visited it and theorised. It has been described as the dwelling place of giants, dwarves and as the home of early Christian hermit.
It was actually a tomb, related to the many chambered cairns found throughout Orkney. It dates to 3500-2500 years BC. Its construction carved from a single enormous block of stone is without parallel in the British Isles. The labour involved, given the lack of metal tools, suggests that although small, it may have been of special significance. (cited from Historic Scotland)
Old Man of Hoy hike for the curious walkers – a 2 day hiking adventure in Orkney
Start & Finish: Moaness
Distance: 22 km
Total time: 2 days
We are hoping to inspire and encourage you to take the time and explore the stunning coast of Hoy during a 2 day hike. Below we’re sharing exactly how we did it 🙂 feel free to follow our footsteps!
One warm autumn morning we landed in Moaness, in high spirits and awaiting the adventure we planned for the next two days. As soon as we set our feet on Hoy, we knew we’re in for a grand couple of days! The island welcomed us with sunshine and warmth, so we quickly got rid of windproof jackets needed for boat crossing and headed along the road, towards the hills. Cuilags and Ward Hill dominate the landscape and both offer stunning views across the bay. However, both hills are not particularly easy to climb; Cuilags being slightly lower and easier.
We followed the paved road straight ahead, ignoring all forks and junctions, and soon came to a sharp bend (at a utility cottage and last power line post). At that point we still continued straight ahead, along a rougher track, signposted to Rackwick. Immediately before Sandy Loch and a small dam, we crossed the stream jumping on stepping stones and started the steep ascent over pathless slopes of Cuilags right away.
Climbing Cuilags wasn’t particularly pleasant, it’s a steep hill with very muddy/boggy slopes and we couldn’t help but use ‘all 4’ sometimes, using heather to lift ourselves or improve balance. It wasn’t a ‘piece of cake’ however, judging by the vegetation, this route was chosen by many. Moreover, together with us climbed a guided tour, we were convinced that if the local guide uses the very same route as we do, it means that it’s the best option.
Top of Cuilags is marked by a massive cairn. Being so high up we enjoyed view to nearby small islands as well as to the Orkney mainland, but looking in opposite direction we had an overview of Rackwick Bay!
Climbing Cuilags wasn’t the end of hiking up, we still had to gain a bit more height, to the spacious plateau of nearby Sui Fea which stood exactly between us and cliffs of St. John’s Head, our next destination.
An important note
Having seen the further route taken by the local guide and his party, we feel it’s worth to point out that from Cuilags top you should head to the next high point, Sui Fea, rather than cut across the heathery meadows directly towards Rackwick! Hiking thru Sui Fea you will have a chance to visit St. John’s Head – one of the best attractions along the 2 day hike! Don’t skip it!
Sui Fea turned out to be very boggy and we crossed the plateau concerned about the tour participants, some of them in trainers or approach shoes. On many occasions our boots were submerged ankle deep and we could only imagine how much out of comfort would be a person wearing shoes rather than waterproof boots.
Although Sui Fea is a pathless terrain we easily found our way and were heading to St. John’s Head in no time.
Before we could see the cliffs in the distance, we first heard cries of thousands of seabirds that inhabit St. John’s Head!
Intrigued by the amount of fulmars circling above the cliffs we took the time to explore the colony and cake-like layers of rock & grass, home to a huge colony of fulmars! We didn’t expect such a wildlife experience and were as much surprised as awed, we felt like explorers! Looking down the cliffs we observed hundreds of fulmars gliding up and down the spacious hidden gaps in the coastline, they were quite curious about us and soon we realised that some birds dare to fly closer and closer to us, to have a better look at the strangers!
We visited this hidden corner of Hoy in September, which is well after the nesting season, hence we can confidently say that fulmars were curious of us and wanted to investigate the newcomers rather than scare off the intruders!
This bizarre ritual could last forever, and we felt that an hour we & the fulmars spent watching each other at St. John’s Head was enough.
The next section of our hike was a near-flat walk along the coastline, from St. John’s Head to the Old Man of Hoy. We stuck to a faint path at the cliff edge and followed it all the way to the Old Man.
Along the way we stopped a couple of times for a picture and to admire the ‘flamy’ cliffs, we were in no hurry and wanted to enjoy the experience as much as possible, make the most of the hike. We checked out every break in the cliffs, watched more fulmars gliding gracefully above our heads.
I think somewhere deep inside we were glad that the guided tour skipped this part of coast and we had it all to ourselves, shared only with seabirds!
In the meantime we realised that the mostly blue sky gradually turned grey, as we arrived to the Old Man of Hoy we were greeted by endless grey sky. To be honest, we were quite disappointed by the conditions change, we were hoping to photograph the flamy cliffs in their red glory, lack of sunshine made them look rather dull.
We weren’t giving up thou! Because we planned this hike for 2 days, we were in no hurry and could spare some hours waiting for better conditions. Bea was especially set on watching the sky and the gap in clouds slowly growing.
As we waited we set up a makeshift camp, cooked the dinner and relaxed; indeed we have already walked quite a bit, and in some tricky terrain. We also watched climbers working their way up the magnificent sea stack!
To our joy, we waited less than 2 hours before the hot sunrays hit the cliffs again! We were so glad to have waited! Afternoon sun didn’t disappoint, and truly, the ancient sandstone was bright red and orange!
Oh my, the view to Old Man of Hoy was mesmerising and we couldn’t imagine it being even more beautiful! Somewhat relieved we dropped the backpacks and headed to the far end of the coast in search of the best viewpoint to the Old Man. The greatest difficulty in photographing the sea stack was taking a photo that wasn’t photobombed by a fulmar; oh they know exactly when you’ll press the shutter and are happy to stick their arrow-like bodies in the very centre of the frame!
With our eyes and souls satisfied we walked back to the Old Man to grab the backpacks before continuing down to the village. Our plan was to stay overnight in Rackwick, we had a spot in mind, a grassy stretch near the bothy.
The trail between The Old Man of Hoy and Rackwick is well maintained and well made, it guarantees a pleasant hike to the village, with views across the bay to some more ‘flamy’ cliffs.
Little we knew what awaited us in Rackwick! 🙂 As we approached the village we were greeted by a man who claimed he ‘escaped’ Edinburgh and now lived in a tent in Rackwick, he was very keen to share his life story while we were too polite to ignore him and just go.
Nonetheless, finally free from a ‘madman’ we walked into the village, only to be greeted by another man. Only this time we met the local warden whose passion about Hoy and Rackwick was incredibly contagious. After a while we shared our plans of spending the night near the bothy and heading to Moaness thru the glen the next day.
Once the elderly man realised we wouldn’t visit Dwarfie Stane on our way, he offered to take us to the monument right away by his car. Oh yes, we gratefully jumped into Jimmy’s battered van and were at Dwarfie Stone within minutes! He waited as we took the time to investigate the stane in detail, before taking us back to Rackwick and sharing local stories and interesting facts.
The truth is that we really enjoyed the chat and we found the stories incredibly interesting, hence another hour passed before we headed towards the bothy.
Finally we decided to stay overnight in the bothy rather than camping outside. We were warm and cosy as we slept on the wooden benches, rather than on a windswept meadow in a tent.
At night we ventured out to photograph the famous Rackwick pebbles in twilight.
Sometimes the comforts of having a solid roof and windproof walls is priceless, I thought while listening to rain and wind hitting on a small window just above my ‘bed’. When morning came we were warm and rested, ready to see more of Hoy during the walk back to Moaness. Porridge and sweet tea are amongst the best breakfasts we enjoy during the ‘hiking days’!
It was still quite early when we left the bothy refreshed and excited to hit the trail again!
How to walk from Rackwick to Moaness
The distance between the bothy and Moaness pier was exactly 8 km, including the 6.5 km hike thru a spacious wild glen, home to Hoy’s only trees!
Having left the bothy we walked back to the centre of village and followed the paved road briefly, before turning left immediately past a small bridge, the trail is signposted to Moaness (as per photo above). In the olden days the Rackwickers used this very trail every Sunday to attend the service at Moaness Kirk (church). Indeed traversing the glen was easy and pleasant, it could as well be a Sunday stroll!
The trail was mostly dry, however we encountered some muddy sections (remember, it rained at night), as well as a couple of stream crossings (stepping stones), having said that – a wooden bridge was built to help cross the largest stream, we didn’t encounter any problems whatsoever along the way to Moaness!
Quite the opposite, we thoroughly enjoyed the hike, surrounded by tall heather bushes in full bloom, colourful grass. Despite a rather dull morning, the colours were vivid. Autumn on Hoy was beautiful!
Before we knew it, we were already passing Sandy Loch at the foot of Cuilags, and realised that we’re well before the boat’s arrival, hence we wandered in the village and visited the old church which now serves as a ‘Hoy Heritage Centre’ and community hall. Despite a moody and wet morning we were greeted by smiling faces of friendly locals upon our arrival to Old Kirk. Geared with a complimentary hot tea and biscuits we listened to stories of the past, and learned more about Jimmy, our generous warden host in Rackwick who’s well known and liked on Hoy! (Knowing only his first name and ‘Rackwick’ we sent him a thank you card from our hometown, which we’re certain arrived to the right guy, no problem)!
Finally, loaded with new local knowledge and admiration for this robust small community, we headed to the pier and returned to Stromness, to see more of Orkney!
Map of a 2 day hike to the Old Man of Hoy
Adventurous 2 day hike to the Old Man of Hoy, recap
To quickly recap on the stages of our 2 day hike on Hoy. The below will help you plan the visit without missing any important landmarks/monuments:
- Moaness to Sandy Loch
- Sandy Loch to Cuilags top and St.John’s Head, via Sui Fea
- St. John’s Head to the Old Man of Hoy
- Old Man of Hoy to Rackwick (add Dwarfie Stane!)
- Rackwick to Moaness via the glen (including a visit to Hoy Heritage Centre/Old Kirk)
A 2 day hike to the Old Man of Hoy and why we wouldn’t do it any other way (what we loved the most about the 2 day hike to the Old Man of Hoy)
Having planned the hike over 2 days we ensured to have lots of time to make the most of the visit to Hoy, we could be spontaneous and engage with local community, learn first-hand about life on such small island and the community. Staying overnight on the island meant that we could explore its hidden corners (like St. John’s Head) have unique insight into the island’s life and cherish amazing moments, that otherwise would be impossible (like seeing Rackwick pebble in twilight). OK, some may say these are small things, but don’t they just make up the experience as a whole?! The 2 day hike to the Old Man of Hoy perfectly fitted our philosophy of slow travel and getting to know the places we visit, getting a deeper insight into local life and history. These we have just happily shared with you in the article, and hope you will be inspired to visit Hoy and explore the island with its heritage and unique landmarks!
Camping spots along the 2 day hike to the Old Man of Hoy, and staying in Rackwick
Despite many boggy and muddy sections along the 2 day hike you won’t struggle to find a decent camping spot along the way! Generally speaking as soon as you reach St. Johns Head, the ground is drier and walking towards the Old Man of Hoy you’ll find numerous suitable dry & reasonably flat spaces.
Having said that, we don’t recommend camping at St. John’s Head, and here’s why: the wildlife! Spring and early summer are nesting seasons, some seabirds nest on moorland rather than cliffs; you wouldn’t like to camp in the vicinity of angry seabirds, especially the terns or skuas! Or ever risk stepping on the nest and crushing the eggs! Apart from the nesting season, you’ll be risking getting your tent ‘bombarded’ by seabird guano… aye, just stay away from St John’s Head when looking for a decent camping spot!
For an overnight stay pick a spot nearer the Old Man of Hoy, or in Rackwick (or somewhere along the way). Area near the bothy in Rackwick is quite flat and the grassy stretch just at the bothy is often a preferable camping spot! Alternatively you can stay in the bothy (free of charge), there are wooden benches along the walls, wide enough to sleep on, but be prepared to share the bothy with other walkers, as Rackwick is a rather popular destination! The bothy does not offer any modern facilities- it’s a basic one room sleeping space for all, there’s no electricity, nor rubbish bin. However there is running water and a toilet!
Another option is booking a night at Rackwick hostel, a small independent establishment.
HAVE YOU VISITED THE ORKNEY (AND HOY) YET? WE’RE CURIOUS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE!
