Scottish Highlands Towns and Villages

Hoy holiday accommodation cabins, caravans & B&B

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Last Updated on Saturday, 05 May 2012 17:33

Hoy, This island is famed for its isolated red sandstone rock stack, The Old May of Hoy, which stands as high as St Paul's Cathedral in London: 450 ft. Hoy itself is heather covered and hilly and is quite unlike the rest of Orkney. On the Atlantic side of the island are the highest perpendicular cliffs in Britain, rising to I I40 ft from the sea, at St John's Head. Behind this headland lies the ruined hamlet of Rackwick, once a thriving crofting community and now a mere visual memory striking a responsive chord from the past.

The Dwarfie Stane on the island of Hay is a Stone Age rock tomb, with a corridor and two chambers carved out of the solid stone; it is the only example of its kind in Britain. Hoy has two Martello towers, at Crockness and Hackness.

Unlike those built in the south of England, to warn against the approach of Napoleon's ships, these were built as a defence against American privateers.