Hoy

Hoy (from Old Norse h?-?y meaning high island) is one of the Orkney Islands.

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The dramatic coastline of Hoy is what usually greets visitors to the Orkney Islands. It has extremes of many kinds: some of the highest cliffs in Britain at St John's Head; the impressive and famous sea stack, the Old Man of Hoy; some of the most northerly natural woodland in Britain; the remote possiblity that Arctic Char survive in Heldale Water and the most northerly Martello Towers, which were built to defend the area during the Napoleonic War, but were never used in combat.

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The main naval base for Scapa Flow in both the First and Second World Wars was situated at Lyness in the south-east of the island. Some rather incongruous art deco structures nearby date from this period.

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An unusual rock-cut tomb, The Dwarfie Stane, lies in a valley at the west of the island. It is unique in northern Europe, bearing similarity to Neolithic or Bronze Age tombs around the Mediterranean.

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In Norse mythology, Hoy is the location of the never-ending battle between Hedin and H?gni.

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Orkney Islands: The Orkney Islands are one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, and form a traditional county and Lieutenancy area. Orkney consists of about 70 small islands 16 km north of Caithness in northern Scotland. The largest island in the group is known as "The Mainland"; about 20 are inhabited in tot...

Britain: This article deals with the history of the word Britain. For clarification of terminology and an overview of articles about Britain and Ireland see British Isles (terminology)....

Old Man of Hoy: The Old Man of Hoy is a 460 foot stack of red sandstone perched on a plinth of igneous basalt, close to Rackwick Bay on the west coast of the island of Hoy, in the Orkney Islands, Scotland....

Hoy related Images and Photos (experimental)

Van Hoy Snap Lock 2