Hoy

Hoy, second-largest of the Orkney Islands, north-eastern Scotland. Hoy forms the south-western border of Scapa Flow, the former British naval base. The island's rugged terrain contrasts with that of the other Orkney islands, which are low-lying and flat. Hoy has much dramatic scenery, with cliffs reaching more than 300 m (984 ft), including the highest perpendicular cliffs in Britain at St John's Head in the north-west. The highest point is Ward Hill, which reaches 477 m (1,565 ft) in the north-east, but the best-known scenic feature is probably the Old Man of Hoy, a column of sandstone rock on the north-western coast that is 137 m (450 ft) high. It is a severe test for rock-climbers. Moorland, heather, and rough grass cover 80 per cent of the land. The island has many flowering plants, including several rare alpines. There are numerous seabirds, including kittiwakes, guillemots, and cormorants, and grey seals are also common.

Hoy has been settled for millennia, and evidence of habitation includes the Dwarfie Stane, a Neolithic burial chamber in northern Hoy that dates from c. 3000 bc. This is the only rock-cut tomb in Great Britain, and was hollowed out of a huge block of sandstone. Centuries later, Hoy and the other Orkney islands were colonized by the Vikings. Hoy and the nearby small islands of Graemsay, Fara, and Flotta cover a combined area of 160 sq km (62 sq mi). Employment on Hoy declined after the closing of the Scapa Flow naval base in the 1950s. However, the Flotta oil pipeline landfall and tanker terminal was opened in 1977, and tourism is an increasingly important source of income. Population (1991) 450.