Old Man of Hoy | |
|---|---|
 The Old Man of Hoy from the north | |
  Location within Orkney | |
| Coordinates: 58°53′09″N 3°25′59″W / 58.88570°N 3.43299°W | |
| Grid position | HY 17635 00779 |
| Location | Hoy, Orkney, Scotland |
| Geology | Old Red Sandstone sea stack |
| Elevation | 137 metres (449 feet) |
| First ascent | Chris Bonington, Rusty Baillie and Tom Patey, 19 July 1966 |
The Old Man of Hoy is a 449-foot (137-metre) sea stack on Hoy, part of the Orkney archipelago off the north coast of Scotland. Formed from Old Red Sandstone, it is one of the tallest stacks in the United Kingdom. The Old Man is popular with climbers, and was first climbed in 1966. Created by the erosion of a cliff through hydraulic action some time after 1750, the stack is not more than a few hundred years old, but may soon collapse into the sea.