Difference between revisions of "Hoy"

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|name=Hoy
 
|name=Hoy
 
|county=Orkney
 
|county=Orkney
|group=Orkney
 
 
|picture=Hoy Cliffs.jpg
 
|picture=Hoy Cliffs.jpg
 
|picture caption=Cliffs on the Atlantic coast of Hoy
 
|picture caption=Cliffs on the Atlantic coast of Hoy
|map=Ork Hoy.jpg
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|map=Hoy Orkney.svg
 
|os grid ref=ND263961
 
|os grid ref=ND263961
 
|norse=Há-øy
 
|norse=Há-øy
 
|area=55 square miles
 
|area=55 square miles
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|highest point=[[Ward Hill, Hoy|Ward Hill]], 1,572 feet
 
|population=272
 
|population=272
|main settlement=[[Lyness]]
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|main village=[[Lyness]]
 
}}
 
}}
'''Hoy''' is an island of [[Orkney]]. Unique amongst those island, it is moutainous, reaching a height of 1,572 feet at Ward Hill, the highest point in Orkney.  It is also, at 55 square miles, Orkney's second largest island. Hoy is connected by a causeway called The Ayre to [[South Walls]].
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'''Hoy''' is an island in [[Orkney]]. With an area of 55 square miles, it is the second largest in the group, exceeded only by [[Mainland, Orkney|Mainland]]. It is also unique in Orkney in its mountainous landscape
  
The name "Hoy" is from the Old Norse ''Háey'' meaning "high island".
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The island's name, in common with the other isles of the county, is from Old Norse, named ''Háey'' in the sagas, which means "High Island".  This is a good description, for Hoy is like a small piece of the [[Highlands]] dropped in the sea in contrast to its neighbours, albeit that the size of the island does not give its hills a chance to rise to anything like the heights achieved in the Highlands.
  
==Description==
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The [[County top|highest point]] in the county of Orkney is on Hoy; [[Ward Hill, Hoy]], reaching 1,572 feet.
The dramatic coastline of Hoy greets visitors travelling to Orkney by ferry from the mainland of Great Britain. It has extremes of many kinds: some of the highest sea cliffs in Britain at St John's Head, which reach 1,150 feet, the impressive and famous sea stack, the [[Old Man of Hoy]]; some of the most northerly surviving natural woodland in the British Isles and the most northerly Martello Towers, which were built to defend the area during the Napoleonic Wars, but were never used in combat.
+
  
The main naval base for the British fleet [[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.
+
Hoy is connected by a causeway called The Ayre to [[South Walls]].
  
An unusual rock-cut tomb, the Dwarfie Stane, lies in the Rackwick valley in the north of the island. It is unique in northern Europe, bearing similarity to Neolithic or Bronze Age tombs around the Mediterranean. The tomb gets its name as it is very small and was said to be carved by dwarves.
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==The island==
 +
The dramatic coastline of Hoy greets visitors travelling to Orkney by ferry from [[Caithness]] on mainland [[Great Britain]].
 +
 
 +
Hoy has extremes of many kinds including some of the highest sea cliffs in the United Kingdom at St John's Head, which reach 1,150 feet.<ref name=Smith>{{Haswell-Smith}}</ref> The impressive and famous sea stack, the [[Old Man of Hoy]] stands out from this coast.  Hoy has some of the most northerly surviving natural woodland in the [[British Isles]] and there is said to be a remote possibility that Arctic char survive in Heldale Water.  The most northerly Martello Towers stand here too, which were built to defend the area during the Napoleonic War but which were never used in combat.
 +
 
 +
The highest point in Orkney, [[Ward Hill, Hoy|Ward Hill]], is found on Hoy.
 +
 
 +
The main naval base for the British fleet 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.
 +
 
 +
An unusual rock-cut tomb, the Dwarfie Stane, lies in the [[Rackwick]] valley in the north of the island. It is unique in northern Europe, bearing similarity to Neolithic or Bronze Age tombs around the Mediterranean. The Dwarfie Stane is very small and local legend had it that it was carved by dwarves, hence the name.
  
 
In Norse mythology, Hoy is the location of the never-ending battle between Hedin and Högni.
 
In Norse mythology, Hoy is the location of the never-ending battle between Hedin and Högni.
  
Orkney Ferries serve the island with two routes. One links Lyness on Hoy and [[Longhope, Orkney|Longhope]] on Walls with the island of [[Flotta]] and [[Houton]] on the [[Mainland, Orkney|Mainland]]. The other links Moaness in Hoy to the island of [[Graemsay]] and [[Stromness]] on Mainland.
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Ferries serve the island with two routes:  one links Lyness on Hoy and [[Longhope, Orkney|Longhope]] on Walls with the island of [[Flotta]] and [[Houton]] on [[Mainland, Orkney|Mainland]]. The other links [[Moaness]] in Hoy to the island of [[Graemsay]] and [[Stromness]] on Mainland. The ferries from [[Caithness]] pass by Hoy's coast and around the headland, but do not dock at Hoy.
 +
 
 +
Hoy is part of the "Hoy and West Mainland National Scenic Area".<ref>[http://www.snh.gov.uk/protecting-scotlands-nature/protected-areas/national-designations/nsa/ "National Scenic Areas"]. SNH. Retrieved 30 Mar 2011.</ref>
  
 
==Wildlife==
 
==Wildlife==
The northern part of the island is an RSPB nature reserve due to its importance for birdlife, particularly great skuas and red-throated divers. It was sold to the RSPB by the Hoy Trust for a minimal amount.<ref name="haswell-smith">{{Cite book|last=Haswell-Smith|first=Hamish|title=The Scottish Islands|year=1996|publisher=Canongate|isbn=0 86241 579 9|page=283}}</ref>
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The northern part of the island is an RSPB reserve due to its importance for birdlife, particularly great skuas and red-throated divers. It was sold to the RSPB by the Hoy Trust for a minimal amount.<ref name="haswell-smith">{{Cite book|last=Haswell-Smith|first=Hamish|title=The Scottish Islands|year=1996|publisher=Canongate|isbn=0 86241 579 9|page=283}}</ref>
[[Anastrepta orcadensis]],  a liverwort also known as Orkney Notchwort, was first discovered on Ward Hill by William Jackson Hooker in 1808.<ref name=RBGE>[http://www.rbge.org.uk/science/cryptogamic-plants-and-fungi/bryology "Bryology (mosses, liverworts and hornworts)"] Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Retrieved 15 May 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.archive.org/stream/annalsofscottish16edin/annalsofscottish16edin_djvu.txt "West Highland Mosses And Problems They Suggest"] (January 1907) ''Annals Of Scottish Natural History'' '''61''' p. 46. Edinburgh. Retrieved 11 June 2008.</ref>
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''Anastrepta orcadensis'',  a liverwort also known as Orkney Notchwort, was first discovered on [[Ward Hill, Hoy|Ward Hill]] by William Jackson Hooker in 1808.<ref name=RBGE>[http://www.rbge.org.uk/science/cryptogamic-plants-and-fungi/bryology "Bryology (mosses, liverworts and hornworts)"] Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Retrieved 15 May 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.archive.org/stream/annalsofscottish16edin/annalsofscottish16edin_djvu.txt "West Highland Mosses And Problems They Suggest"] (January 1907) ''Annals Of Scottish Natural History'' '''61''' p. 46. Edinburgh. Retrieved 11 June 2008.</ref>
  
 
==Picture gallery==
 
==Picture gallery==
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
File:Old man of hoy2.jpg| The [[Old Man of Hoy]], seen from the south
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File:Old man of hoy2.jpg| The Old Man of Hoy, seen from the south
 
File:Hoy_Orkney_Landesinnere.JPG|Rackwick valley
 
File:Hoy_Orkney_Landesinnere.JPG|Rackwick valley
 
File:Hoy Orkney Southside.jpg|Rackwick
 
File:Hoy Orkney Southside.jpg|Rackwick
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File:PicHoyHigh.jpg| Hoy High Lighthouse on Greamsay viewed from Mainland
 
File:PicHoyHigh.jpg| Hoy High Lighthouse on Greamsay viewed from Mainland
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
 
==References==
 
{{Reflist}}
 
  
 
==Outside links==
 
==Outside links==
 
*[http://www.hoyorkney.com/ Island of Hoy website launched December 2008]
 
*[http://www.hoyorkney.com/ Island of Hoy website launched December 2008]
 
*[http://www.readingmountaineeringclub.org.uk/images/Hoy/image5.htm Old Man of Hoy picture gallery]
 
*[http://www.readingmountaineeringclub.org.uk/images/Hoy/image5.htm Old Man of Hoy picture gallery]
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 +
==References==
 +
{{Reflist}}
  
 
{{Orkney}}
 
{{Orkney}}

Revision as of 07:44, 1 September 2012

Hoy

Orkney

Hoy Cliffs.jpg
Cliffs on the Atlantic coast of Hoy
Main village: Lyness
Location

{{{map caption}}}

Grid reference: ND263961
Area: 55 square miles
Highest point: Ward Hill, 1,572 feet
Data
Population: 272

Hoy is an island in Orkney. With an area of 55 square miles, it is the second largest in the group, exceeded only by Mainland. It is also unique in Orkney in its mountainous landscape

The island's name, in common with the other isles of the county, is from Old Norse, named Háey in the sagas, which means "High Island". This is a good description, for Hoy is like a small piece of the Highlands dropped in the sea in contrast to its neighbours, albeit that the size of the island does not give its hills a chance to rise to anything like the heights achieved in the Highlands.

The highest point in the county of Orkney is on Hoy; Ward Hill, Hoy, reaching 1,572 feet.

Hoy is connected by a causeway called The Ayre to South Walls.

The island

The dramatic coastline of Hoy greets visitors travelling to Orkney by ferry from Caithness on mainland Great Britain.

Hoy has extremes of many kinds including some of the highest sea cliffs in the United Kingdom at St John's Head, which reach 1,150 feet.[1] The impressive and famous sea stack, the Old Man of Hoy stands out from this coast. Hoy has some of the most northerly surviving natural woodland in the British Isles and there is said to be a remote possibility that Arctic char survive in Heldale Water. The most northerly Martello Towers stand here too, which were built to defend the area during the Napoleonic War but which were never used in combat.

The highest point in Orkney, Ward Hill, is found on Hoy.

The main naval base for the British fleet 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.

An unusual rock-cut tomb, the Dwarfie Stane, lies in the Rackwick valley in the north of the island. It is unique in northern Europe, bearing similarity to Neolithic or Bronze Age tombs around the Mediterranean. The Dwarfie Stane is very small and local legend had it that it was carved by dwarves, hence the name.

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

Ferries serve the island with two routes: one links Lyness on Hoy and Longhope on Walls with the island of Flotta and Houton on Mainland. The other links Moaness in Hoy to the island of Graemsay and Stromness on Mainland. The ferries from Caithness pass by Hoy's coast and around the headland, but do not dock at Hoy.

Hoy is part of the "Hoy and West Mainland National Scenic Area".[2]

Wildlife

The northern part of the island is an RSPB reserve due to its importance for birdlife, particularly great skuas and red-throated divers. It was sold to the RSPB by the Hoy Trust for a minimal amount.[3] Anastrepta orcadensis, a liverwort also known as Orkney Notchwort, was first discovered on Ward Hill by William Jackson Hooker in 1808.[4][5]

Picture gallery

Outside links

References

  1. Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 1841954543. 
  2. "National Scenic Areas". SNH. Retrieved 30 Mar 2011.
  3. Haswell-Smith, Hamish (1996). The Scottish Islands. Canongate. p. 283. ISBN 0 86241 579 9. 
  4. "Bryology (mosses, liverworts and hornworts)" Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
  5. "West Highland Mosses And Problems They Suggest" (January 1907) Annals Of Scottish Natural History 61 p. 46. Edinburgh. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
Islands of Orkney

Inhabited islands:
Mainland  •
Auskerry  • Burray  • Eday  • Egilsay  • Flotta  • Gairsay  • Graemsay  • Hoy  • North Ronaldsay  • Papa Stronsay  • Papa Westray  • Rousay  • Sanday  • Shapinsay  • South Ronaldsay  • South Walls  • Stronsay  • Westray  • Wyre

Other islands:
Eynhallow  •
Helliar Holm  • Lamb Holm  • Switha  • Swona