Sixty years of climbing Orkney landmark celebrated

For decades the Old Man of Hoy has been a beacon for climbing enthusiasts across the world.

Now, the names of around 600 people have been gathered as part of an effort to record this history.

The landmark sea stack was first climbed in 1966, with a pioneering televised climb broadcast by the BBC the following year.

Since then, the 137-metre summit has been a major draw for climbers taking on the challenge to reach the top.

Heritage officer Rebecca Marr said: “The BBC televised climb in 1967 was groundbreaking, being the first BBC outdoor broadcast, but, we wondered, what about all the subsequent ascents that must have been just as important for the people who made them.

“We knew that Hoy would be a special place for them so we thought let’s write them into our social history too.”

A few years ago Hoy Heritage Centre set up an Old Man of Hoy exhibition room in Glen House, one of the Rackwick Folk Museums established by the Rendall family.

The house is near Rackwick Hostel on the path to the Old Man, and the team started to think about gathering names of people who had made it to the top.

The original plan was to create an outline of the sea stack, and write the names side the layers of rock that make up the monument.

When the heritage centre team hit around 600 names, they knew they would have to find a digital solution — one that they could continue adding to.

Karl Reid, who has been volunteering with the Hoy Heritage Archive for over a decade, was asked to bring his cataloguing knowledge and patience to the project.

Rebecca added: “As well as logging all the people who have been in touch with us, Karl has been cataloguing the entries in the book from the top of the Old Man.

“There have been reports of log books on the summit, tucked in a cairn, where people can leave their names but previous books have been lost over the years.”

A few years ago, a new book was placed on the summit, with the old record now safely kept in the heritage centre’s collection.

It provides a valuable account, full of climbers’ names, dates, and their comments, all of which have been added to the new digital roll call.

Rebecca said: “It’s clear from some of the communications that we have had that the experience of climbing the Old Man is something that stays with people and one that brings back good memories, even if they also involve unpleasant encounters with fulmars! 

“Some people have been in touch to log the names of loved ones who have since died and their entry in the roll call is an act of remembrance.

“That Old Man has seen a lot of love, friendship and courage over the years.”

“One tale possibly taller than the Old Man, is of a local man who scaled the stack years before the televised climb, when he got home he realised he’d left his pipe at the top and went straight back up for it.

“So anyone who can put a name or a date to that, please get in touch!”

For more information, the Hoy Heritage Centre’s Roll Call can be found here.