go further scotland

guided hill walking and climbing in the North West HIghlands

Old Man of Hoy

The Old Man of Hoy is one of the UK’s most sought-after ascents and gofurther Scotland has made two successful trips there either side of our amazing winter. Last weekend gofurther’s Paul made the trip with Malachy and completed the climb on Saturday during a spell of cold weather blown in on a light northerly.

The 135m Old Man is one of the country’s most inspiring rock climbing venues with a sense of adventure and isolation that you get in few other areas. The classic route, now graded E1, takes the original line up the landward face of the stack with the second crux pitch negotiating an awkward move out of a niche onto the face directly left of the main crack.

HoyViewMay2010

The sensational final pitch (with Malachy pictured below) is on perfect rock up 20m corner to the summit. With waves swirling below and stunning views over to St John’s Head (the tallest sea cliffs in Britain) it is certainly one of the most spectacular rock climbing moments.

HoyPitchMay2010

Below, Malachy reaches the summit with incredible views over to St John’s Head and the hills of Hoy.


HoySummit2010

After 5 pitches a multi-pitch abseil descent is needed finishing with a 60m free abseil to the bottom of the stack on the landward side.

HoyRapMay2010

See our pages on Sea Stacks for more options.

New for 2009

We’re gearing up for the start of the Spring and Summer season 2009 with new pages to our website, new pricing arrangements and more information about sea stack climbing.

Check here for more pages about activities on Skye.
We revamped our page on sea stack climbing with more information due soon.

For the coming season we’ve also reduced our prices for groups. For example, our group rate for mountain walking for three people is now £60 each and for four people £50 each. For groups rates for other activities check the individual pages.

Sea stack climbing - Am Buachaille

Sea Stack Climbing
With the weather perfect for coastal walks and sea-cliff climbing the gofurther team took themselves to the magic of Sandwood bay on the North West of Sutherland. About 30 minutes to the south along the coast stands one of the UK's most impressive sea stacks - a 65m tower of sandstone which you can just make out in this picture.
This climb includes everything: a beautiful walk to a stunning and remote location; a walk around a rugged coast; a swim out to the stack; a exhilarating climb; a 50m abseil; and, some breathtaking views. But words can't paint the picture, so we've put together a small video of the trip we made on Friday 9th May. Just click on the embedded movie below. Three days on and the weather hasn't changed.
If you're interested in guided sea stack climbing click here for our dedicated page.