St. John’s Head, Hoy

According to the Tourist Information Board at Moaness Pier, at 1,128′ high St. John’s Head is the most vertical sea cliff in Britain. I’m not sure what that actually means, certainly in terms of height The Kame on Foula and Conachir on St. Kilda are higher.

But this is one hell of a drop. I am on Hoy, ‘Haey‘ in Old Norse, the High Island¹RSPB Tourist Information Board at Sandy Loch [Accessed 20 May 2021]..

The first direct ascent of St. John’s Head was made in 1970 by Edward Drummond and Oliver Hill who spent six nights on the face sleeping in hammocks (two days abseiling down and five days climbing back up). Actually I think the actual face of the climb was just out of sight.

Access to the top of the head, Brae Brough, from the ‘mainland’ involves a descent and ascent of a small notch described as a “moderate scramble” (top left of the photo). It looked quite vegetated from above and too much for me. Brae Brough is the site of a promontory fort.

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  RSPB Tourist Information Board at Sandy Loch [Accessed 20 May 2021].