Still standing tall - the Old Man of Hoy, Orkney

A small RAF log book in a Tupperware container is buried in a cairn on the summit and serves as an ascensionists' record. of the 450 feet sea-stack of red standstone which stands just off the West coast of the island of Hoy (High Island in Norse).

None other than Chris Bonnington made the first ascent of the pillar in 1966, and an ascent was famously filmed by the BBC a year later.

It is climbed quite regularly, with approximately 20 ascents a year, most of which take the Original Route, pioneered by Bonnington, Rusty Baillie and Tom Patey. On 8 September 2006 the stack was climbed by Sir Ranulph Fiennes (aged 62) in preparation for his proposed climb of the Eiger in the following year. He was accompanied by Sandy Ogilvie and Stephen Venables. And while it is regularly scaled, doing so must seem a terrific feat to those fortunate enough to have their names recorded in the log book in that cairn at the top.

Sailing from Scrabster on the Scottish mainland, close to the Caithness town of Thurso, the MV Hamnavoe, passes close by the imposing rock and draws passengers away from their comfortable chairs inside, out onto the steel terrace at the rear of the boat, on its way to Stromness.

Robert L. Fielding