Hoy, Orkney tide times

Hoy is the second-largest of the Orkney islands and the most dramatic, a place where the low green farmland that characterises most of Orkney gives way to moorland plateau and cliff faces that drop sheer into the Atlantic. Ward Hill at 479 m is the highest point in Orkney, and the west coast below it holds some of the most exposed tidal water in the archipelago.

The Old Man of Hoy — a 137 m sandstone sea stack at the base of St John's Head — is visible from the Scrabster-Stromness ferry and has defined Hoy's identity for climbers since the 1966 first ascent. The stack sits at the base of a cliff that reaches 335 m, the highest vertical cliff face in the United Kingdom. The tidal platform at its base is accessible on foot at low water via the path from Rackwick Bay, but the approach involves 5 km of moorland walking from the valley and the crossing should be timed with care — the receding spring tide exposes the platform fully, but the flood returns fast on this exposed Atlantic shore. Allow 1.5–2 hours each way and plan to arrive at the base with at least 2 hours of low water window remaining.

Tides at Hoy are semidiurnal. Mean spring range runs approximately 3.5–3.8 m on the east side (Scapa Flow side) and somewhat lower on the exposed Atlantic-facing western cliffs. Hoy Sound, which separates the island from Mainland Orkney and forms the main approach to Stromness harbour, carries tidal streams that reach 3–4 knots at springs. The stream runs northeast on the flood and southwest on the ebb, and the timing can differ by 30 minutes or more from the Stromness tide tables depending on position within the sound. Small vessels transiting Hoy Sound should plan around slack water. The island of Graemsay sits in the middle of the sound and creates two separate channels with different stream timing.

Scapa Flow, the sheltered natural harbour to the east and south of Hoy, is one of the most historically significant bodies of water in Europe. The German High Seas Fleet was scuttled here on 21 June 1919 — 52 ships sunk by their own crews to prevent capture. Much of the wreck steel was raised between the wars, but seven warships remain on the seabed: the battleships König, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Markgraf, and Bayern; the cruisers Brummer, Cöln, and Dresden. These are among the most popular dive sites in the United Kingdom. The tidal state matters for diving: Scapa Flow is calmer than the exposed sounds, but visibility and current through the wreck sites are both affected by the state of the tide. Slack water at neap tides gives the best conditions.

For anglers, the mixed ground around the Hoy headlands produces cod, pollack, and coalfish, with the best action typically in the last two hours of the ebb when the current slackens over the rocky reef edges. The same period is productive for sea kayakers wanting to make westward progress along the cliff coast — fighting the flood here is possible but slow and energy-expensive. The ebb runs southwest through Hoy Sound and if you are paddling the west coast clockwise, timing your launch to ride the early ebb is the standard approach.

The only vehicle ferry to Hoy from Houton on the Mainland serves the east-coast settlement of Lyness, where the Scapa Flow Visitor Centre preserves the wartime history of the island's role as a Royal Navy base in both World Wars. The passenger ferry from Stromness reaches Moaness on the north tip. There are no paved roads in the Rackwick valley — travel between the ferry landing and the Old Man path is on foot across the moorland or by prearranged taxi. Accommodation on Hoy is limited to self-catering and a small hostel at Rackwick; book well ahead for summer visits.

Tide predictions here use Open-Meteo Marine, a global gridded model. Timing accuracy is typically ±45 minutes; height accuracy is typically ±0.2–0.3 m. For Hoy Sound transits and Scapa Flow diving, always cross-reference with Admiralty tide tables and the Royal Navy current atlas for the Pentland Firth and Orkney approaches.