Hoy Sound High Light

Hoy Sound High Light is a lighthouse on the island of Graemsay, within sight of the harbour front at Stromness in Orkney, Scotland. Paired with the shorter Hoy Low light, it has marked the safe line through the narrow Hoy Sound channel since the mid-19th century.

What is Hoy Sound High Light?

Alan Stevenson, a member of the famous Scottish lighthouse-engineering family, designed it in 1851, and the Northern Lighthouse Board runs it. The tower stands roughly 33 metres tall and acts as the rear light of a leading pair. When a skipper sees High and Low stacked one above the other, the vessel is on a safe track towards Stromness. The light shows white and red in an occulting pattern repeating every 8 seconds. It was automated in 1978, so no keepers live here now.

Why were leading lights needed?

Hoy Sound is known for strong tidal streams and scattered skerries. Stromness was a busy port, and pilots found the approach hard to navigate. Two lights placed on Graemsay solved the problem: keep them aligned and you stay on course.

What will you see?

The lighthouse, along with its keepers' houses, boundary walls and gatepiers, holds Category A status with Historic Environment Scotland (LB12736, listed in 1977). The keepers' houses follow the Egyptian-influenced style associated with the Stevensons. The lower Hoy Low light, about 12 metres high, is listed separately in Category B, and its lens is now displayed at Stromness Museum. Thomas Stevenson visited Hoy Low in 1868 with his teenage son, Robert Louis Stevenson, the future author.

How do you get there?

Graemsay is a small island in Scapa Flow, west of Stromness. A ferry from Stromness, which also serves Hoy, takes you across. There is little in the way of visitor facilities, so a trip is mostly a country walk with views of the Hoy cliffs, Stromness and open sea. View the lighthouse from the island's roads and shore, from the ferry, or from the Stromness waterfront.

When should you go?

Summer is easiest, with long days and steadier weather. Orkney is windy all year, so pack a windproof layer. In the evening, with good visibility, you can pick out the leading light from Stromness.

FAQ

Can you go inside the lighthouse? It is an operational Northern Lighthouse Board station rather than a museum, so interiors are not normally open to visitors. You see it from outside.

Who designed it, and when? Alan Stevenson, in 1851.

Is it the only light in the channel? No. Hoy High works together with the shorter Hoy Low, also on Graemsay.

How tall is it? About 33 metres.