The Orkney Isles in their entirety present a Geological masterpiece. Their great cliffs, like the walls of a fortress, piled high with dark red sandstone, layer upon layer of Geology pounded incessantly by the Atlantic swell. The name Hoy comes from the Norse ‘Ha ey’, meaning ‘tall isle’. You’ll get a sense of why this name fits as you approach Kirkwall by boat and St Johns Head, perhaps the most majestic of all Britain’s sea cliffs, looms higher and higher. As your boat near