Right now

Temp11°C

Wind14 km/h

Gusts22 km/h

Humidity75.4%

Rain 48hdry

Last rainNone recent

Assessment

3.8mm rain forecast

Do not climb wet sandstone

7-day forecast

Scroll through each day — hourly detail is shown inline.

Today Wednesday 16 September

Poor

Temp11°C

Rain4mm

Wind16 km/h

Gusts22 km/h

Humidity76%

3.8mm rain forecastDo not climb wet sandstone

Wet sandstone is slippery — let the rock dry before leading

Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum

15:00 11° dry 14 — 75.4%

16:00 11° dry 17 — 75.6%

17:00 11° 0.2mm 21 — 80.5%

18:00 11° 1mm 21 — 80.7%

19:00 11° 0.2mm 25 — 86.8%

20:00 11° 0.5mm 30 — 86.2%

21:00 11° 0.3mm 34 — 89%

Thu Thursday 17 September

Poor

Temp11°C

Rain12mm

Wind46 km/h

Gusts—

Humidity82%

11.9mm rain forecastDo not climb wet sandstoneWind 46 km/h, gusts 0 km/h — too windy

Wet sandstone is slippery — let the rock dry before leading
Very windy — consider sheltered alternatives

Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum

06:00 10° dry 34 — 87.7%

07:00 10° dry 35 — 85.4%

08:00 11° dry 35 — 83.6%

09:00 11° dry 36 — 79%

10:00 12° dry 41 — 77.1%

11:00 12° dry 43 — 75.1%

12:00 12° 0.7mm 45 — 77.4%

13:00 11° 0.7mm 46 — 82.1%

14:00 11° 1mm 43 — 88.2%

15:00 11° 0.2mm 49 — 87.9%

16:00 10° 0.3mm 52 — 84.3%

17:00 10° 0.3mm 53 — 84%

18:00 10° 0.3mm 52 — 85.4%

19:00 10° 3mm 53 — 85.1%

20:00 10° 1mm 52 — 86.7%

21:00 10° 0.9mm 51 — 85.9%

Fri Friday 18 September

Poor

Temp11°C

Rain9mm

Wind36 km/h

Gusts—

Humidity84%

8.6mm rain forecastDo not climb wet sandstoneWindy — 36 km/h, gusts 0 km/h

Wet sandstone is slippery — let the rock dry before leading
Very windy — consider sheltered alternatives

Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum

06:00 10° dry 54 — 77.2%

07:00 11° dry 49 — 73.8%

08:00 11° 0.2mm 45 — 70.7%

09:00 11° 0.4mm 38 — 81%

10:00 10° 0.6mm 43 — 85.6%

11:00 10° 0.2mm 43 — 87.8%

12:00 11° dry 40 — 83%

13:00 12° 0.1mm 40 — 78.7%

14:00 12° 0.5mm 37 — 78.8%

15:00 11° 0.5mm 22 — 84.4%

16:00 11° 0.4mm 25 — 88%

17:00 11° 0.8mm 36 — 87.2%

18:00 11° 0.6mm 40 — 86.9%

19:00 11° 0.5mm 37 — 87.7%

20:00 12° dry 51 — 90.8%

21:00 12° dry 49 — 87.9%

Sat Saturday 19 September

Poor

Temp12°C

Rain4mm

Wind41 km/h

Gusts—

Humidity76%

3.7mm rain forecastDo not climb wet sandstoneWind 41 km/h, gusts 0 km/h — too windy

Wet sandstone is slippery — let the rock dry before leading
Very windy — consider sheltered alternatives

Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum

06:00 10° 0.4mm 49 — 89.1%

12:00 12° 0.3mm 41 — 75.8%

18:00 10° 0.6mm 42 — 78.3%

Sun Sunday 20 September

Poor

Temp11°C

Rain2mm

Wind48 km/h

Gusts—

Humidity80%

1.5mm rain forecastDo not climb wet sandstoneWind 48 km/h, gusts 0 km/h — too windy

Wet sandstone is slippery — let the rock dry before leading
Very windy — consider sheltered alternatives

Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum

06:00 10° 0.3mm 44 — 80.3%

12:00 11° 0.3mm 48 — 80.1%

18:00 11° dry 43 — 76.2%

Mon Monday 21 September

Caution

Temp11°C

Rain0.2mm

Wind14 km/h

Gusts—

Humidity79%

Drying — 24h since rainSandstone may still hold subsurface moisture

Hard sandstone climbs well when dry

Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum

06:00 10° dry 26 — 79.1%

12:00 11° dry 14 — 78.5%

18:00 11° dry 19 — 86.9%

Tue Tuesday 22 September

Caution

Temp16°C

Rain0.1mm

Wind17 km/h

Gusts—

Humidity82%

Should be drySandstone may still hold subsurface moisture

Hard sandstone climbs well when dry

Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum

06:00 13° dry 13 — 96.2%

12:00 16° dry 17 — 81.8%

18:00 12° dry 15 — 93.7%

Wed Wednesday 23 September

Poor

Temp12°C

Rain2mm

Wind11 km/h

Gusts—

Humidity91%

2.1mm rain forecastDo not climb wet sandstoneHumidity 91% — potential fog

Wet sandstone is slippery — let the rock dry before leading

Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum

06:00 11° 0.5mm 5 — 95.4%

12:00 12° dry 11 — 90.6%

18:00 12° 0.7mm 9 — 97.4%

About Old Man of Hoy

The Old Man of Hoy is Britain's most famous sea stack — a 137-metre pillar of Old Red Sandstone standing off the western cliffs of Hoy in Orkney, first climbed by Chris Bonington, Tom Patey and Rusty Baillie in 1966 and made household-name-famous by the BBC live broadcast the following year. The rock is Devonian sandstone, harder and drier-behaved than the Torridonian sandstone of the northwest stacks, though the crux second pitch of the Original Route runs through the least sound band, requiring careful gear selection. Facing broadly east away from the prevailing Atlantic weather, the landward face gets morning light and dries reasonably in the constant sea wind — but Orkney's exposure means you climb between weather windows, not through them. Grades are firmly in the extreme range, with the East Face Route at E1 5b the standard tick, done in five pitches. The approach involves a two-hour walk from the pier at Rackwick, and descent is by three abseils on double sixty-metre ropes.

Region: Scotland - Islands — Orkney
Rock type: Sandstone
Aspect: east-facing
Altitude: 30m
Exposure: high
Seepage: medium