Dwarfie Stane, Hoy
Local highlightA Neolithic tomb unlike any other in Britain, cut by hand into a single huge block of sandstone on the island of Hoy
Open to visitorsa Historic Environment Scotland site — many are free to wander; staffed ones charge and keep set hours
Standing remainssubstantial fabric survives to stand in front of
The Dwarfie Stane is a strange one. Most Stone Age tombs were built up from many stones, but this is a single great block of red sandstone lying in a Hoy valley, hollowed out inside by hand to make a small tomb, probably around 5,000 years ago in the Neolithic period. Crawl through the low opening and you find two little cells cut into the rock, one on each side; a squared block of stone that once sealed the entrance now lies fallen just outside. No other rock-cut tomb like it is known in Britain, which is why it draws people out across the moor. The name comes from old stories that a dwarf, or a giant, made it his home. Walter Scott wrote it into his novel The Pirate, and a Victorian traveller left carved graffiti on it, including a line of Persian, so it has picked up its own layers of visitors over the years. A boardwalk path runs out to it from the road on Hoy; while you are on the island the Old Man of Hoy sea stack is the other great draw.
