Explore WWII Hoy and Walls

Welcome to the Island of Hoy Development Trust’s WWII Site Explorer. Here it is possible to get an idea of just how extensive the archaeological legacy of World War Two is on Hoy from the comfort of your digital device.

Site Explorer is a condensed version of a much larger geographical database of sites which is held at the IoHDT Office in Longhope. If you are interested in reading more information about Hoy’s WWII sites and seeing more photographs then you are most welcome to contact the office and arrange a convenient time to visit the archive and use the database.

There are lots of ways to explore the archaeology of WWII on Hoy both digitally and physically. The Site Explorer offers a good starting point showing where you can find sites if you are out and about and in most cases it will also explain what the sites are. If you’d like a to take a more informed journey into the past then why not pick up one of the Lyness Wartime Trail Leaflets, available from most Orkney travel centres, tourist information centres and museums, or look out for a guided walk led by one of the highly knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff of the Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum. As the location of the Royal Navy’s Home Fleet base in WWII, Lyness has one of the highest concentrations of surviving standing buildings dating to the Second World War in Orkney not to mention a wealth of engaging stories to share making it a great place to start.

 

Try our Wartime Heritage Geocache Trail

For the more adventurous, IoHDT has launched a Wartime Heritage Geocache Trail which takes in sites across Wee Fea Hill, just beyond Lyness. It is a 7 point multi-cache trail with each cache box providing the coordinates to the next site. Each cache contains information to help explain what took place at each of the sites on Wee Fea during WWII and there are also activities in each of the boxes to encourage younger participants to explore the landscape and find out more about the wartime past of Hoy. All you need is a GPS or smart phone with active GPS capability or if you’re good at accurate navigation then a map and compass. You can start your adventure here.

 

AA Anti-Aircraft OP Observation Post
AASL Anti-Aircraft Searchlight PAD Passive Air Defence
AALMG Anti-Aircraft Light Machine Gun PDO Passive Defence Office
AAOP Anti-Aircraft Observation Post RAF Royal Air Force
ACOS Admiral Commanding Orkney & Shetland REME Royal Electric & Mechanical Engineers
ADIT Horizontal access tunnel into an underground mine RME Royal Marine Engineers
CA Coast Artillery RN Royal Navy
HAA Heavy Anti-Aircraft RYPA Role, Yaw, Pitch, Alter Course
LAA Light Anti-Aircraft UOFS Underground Oil Fuel Store
L/T Land Telegraphy W/T Wireless Telegraphy
LOP Light Observation Post
Glossary of Abbreviations Used in Site Explorer

 

Start Exploring:

Explore the Hoy & Walls WWII Wartime Heritage sites on this website from anywhere, including at the sites themselves using your GPS enabled digital device, and the Island of Hoy Development Trust’s Site Explorer interactive maps which can be found on the pages below.  The sites have been geographically categorised into the following to aid physical exploration while visiting Hoy.

Why not tell us about your visit to a site and share your experience with others by posting a comment and maybe a photograph on the relevant Site Explorer page. Perhaps you or older relatives have memories, stories or photographs of these sites from during WWII or the years since. If so then please feel free to share your recollections with us in the Comment section at the bottom of the Site Explorer pages.

ND29NE 2 - H7 Lyrawa HAA Battery
LoC Survey: Hoy and Walls WWII Archaeological Sites

  The above map is a summary of all the sites from the other geographical sections (Hoy: , North Walls and South Walls) on this website coupled with the WWII Hoy & Walls Wartime…

R053 - Accommodation Hut Base for HY1.3 Rackwick Bay Camp
LoC Survey: Hoy — The South Burn Valley & Rackwick

The different site types are shown in different colours on the map.       other Explore WWII Hoy & Walls pages  

HY91A - Bomb Crater near Braebuster
LoC Survey: Hoy — Quoyness to Braebuster

  The different site types are shown in different colours on the map.       other Explore WWII Hoy & Walls pages  

HY16 - Weapons Pit on Lyrawa Hill
LoC Survey: Hoy — Lyrawa Hill

  The different site types are shown in different colours on the map.       other Explore WWII Hoy & Walls pages  

HY20SE 2.04 - Scad Head Coast Artillery Battery Auxiliary Engine House
LoC Survey: North Walls — Rysa to Pegal

  The different site types are shown in different colours on the map.       other Explore WWII Hoy & Walls pages  

HY32A-B - Haybrake Camp Ablutions Huts
LoC Survey: North Walls — Lyness

The different site types are shown in different colours on the map.       other Explore WWII Hoy & Walls pages

HY75B - Crockness Camp Mess - Cookhouse
LoC Survey: North Walls — Crockness

  The different site types are shown in different colours on the map.       other Explore WWII Hoy & Walls pages  

W035A - UOFS Rear Access Tunnel
LoC Survey: North Walls — Wee Fea

  The different site types are shown in different colours on the map.       other Explore WWII Hoy & Walls pages  

HY90 - CoastGuard Watchers Hut
LoC Survey: North Walls — North Ness to Brims

  The different site types are shown in different colours on the map.       other Explore WWII Hoy & Walls pages  

HY80D - Nissen Type Hut Base
LoC Survey: South Walls

  The different site types are shown in different colours on the map.       other Explore WWII Hoy & Walls pages  

ND29SE 4 - Underground Oil Fuel Store
WWII Hoy & Walls RCAHMS Sites

  The map shows the WWII Hoy & Walls Wartime Heritage Sites currently listed in the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) database – the relevant links to that…

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