Hoy (Orcades)

Hoy (Hoy; from Old Norse Háey, meaning "high island") is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring – the second largest in the archipelago, after Mainland. A natural causeway, the Ayre, links the island to the smaller South Walls; the two islands are treated as one entity by the UK census. Hoy lies within the parish of Stromness. The Dwarfie Stane lies in the north of the Rackwick valley and dates back to around 3000 BCE. It is unique in northern Europe, bearing similarity to Neolithic or Bronze Age tombs around the Mediterranean. The tomb has a small rectangular entrance and cleft, hence its name. Discoveries have been made on Mainland, Orkney, at the Ness of Brodgar that date back as early as 3510 BCE with the first stone circle in the British Isles found there. The two most northerly Martello Towers in the UK stand here, built in 1814 to defend merchant shipping in the natural harbour of Longhope against privateers commissioned by United States President James Madison, who declared war in 1812. The main naval base for the British fleet in both the First and Second World Wars, Scapa Flow, was at Lyness in the southeast of the island. During the early years of the Second World War, up to 12,000 personnel were based in and around Lyness to support the defences of the naval anchorage at Scapa Flow and the ships that used it. To support this huge population, hundreds of accommodation huts were built in a number of camps around Lyness. A large wharf was built (known as the Golden Wharf because of its huge cost) along with a series of piers and slipways. Offices, workshops, stores and recreational buildings were erected, including a cinema, a theatre and several churches. An earlier headquarters building was replaced in 1943 by an imposing concrete HQ and communications centre, also sited high on Wee Fea, which now serves as a hotel. Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery is around inland from the naval base and has an area of around . Although the population of Hoy is now only around 400, there was a much larger population in the past.

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Concepts associés (5)

Scapa Flow

Le Scapa Flow, en vieux norrois Skalpaflói, est une baie du Royaume-Uni située entre plusieurs îles de l'archipel des Orcades, au nord de l'Écosse. Abritée du vent, elle peut être utilisée comme port naturel : elle a notamment servi de base à la Royal Navy lors des deux guerres mondiales. Le Scapa Flow est situé dans le nord du Royaume-Uni, dans le nord-est de l'Écosse, au sein des Orcades. Il s'agit d'une baie délimitée par des îles qui sont au nord Mainland, à l'est Burray, Lamb Holm, Glimps Holm et South Ronaldsay, au sud Roan Head, Flotta et Fara et à l'ouest Hoy.

Lyness

Lyness is a village on the east coast of the island of Hoy, Orkney, Scotland. The village is within the parish of Walls and Flotta, and is situated at the junction of the B9047 and B9048. During the 1920s Lyness was briefly the headquarters of the metal salvage firm of Cox and Danks's raising of the German High Seas Fleet, scuttled by the Germans on 21 June 1919 during the Armistice (Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow). During the Second World War it was home to HMS Proserpine, the main base for the naval fleet based at Scapa Flow.

Hoy (Orcades)

Hoy est une île du Royaume-Uni de l'archipel des Orcades située au nord de l'Écosse, Hoy est la deuxième île en étendue de l'archipel avec une superficie de 135 km2, mais ne figure qu'à la huitième place pour la population avec seulement 372 habitants recensés. Elle est reliée par un pont-jetée appelée L'Ayre à South Walls.