Old Man of Storr
The Old Man of Storr is the most distinctive and most photographed geological feature in Scotland, a great rocky pinnacle 55 metres high rising from the Trotternish Ridge on the Isle of Skye in a cluster of rock towers and spires that stand against the sky above Loch Leathan with a profile simultaneously alien and deeply natural. The pinnacle and the surrounding rock formation are the product of one of the largest and most active landslip systems in Europe, the slow but continuous movement of the basalt plateau above sliding over the underlying softer rocks and creating the chaotic, dramatic landscape of towers, pinnacles and faces visible today.
The walk to the Old Man from the car park below takes approximately forty-five minutes and involves a sustained steep ascent through plantation forestry and then open hillside to reach the base of the pinnacle cluster. The approach is straightforward in good weather but the path can be muddy and slippery after rain, and the cloud that frequently envelops the Trotternish Ridge can reduce visibility significantly. The reward in clear conditions is a close encounter with rock towers of imposing scale and the wide views over the Loch and Sound of Raasay toward the mainland mountains.
The Trotternish Peninsula as a whole is one of the most geologically extraordinary landscapes in Britain, the ongoing landslip processes having created a succession of dramatic features along the ridge from the Old Man in the south to the Quiraing in the north. The thirty-kilometre ridge walk connecting these features is one of the finest hill walks on Skye, combining continuous geological drama with exceptional views in both directions across the island and the surrounding sea.
The Old Man of Storr appears frequently in film and television productions requiring a dramatic, otherworldly landscape, and its profile has become as recognisable internationally as any natural feature in Scotland.