'Wee Man of Hoy' conquers Old Man of Hoy as youngster makes record-breaking ascent
Aden Thurlow sets a new record for the youngest person to lead a climb up one of Scotland’s most iconic sea stacks, the Old Man of Hoy
In the late 1960s, one of the UK’s most famous climbers, Chris Bonington, reached the top of the Old Man of Hoy in a feat broadcast to the nation by the BBC. At 137m (449ft), the sandstone sea stack, just south of the Orkney island of Hoy, is one of Britain’s tallest.
It remains a considerable achievement for any climber to this day. So much so, in fact, that there is a book, stored under a rock at the top, where only those who have completed the challenge are able to enter their name and, indeed, history.
To that exclusive list has now been added the name of Aden Thurlow, who at the age of just 12 has become the youngest person to lead a climb up the stack. Leading was not necessarily more difficult than “seconding”, he said, it was “just scarier”, while the top was “quite cold and damp” but also “magical”.
As Bonington can attest, it takes considerable skill to scale the Old Man of Hoy, so the ‘Wee Man of Hoy’ should be rightly proud of his magnificent achievement.
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