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Hillock of Baywest is a broch situated on a low rise three hundred metres west of the Loch of Rothiesholm in the Bay of Holland on the Orkney mainland. Built during the Iron Age, this stone tower exemplifies the distinctive broch architecture of northern Scotland, with its characteristic hollow-walled circular form designed to command views across the surrounding landscape. The monument stands upon Middle Devonian sandstone bedrock interspersed with siltstone and marl, geology that has shaped settlement patterns across Orkney since prehistoric times.
The broch's construction exploited the locally available sandstone, which fractures into workable blocks suitable for the dry-stone technique employed in Iron Age building. The monument's position near freshwater and with access to the fertile lowlands of the Bay of Holland reflects the strategic considerations of its builders, who selected this hillock to maximise visual dominance over the surrounding terrain and settlements.
Today, the Hillock of Baywest broch remains a significant marker of Iron Age settlement and social organisation in Orkney. Protected under Historic Environment Scotland's schedule of ancient monuments (reference SM1446), it survives as evidence of the sophisticated architectural knowledge and labour organisation of Iron Age communities in the far north of Scotland.
Hillock of Baywest,broch 300m W of Loch of Rothiesholm,Bay of Holland is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1446. View the official record →
Hillock of Baywest is a broch situated on a low rise three hundred metres west of the Loch of Rothiesholm in the Bay of Holland on the Orkney mainland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1446.
Hillock of Baywest,broch 300m W of Loch of Rothiesholm,Bay of Holland dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a broch 300m w of loch of rothiesholm,bay of holland. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Hillock of Baywest,broch 300m W of Loch of Rothiesholm,Bay of Holland is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM1446.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Lochend,chambered cairn 450m NW of,Stronsay (0.6 km), Linga Holm,two cairns (3.1 km), Linga Holm,mound (3.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Hillock of Baywest,broch 300m W of Loch of Rothiesholm,Bay of Holland's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Hillock of Baywest,broch 300m W of Loch of Rothiesholm,Bay of Holland stands on Middle Devonian sandstone, bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is major:{sandstone}, Minor{siltstone,marl}.