Daredevil climbers have been photographing scaling a stack of rocks towering out of the ocean.
The four adventurers managed to rig precarious rope bridges between two points on the mainland to lower themselves onto a rocky ledge.
They then picked their way up the mass of rocks, known as The Castle, to stand triumphantly on the top as the waves crash into its narrow base below.
The pictures were taken by former international climber Dave Cubbyson, 59, from Ballachulish in the Scottish Highlands.
Daredevil climbers have been photographing scaling a stack of rocks towering out of the ocean.
The four adventurers scaled the rocks before climbing to the top of The Castle off Orkney’s west coast
Now a mountain guide who provides consultancy on safety and rigging for film and TV crews, he took the shots while helping with filming for the BBC series Britain’s Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney.
The filming was taking place on Orkney’s west coast.
Dave said: ‘When I first saw ‘The Castle’ as a climber I thought about how wacky it is and immediately wanted to climb it!
‘It’s not as high as the Old Man of Hoy but technically more challenging and certainly more serious and committing.
‘The challenges are numerous and varied. The weather in these remote parts is very rough during our visit and a Tyrolean Traverse is very particular that was outside our preferred methods presented themselves.
‘Filmmakers, rigger for feathers which nest on little horizontal rock ledges, see climbers as prey birds and their chicks by projecting the most vile vomit imaginable.
‘Short of leaning on the summit by helicopter and abseiling down, the only feasible way to access the stack is by boat or Tyrolean Traverse. As the sea was very rough during our visit and a Tyrolean Traverse is very particular the only other approach was to swim across.
‘The rope is then pulled tight and locked off as a safety bridge across the rope to access the stack where the climbing begins.
‘With special pulleys a climber can then traverse along the rope to travel along the rope to access the stack where the climbing begins.
‘Anchor in a distance of 200 meters and high winds and things can start to get messy. We had to abandon one attempt due to strong winds.’
The photos were taken during filming for the BBC series Britain’s Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney.
