The scattered hamlet of Rackwick is found on the island of Hoy, the southernmost island of the Orkney islands. Rackwick lies 3 miles (5 km) from the north end of the island, in a beautiful bay, enclosed by sandstone cliffs. The local school, which closed in 1958, is now a museum, and there is also a youth hostel for the many visitors to what was once described as being 'the most beautiful place in Orkney'. The author and poet George Mackay Brown (1921-96) visited in 1946 and said that "the beauty of Rackwick struck me like a blow". Inspired by this description, his friend composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (b.1934) lived here between 1970 and 1998.
Nearly 2½ miles (4 km) to the east is the Dwarfie Stane, an enormous slab of stone, with chambers cut into it. It has been variously evaluated as a burial chamber or a small dwelling.
