Keiss – Along the Cliffs to a Tower on the Edge

The walk

Park in the Nybster Broch car park, a small one on the seaward side of the A99 between Keiss and Auckengill, 0.8 km (half a mile) south of Auckengill. No toilet is listed or mapped there: the nearest is in Keiss, at the Sinclair Bay Hotel, under the council's Comfort Scheme. A short path of about a third of a mile, uneven in places, leads out to Nybster Broch, an Iron Age roundhouse on a headland above the sea. From there the walk goes south along the cliff tops, on the line of the John o' Groats Trail. Venture North, the Caithness visitor site, gives it as 5.5 km, or three and a half miles, to Keiss Castle and back, and allows two and a half to three hours. That's slow for the distance, and it tells you what the ground is like: rough, narrow cliff-top path, steep and exposed in places, past rocky inlets and the remains of wartime defences. Keiss Castle is a thin, broken tower standing on the very lip of the cliff. George Sinclair, the 5th Earl of Caithness, built it around the turn of the 17th century.

By 1700 it was ruinous, and Keiss House was built beside it about 1755; the house is private. The ruin is fenced off and unsafe to enter, because the cliff under it is wearing away: its north-east corner has already gone with the cliff. Look from the path. The view from the north, the one you get on this walk, is the best there is. The trail's own guide is blunt about this coast: it warns of a risk of death from falling off cliffs. Keep well back from every edge and keep children beside you. Dogs are allowed, on a lead near the edge and near farm animals. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code asks you to keep them out of fields with calves or lambs, and on a short lead or close at heel from April to July, when birds nest on the ground.

The trail's own guide to this stage mentions gates to climb across and barbed wire. In strong wind or rain, leave it for another day. For a short version, park in Keiss village, as there is little room at the harbour, and walk down to it. From the harbour the castle is about 15 minutes along the shore. From November to January, set off from Nybster by 11am. For lunch afterwards, try the No 1 Bistro at Mackays Hotel in Wick, which also serves dinner from 5.30pm: ring 01955 602323 for the lunch times and to book.