Castle Sinclair Girnigoe – A Ruin on the Edge of Caithness
About 0.9 miles on foot.
North of Wick, the broken towers of Castle Sinclair Girnigoe stand on a spur of rock with the sea on three sides, one of the most striking ruins in the north.
The walk out to it from the Noss Head road is short and easy, about 1.5 km there and back. Even when the gate on its footbridge is locked, the view of the castle from the headland beside it is the one people come for.
- Time
- Half an hour to an hour: about 1.5 km (0.9 miles) there and back on a level track. A very easy walk.
- The path
- A level track that a pram can manage as far as the castle; rough grass beyond it.
- Where to start
- The small gravel car park on the Noss Head road, about three miles north of Wick.
- When to go
- All year in daylight, and not in a strong wind. The castle's footbridge gate is normally open only from May to September. From November to January arrive by 2pm.
- Dogs
- On a lead: farm animals graze the headland and the cliffs are unfenced.
- Children
- An easy walk, but the cliffs are sheer and unfenced: hold on to children.
- Toilets
- None at the car park: the nearest are in Wick.
- Before you set out
- From October to April expect the gate to be locked and see the castle from the headland. Sheer, unfenced cliffs.
The walk
Park in the small gravel car park on the Noss Head road, about three miles north of Wick. There are no toilets here, so use the ones in town first. The Caithness Broch Project gives the walk to the castle and back as 1.5 km and very easy, on a track that a pram can manage. The castle was the seat of the Sinclair earls of Caithness. The older half, Girnigoe, is medieval, and the tower house beside it was added in the early 1600s. The roofs came off around 1680 and the stone was carried away afterwards, which left the tall chimney stack and the hollow towers you see now.
One old story has an earl keeping his own son a prisoner here for seven years. A wooden footbridge now crosses to the castle where the drawbridge once was. Its gate is normally open only from May to September, so from October to April expect to find it locked and plan to see the castle from the grass beside it. That's no hardship, because the best view is the one from the headland, with the ruin on its rock and the sea in the narrow inlets on either side. Noss Head lighthouse is on the next point to the east. It's private, so look from a distance.
The cliffs are sheer and unfenced. Keep well back from the edges, hold on to children, keep dogs on a lead near farm animals, and in a strong wind stay away from the cliff tops altogether. From November to January, be here by 2pm. For lunch afterwards, try the No 1 Bistro at Mackays Hotel in Wick: ring 01955 602323 for the times.
If it rains
It's a short walk on a good track, so rain alone won't stop it, but there's no shelter and the headland takes the full wind. In a gale, leave it for another day.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is House of the Northern Gate, 15 miles away. Sleeps 18.
For further reading, before you go.