Duncansby Stacks – A Clifftop Walk and Lunch at John o' Groats
A few hours.
The route
The Stacks of Duncansby are tall, pointed towers of layered red sandstone rising from the sea off the north-east corner of the mainland, the highest about 60 metres.
A grassy clifftop path leads out to them from the lighthouse at Duncansby Head, and lunch is at Café Groats beside the famous signpost in John o' Groats, a few minutes back down the road.
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, 11 miles away. Sleeps 18.
The day
Duncansby Head
A walk along the cliffs at the very top corner of the mainland, out to the stacks and back, and a warm lunch looking out across the water to Orkney.
About two and a half hours
Duncansby Head
An attraction
The free car park is beside Duncansby Head lighthouse, at the end of the single-track road with passing places that runs on from John o' Groats. A clearly marked path runs south from the car park over the grass to the stacks, about 20 minutes each way and mostly level, though boggy after rain, so wear boots. The tallest of the stacks stands about 60 metres high, and on a clear day you can see across the Pentland Firth to Orkney. Sheep graze the headland, so dogs stay on a lead, and only part of the cliff edge is fenced: keep children close and well back from it. Leave the walk for another day in rain or a strong wind, and be back at the car an hour before sunset. Fulmars, kittiwakes and puffins nest on these cliffs from May to July. There are no toilets here; the nearest are in John o' Groats.
8 min by car
Café Groats
Lunch
Lunch is 8 minutes' drive back down the road at Café Groats, the glass-fronted café beside the John o' Groats signpost, with a wide view over the Pentland Firth from its tables. It opens all year, from 10am to 5pm, and serves home-cooked meals, local seafood and snacks; in the dark months ring 07733 472395 before you set off. Children are welcome, and it's said to be step-free. If it's full, The Storehouse a few steps away serves food from 9.30am. Over Christmas and New Year, check before going.
If it rains
This is a cliff walk, and in rain or a strong wind the path to the stacks is best left for another day. Café Groats and the shops round the harbour at John o' Groats are under a roof, and the view of the stacks' coast from the lighthouse car park needs only a few steps from the car.
Worth a detour
- The Bay of Sannick
Just off the road to Duncansby Head, a short, grassy walk down from a roadside pull-in leads to the Bay of Sannick, a quiet crescent of pale sand and flat stones facing east into the North Sea. Most people drive straight past it to the stacks, so you may well have it to yourself. There are no toilets at the beach.
Where to stay
Photograph by Bob Smith via Google