Keiss and Girnigoe – Two Castles of the Sinclair Earls
A few hours.
The route
The Sinclair Earls of Caithness left two ruined castles on the cliffs of Sinclair's Bay, north of Wick, one at each end of its sands.
Keiss is a tall, broken tower on the cliff beyond a small fishing harbour, and Castle Sinclair Girnigoe, by Noss Head, was the earls' own great house, built out on a fin of rock over the sea. Each is a short walk from the car, and lunch is at a family farm outside Wick.
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 in Dunnet, 16 miles away. Sleeps 18.
The day
Keiss and Noss Head
A morning on the cliffs north of Wick, with the sea below and a short walk to each castle, then lunch at Puldagon Farm.
About four hoursAbout 2 miles on foot
Keiss Castle
An attraction
Keiss Castle stands on the lip of the cliff a short way along the shore from the village harbour. Leave the car in the village, as there's little room at the harbour, and walk down to it; the harbour, built in about 1820, is still a working one. From there an easy path runs north along the shore to the castle, about 15 minutes each way, uneven near the ruin. George Sinclair, the 5th Earl of Caithness, built it in the late 1500s or early 1600s, a narrow Z-plan tower that once stood four storeys high, with an attic and a vaulted basement. It was described as ruinous by 1700. The white house behind the ruin, Keiss House, built about 1755, is a private home. The old castle is fenced off and unsafe to enter because of erosion, so look from the path, well back from the edge, with children beside you and dogs on a lead. Allow about an hour there and back.
31 min by car
Castle Sinclair Girnigoe
An attraction
It's 31 minutes' drive south through Wick and out along the Noss Head road, single track in places, to Highland Council's car park just before the lighthouse. A farm track of about half a mile, ten minutes each way, leads from the car park to the castle. This was the Sinclair earls' great house, on a fin of rock over the sea, probably first built by Henry Sinclair after 1379. George Sinclair, the 5th Earl, who built Keiss, did much of the work on it, and in 1606 an Act of Parliament let him rename it Castle Sinclair. In about 1680 a later George Sinclair, of Keiss, stripped its roofs and floors during a dispute over the earldom with Campbell of Glenorchy. The castle and the cliff top round it are open all year. From May to September the footbridge over the rock-cut ditch is generally open into the outer ward; in the other months its gate may be locked, and the castle is seen from across the ditch. The tower is fenced off and the cliffs are sheer, so keep to the path, with dogs on a lead for the sheep.
26 min by car
Puldagon Farm Shop
Lunch
Lunch is 26 minutes' drive back through Wick at Puldagon Farm, out in the fields about three miles from the town. It has been a family farm in Caithness since 1925, and in 2019 an old barn became a bright restaurant and farm shop, with a children's menu and home baking. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm. To book a table, ring 01955 602228. Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the downstairs dining area.
If it rains
Both castles stand on open cliff tops with nothing under a roof. In rain or a strong wind, leave the cliff paths for a better day and go on to Puldagon, which is all indoors.
On the way
- Reiss Sands
Sinclair's Bay's long beach runs north from Reiss towards Keiss, split in two by a burn. There's a free car park opposite the golf course beside the A99, and a short walk through the dunes to the sand for a stretch of the legs.
Puldagon Farm Shop, a restaurant in Wick.
Make it a weekend
More days out in Wick.
Photograph by Livvy Tan via Google
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