Burghead – A Pictish Headland and the Ridge of Clarkly Hill
About 3.5 miles on foot.
Burghead sits on a rocky headland that was once the greatest Pictish fort in Scotland, and you can still walk its grassy ramparts above the sea.
From the harbour, a signed circuit heads out by the old railway and the shore and climbs gently to the ridge of Clarkly Hill, where the whole Moray Firth opens out. It's 5.6 km and takes a couple of hours.
- Time
- About an hour and three quarters: a signed circuit of 5.6 km (3.5 miles), mostly level, with a gentle climb to Clarkly Hill.
- The path
- Tarred pavement and road, gravel paths, and earth and grass paths on the hill that are rough, uneven and muddy in places. Not for wheelchairs or pushchairs.
- Where to start
- Burghead Harbour car park. Free.
- When to go
- All year in daylight, on a clear day for the view. The fort's visitor centre opens from April to September, noon to 4pm. From November to January set off by 12.30pm.
- Dogs
- On a lead near livestock on the farmland stretch.
- Children
- A fair distance for small children; the headland is open grass with the sea below.
- Toilets
- Public toilets at the harbour.
- Before you set out
- The fort's visitor centre is shut for the winter: it opens every day from April to September, noon to 4pm, free. The hill paths are rough and can be muddy.
The walk
Park at Burghead Harbour car park, which is free, with public toilets at the harbour. Moray Council's Clarkly Hill Circular starts here. It's 5.6 km, or three and a half miles, signed all the way round with a yellow bull, and takes about an hour and three quarters. Before you set off, or when you get back, wander out onto the headland behind the harbour. The grassy banks there are the ramparts of the largest Pictish fort in Scotland.
It was held from the late 300s until 884, when Sigurd the Mighty, the Norse Earl of Orkney, took it. The bull on the waymarks belongs to the fort: carved bull stones have been found at Burghead and nowhere else in Scotland, and only six are known. The round white building on the headland is the visitor centre, run by volunteers. It's shut for the winter and opens again in April, every day from noon to 4pm, but the ramparts and the view are there whenever you like. The circuit itself takes in the old railway line between Burghead and Cummingston, a stretch of rocky shore, and a gentle climb through farmland to the ridge of Clarkly Hill.
The hill is only about 60 metres high, but the Moray Firth is spread out below it, and on a clear day you can see Caithness. Underfoot it's pavement, gravel, earth and grass, rough and muddy in places on the hill, so wear boots. It doesn't suit a wheelchair or a pushchair, and it's exposed when the wind is strong. Keep dogs on a lead near livestock. From November to January, set off by 12.30pm.
If it rains
The headland and the ridge are open to the wind and the hill paths turn muddy. On a wet day, keep to the headland and the harbour, which take half an hour.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Missy B via Google