Did you know
The top of Britain.
A stone marker at Dunnet Head marks the most northerly point of mainland Britain.
Caithness
Dunnet Head
The most northerly point of mainland Britain, a wild headland of sea cliffs and moorland in Caithness, an RSPB reserve with puffins and a lighthouse of 1831.
Welcome
Not John o' Groats, but Dunnet Head, is the most northerly point of mainland Britain, and a stone at the end of the road says so.
A single-track road runs out across a heather moor scattered with lochans to the white lighthouse on the cliffs, three hundred feet above the Pentland Firth, with Orkney laid out across the water.
The lighthouse was built in 1831 by Robert Stevenson, and keepers lived here until 1989. Around it, the headland is an RSPB reserve. In summer the cliffs are packed with nesting seabirds, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and kittiwakes, and puffins on the grassy ledges, and in spring the clifftops are bright with thrift and squill. Keep an eye on the sea for porpoises, dolphins and even orcas.
A firm, level path leads from the car park to the clifftop viewpoint, good for wheelchairs and buggies. In the nesting season keep dogs close and on a short lead.
Before you go
Open headland, there at any time; an RSPB reserve.
From April to mid-August keep dogs close, on a short lead, for the nesting birds.
- Where
- The end of the B855 north of Dunnet.
- Path
- All-abilities, to the viewpoint.
- Birds
- Puffins in summer.
Did you know
Did you know
A Stevenson light.
The lighthouse was built in 1831 by Robert Stevenson.
Ben Lerwill
From our guide to Caithness
A rewarding place to visit at any time of year, this nature reserve – which occupies the most northerly point of mainland Britain – is a particular joy in the spring and summer, when nesting seabirds turn it into an avian nursery. Puffins, razorbills, guillemots and more all flock to this gloriously windswept peninsula.
Read moreGraeme Johncock
The Mermaid of Dunnet Head
A Caithness mermaid once known for keeping her distance was tempted into friendship by a charming young man — only to discover his true motives ran far shallower than the sea.
Read the storyGraeme Johncock
While John O’ Groats is world-famous, Dunnet Head is actually the most northerly point of the British mainland.
Read moreWhat is on
What is new across Caithness, day by day.
New places, news and stories, as we find them.
What is on in CaithnessWhere it is
At the end of the B855, a single-track road across the moor north of Dunnet, KW14 8XS.
Close byDunnet.
Dunnet Head LighthouseStay in the keepers' cottages.Under a mile 2 min by road
Surfing in Caithness5 miles 12 min by road
Dunnet BeachTwo miles of sand below the headland.6 miles 9 min by road
Castletown Chip Shop8 miles 13 min by road
Thurso Golf Club9 miles as the crow flies
Duncansby HeadThe north-east corner, beyond John o' Groats.17 miles 27 min by road
The Daily
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Stay nearby
Places to stay near the headland, and when each is next free.
Hidden Scotland, the magazine
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Read on
What we have written about it and more in Caithness.
Find out more
For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .