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Places to visit
in Caithness.

It’s 21:32 in Caithness.
Caithness

Cliffs and castles at the top of the map.

Caithness sits at the far north-east corner of mainland Scotland, a flat, open land of big skies, sea cliffs and stone. Ruined castles cling to the edges of the cliffs, while Neolithic tombs and rows of standing stones lie on the moors inland. There are long white beaches, the herring town of Wick, and the headlands where Britain runs out. The light is wonderful and the roads are quiet. These are the places in Caithness we think are most worth your time.

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Place of the day21 hours ago

John o' Groats.

The village at the far north-east of mainland Britain, the end of the road from Land's End, with its signpost, a harbour for the Orkney ferry and Duncansby Head nearby.

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Did you know20 hours ago

On the South Head at Wick in Caithness, the Trinkie is a seawater pool cut from an old quarry and filled by the North Sea.

It was formally opened in the 1920s, and the Trinkie Heritage Preservation Group still cleans and paints it every year. It is open all year, with parking at the road end. Outdoor swimmers brave the cold water while families picnic beside it. Offshore, look out for seals, seabirds and even dolphins.

See The Trinkie · Caithness
From our archive20 hours agoCaithnessDrumhollistanCaithnessDuncansby HeadCaithnessDunnet BeachCaithnessDunnet HeadCaithnessEbenezer PlaceCaithnessLybster Harbour and Lighthouse

Caithness this autumn, in our photographs.

Six places in Caithness, each as we found it.

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From the magazine20 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 06Issue 06Spring / Summer 2023

The wood-panelled Lounge Bar of the Ulbster Arms Hotel, at Halkirk in Caithness, has an original carved fireplace that came from a Dutch galleon.

The hotel is a 19th-century bolthole on the banks of the River Thurso, and it is heavy with tradition, with log fires, premium double rooms and its own restaurant. The magazine warns that once you are in, you may find it hard to drag yourself away from the Lounge Bar, fireplace and all. Outside lies Caithness, the far-flung north-eastern corner of the mainland, where the rocks, moors and hills have an elemental rawness and Orkney lies just off the coast. After a day out on that windswept coast, a log fire is a welcome sight.

See Ulbster Arms Hotel · Caithness
Places to visit19 hours ago

Caithness.

Caithness runs from the Pentland Firth to the Moray Firth and together with Sutherland covers the north coast of Scotland.

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From our guide19 hours ago

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe.

Even closer to Wick – and arguably even more picturesque – is Castle Sinclair Girnigoe, first constructed around 1470 and subsequently enlarged, but uninhabited since 1690. Its current state of photogenic decay, balanced above the raging North Sea, conceals a prestigious past that once made it one of the most important bases in the region. In addition, it was occupied by Oliver Cromwell’s troops during the Civil War.

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Did you know19 hours ago

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe, on the cliffs north of Wick, was renamed by an Act of Parliament.

In 1606 George Sinclair, the 5th Earl of Caithness, known as the Wicked Earl, had an Act passed changing its name from Castle Girnigoe to Castle Sinclair, after the great improvements made under him. Cromwell's troops occupied it in 1651, and in 1680 it was stripped of its roofs, floors and furniture. The ruin carries both names today.

See Castle Sinclair Girnigoe · Caithness
Places to visit18 hours ago

Dunnet Head Lighthouse.

Two former keepers' cottages beside the lighthouse at Dunnet Head, the most northerly point of mainland Britain, each sleeping six, with wood stoves and views to Orkney.

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From Issue 6 of Hidden Scotland magazineIssue 618 hours ago

Caithness: Discovering the nooks and crannies

Our guide to Caithness, the far north-east tip of the mainland: Duncansby Head, the Whaligoe Steps, the Castle of Mey, Viking history, Wick's distillery and places to eat and stay.

Read the story
From our guide18 hours ago

Whaligoe Steps.

Three hundred and sixty five handmade steps still form a precipitous, zigzagging route between the natural harbour of Whaligoe Haven and the clifftop above. They’ve been in use for more than 200 years, chiefly by local fishermen and fisherwomen hauling their catch up to market – herring, salmon and shellfish have all traditionally been abundant.

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In Orkney18 hours ago

The Tomb of the Eagles has marked its first year in community ownership.

The South Ronaldsay and Burray Development Trust bought the Neolithic tomb, the Bronze Age site beside it and the visitor centre last September, and has since refurbished the centre. It is open every day from 10am until the season ends on 18 October.

Photograph: Ian Barrow on Google MapsSee The Tomb of the Eagles · Caithness
From the magazine17 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 06Issue 06Spring / Summer 2023

The famous signpost at John o' Groats, in Caithness, puts New York a mere 3,730 miles away, and there was a time when you had to pay to stand beside it.

A snap at the much-photographed marker has become a near-obligatory rite of passage for anyone beginning or ending the long journey to Land's End in Cornwall, and for plenty of people who are simply passing. These days, happily, getting up close to the signpost is free. John o' Groats is the iconic outpost of Caithness, a county of rough-hewn cliffs and windswept gorse with Orkney lying just off its coast. It is a long way from the cities, too: by road it takes about five and a half hours from Edinburgh or Glasgow, and two hours forty minutes from Inverness.

See John o' Groats · Caithness