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Cave
Smoo Cave
Large combined sea cave and freshwater cave at Durness, fed by the Allt Smoo stream; guided tours run in season.
A mini guide to
Durness, Thurso & John o' Groats: things to do
Places worth your time in Durness, Thurso & John o' Groats
Top places
Things to do in Durness, Thurso & John o' Groats
Landmarks, museums, parks and viewpoints in and around the area.
Beach and ruined church
Balnakeil Bay and church
Wide bay at the mouth of the Kyle of Durness beside the ruined Balnakeil Church, a scheduled monument.
Beach and ruined township
Ceannabeinne
Ruined township east of Durness, beside a sandy beach looking out to Eilean Hoan.
Sea loch
Loch Eriboll
Sea loch about 16 km long, long used as a sheltered anchorage, with 19th-century lime kilns at Ard Neakie.
Ruined castle
Castle Varrich
Ruin on a rocky high point above Tongue and the Kyle of Tongue, linked with the chiefs of Clan Mackay.
Museum
Strathnaver Museum
Volunteer-run museum in Bettyhill, open since 1976, telling the story of north-west Sutherland through the Highland Clearances.
Headland and lighthouse
Holborn Head
Headland west of Thurso Bay with a promontory fort and a Stevenson lighthouse completed in 1862; a footpath circles it.
Distillery
Wolfburn Distillery
Single malt whisky distillery on the edge of Thurso, opened in 2013 and named after a distillery that closed in the 1860s.
Headland and lighthouse
Dunnet Head
Peninsula ending at Easter Head, the northernmost point of the island of Great Britain, with a lighthouse.
Castle and gardens
Castle of Mey
Former home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, about 6 miles west of John o' Groats, with gardens and a visitor centre.
Village and signpost
John o' Groats
Village on the north-east tip of Scotland with the signpost; a summer passenger ferry crosses to Burwick in Orkney.
Headland and lighthouse
Duncansby Head
Most north-easterly point of the British mainland, between the Pentland Firth and the Moray Firth, with a lighthouse.
Ruined castle
Castle Sinclair Girnigoe
Ruins of two castles, 15th-century Girnigoe and 17th-century Sinclair, on the cliffs about 3 miles north of Wick.
Distillery
Pulteney Distillery
Distillery in the Pulteneytown area of Wick that makes Old Pulteney single malt and has a visitor centre on Huddart Street.
Historic harbour steps
Whaligoe Steps
About 330 steps cut down the cliff to a tiny harbour, which held 14 herring boats by 1814.
Photo credits
- Durness, Thurso & John o' Groats (area photo): Paul Hermans (derivative work: Hogweard), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Smoo Cave: Bubobubo2, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Balnakeil Bay and church: Paul Hermans, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ceannabeinne: Paul Hermans, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Loch Eriboll: Dorcas Sinclair, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Castle Varrich: Paul Hermans, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Strathnaver Museum: Strathnaver Museum, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Holborn Head: Gestumblindi, CC0, source
- Wolfburn Distillery: Htayler, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dunnet Head: Asterion (English Wikipedia), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Castle of Mey: Orikrin1998, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- John o' Groats: David Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Duncansby Head: Russ McLean at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Castle Sinclair Girnigoe: Dorcas Sinclair, modified by Sir Gawain, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pulteney Distillery: K. Schwebke at de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Whaligoe Steps: Postdlf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ullapool, Coigach & Assynt: Paul Hermans, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits
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