Gateway to the North Highland Way

We had the North Highland Way exhibition at Scrabster for three months in 2014 with the compliments of Northlink / Serco. This consisted of a desktop display and banner with North Highland Way. This is just one of the "Gateways to the North Highland Way".

Gateway to the North Highland Way

Stay at our campsite

Stay at our B&B....

Visit our cafe and information centre

Become a Friend of the North Highland Way

Gateway to the North Highland Way

The North Highland Way stretches from John o Groats to Cape Wrath - 114 miles of fantastic coast line.

Stay at the Weigh Inn near the harbour - a great stopping off place and very comfortable for you to linger...
You can really get the flavour of the North Highland Way from here, and they will have the latest information about the development of the trail.

You can cross the firth by using our partner site Whether you are coming from or going to Orkney, there are great things to do on either side of the water.  Cycle to Scapa Flow and see the plans of the Dunnet Head installations and learn about the historical wartime links at the Scapa Flow Visitor centre.

There are lots of reasons to go to Caithness, the North Highland Way is just one of them!




Map

Archaeology across the Firth!

The Dunnet Head Educational Trust has teamed up with the ferry companies and the Scapa Flow Visitor centre to bring you archaeology across the Firth!  The plans of the military sites at Dunnet Head and Burifa Hill and the collection of materials has been donated to the centre where it can be more publicly available, and is the first real Hands Across the Firth project.

You can see more about Caithness archaeology at the Wick archive and about Orkney archaeology on their web site.  The Orkney Defence Interest Group also has a very interesting web site.

The Dunnet Head Educational Trust continues to collect information about Burifa Hill and the Head at their centre at Brough which is open by appointment only.

Cycling across the Firth!

We have teamed up with a cycle shop in Orkney to provide cross Firth packages for people who want to go to Orkney on a day trip, do some cycling, and return the same day.  If you are staying on Orkney, we can help with information about public transport getting to Dunnet Head and hiring a bicycle to do some local touring. Contact us for a quotation.

Packages to Scapa Flow Visitor Centre

The Scapa Flow Visitor Centre at Lyness, Hoy, is a source of fascination and their collection has been added to by the donation of the plans of Dunnet Head and Burifa Hill.  If you would like a day out or want to spend a few days on Hoy, or just go for the day, it is perfectly possible.

The B&B starts at £27.00 per person per night and the additional cost of a return to Hoy is about £65 per person.  However, if you are already going to Orkney, we can also provide information on how to get to the centre.  There will be a small admin charge for this which is payable by Paypal. 

If you are staying with us, then there is no charge for this service.

Email us for further information.

How to cross the Pentland Firth

Getting to Orkney has never been so easy:

There are day tours during the summer and two ways to cross to Orkney from northern Scotland.  Enjoy at stay at Dunnet Head and take the tour - highly recommended. 

From Scrabster you can take the Northlink Ferry to Stromness.  This is a 25 minute drive from the most northerly B&B, self catering and campsite at Dunnet Head on the Scottish mainland.

From Gills Bay, you can take the Pentland Ferry to St. Margaret's Hope.  Gills Bay is a 10 minute drive from the most northerly B&B, self catering and campsite at Dunnet Head on the Scottish mainland.


 Email us for information on accommodation bookings.  For the ferries, please refer to them direct.

WW2 at Dunnet Head and Burifa Hill

The exhibition of World War Two artefacts and archive of Dunnet Head and Burifa is now housed at the Scapa Flow Visitor Centre, Lyness, Hoy, creating a link of information provision across the Pentland Firth. The exhibition was donated to Orkney Islands Council in 2011 by the Dunnet Head Educational Trust. From Dunnet Head, the most northerly point of the UK mainland, you can travel to Hoy via Northlinks Ferries from Scrabster to Stromness and then from the Houton Ferry Terminal to Hoy. Hoy is also famous for the Old Man of Hoy - a distinctive rock formation which attracts many climbers each year.

You can see more about opening times of the Scapa Flow Visitor Centre at http://www.scapaflow.co.uk/sfvc.htm

Carriage Driving

The Orkney Carriage Driving Group is an active group promoting the gentle art of carriage driving. The owners of Gaira Driving Ponies are very active within the group, and are members of the Orkney Tourism Group. The secretary of the tourism associationNorth of Scotland Hospitality which operates under the byeline LetsGoNorth is an enthusiast of driving, and she had an excellent day out with the Orkney group on Sunday 10th April. It was a glorious day, great company, great food, and most important, great horses! We were even joined by a dog in harness!

Merry Men of Mey Carriage Driving at Mey are members of LetsGoNorth.

North of Scotland Hospitality (NOSH) and Orkney Tourism Group join forces!

In a major coup, the tourism associations, NOSH and OTG have joined forces to promote tourism in the far north of Scotland. This means that Caithness & Sutherland will benefit from Orkney's strong branding, putting us on the same stage for the first time! You can see more about NOSH at www.letsgonorth.com and about OTG at http://www.orkneytourism.com/

Rural Network Project Visits announced - Apply now!

The Dunnet Head Educational Trust and Orkney Tourism Group will be hosts for a cross firth workshop on 15 March. See Scottish National Rural Network for further details and to apply for participation.

Tourism Conference

a representative from Brough Bay Ltd. and the Dunnet Head Educational Trust attended the Orkney Tourism Conference in Kirkwall on 18th November. The conference was sponsored by the Orkney Tourism Group, VisitScotland and Loganair.

It proved once again that Orkney are to the forefront of tourism development, and theirs is a model which could be used in the rest of Scotland. While it is true that there are certain advantages to being an island with geographical limitations, Orkney are building themselves to be a world class destination - something the rest of Scotland can only dream of. They recently won the cruise port of the Year award, while John o Groats won the carbuncle of the year award, and then refused to collect it, thereby missing a marketing opportunity. Any publicity is good publicity!

The Travelling Scholar

We were visited on Saturday by Howie Firth, (historian, writer and broadcaster) and Selena (a student of fine arts and photographer). The objective was to do the Pictish walk linked with Howie's talk in Caithness Horizons which took place on 7th October. There was some reorganising to do as Howie was not able to do the talk and walk on the 9th as planned, so things were rearranged. The event was part of the Highland Archaeological Festival and the British Science Association's Travelling Scholar programme.

Howie, Selena and I did a tour of the Brough area. Howie and Selena had never been to Dunnet Head, and Howie was fascinated by the sight of his native Orkney from this side of the water. We did a very brief tour of Dunnet Head, but clearly WWII was not high on the agenda. We then went to Brough Bay where Howie was able to speak to Mervyn Sinclair and get more local insights to the area about the fishing and history of the Bay.

Next we went to Brough Castle, the remains of a promontory fort, and where I have always been fascinated by the presence of perfectly formed circles in the ground which could have been brochs. Howie thought it would make a good archaeological study. Brough Castle is twinned with Wick Castle, but very little is known about it.

Then on to the souterraine at Ham Farm which has variously been described as the Pictish house and souterraine. Howie thought it was actually a small Neolithic tomb with a broch on top. He explained the importance of these for the defence of the harbours, of which Ham would have been one. They were all on high places so the occupants could signal to each other in the event of marauders coming up the Pentland firth.

Finally, we retired to Windhaven where Brian explained the role of the inn in the days of smugglers' - which is now our kitchen.

Orkney Science Festival

The Dunnet Head Educational Trust have prepared a display and DVD for showing in the King Street Hall in Kirkwall. The display focusses on species identification and is supported by materials from the RSPB, Forestry Commission and SNH, as well as the Trust's own literature.

Dunnet Head B&B benefits from links with Orkney

One organisation who is benefitting from links with Orkney is the Dunnet Head B&B, self catering and campsite. They joined the Orkney Tourism Group in 2008 and has seen a great increase in Orcadian visitors. Events on Orkney such as the WWII exhibition in 2009 and participation in the Orkney Science Festival has raised the profile of Caithness and, in particular, Dunnet Head.

Benefits of Cross Firth working

At Dunnet Head in our accommodation and at our camp site, we have seen an increase in visitors coming from Orkney to stay on the most northerly point of the UK mainland. Our small information service provides the visitors with information about the area and encourages them to explore Caithness and Sutherland. Many of them have not been here before. In addition, we often receive contacts from organisations on Orkney wishing to take tours of the mainland.

Scottish National Rural Network

The Dunnet Head Educational Trust took part in the roadshow launched by the Scottish National Rural Network in Kirkwall on 28th May 2010. It was a great day with lots of opportunity for networking and creating joint projects.

"> This was a joint project between the Caithness Branch of the British Science Association (BSA) and the Trust, and was kindly part sponsored by Northlink Ferries.

About this blog

The Hands Across the Firth blog is a joint project between the Dunnet Head Educational Trust and the Scapa Flow Interpretation Centre in Lyness, Hoy. The Trust joined the Orkney Tourism Group in 2008 in a privately led initiative to develop cross Pentland Firth projects. The first idea was to have a Pan Pentland Walking Festival based on the Trust's experience of organising the Caithness & Sutherland Walking Festival. To date, this has not materialised, but we are ever hopeful that this will take place in the future.

In 2009, the Trust took part in the Orkney Science Festival by having an exhibition in Deerness promoting the WWII aspects of Dunnet Head and Burifa Hill. There were links between Orkney and the mainland during the War with the Gee station and Radar Station at Burifa Hill and Dunnet Head respectively. The Trust also launched exhibitions in Stromness and Kirkwall libraries which were well received. In 2010, the Trust will again promote Dunnet Head in the Orkney Science Festival on 4th September as Family Day.