Dunnet Head Ceann Dùnaid (Scottish Gaelic) | |
|---|---|
Headland | |
 Most northerly point of mainland Britain. | |
  Dunnet Head | |
| Coordinates:58°39′25″N03°22′37″W / 58.65694°N 3.37694°W /58.65694; -3.37694 | |
| Grid position | ND 20206 75164 |
| Location | Highland, Scotland |
| Native name | Ceann Dùnaid (Scottish Gaelic) |
Dunnet Head (Scottish Gaelic:Ceann Dùnaid) is aheadland inHighland, on the north coast ofScotland.[1][2] Dunnet Head includes themost northerly point of both mainland Scotland and the island ofGreat Britain.
Caithness is the historiccounty that Dunnet Head was within, the county town wasWick.[3]
The point, also known asEaster Head, is atgrid referenceND202767, about 18 km (11 mi) west-northwest ofJohn o' Groats and about 20 km (12 mi) fromDuncansby Head. Dunnet Head can be seen also as the western limit of thePentland Firth on thefirth's southern, or Caithness, side (Duncansby Head is the eastern limit). Although Easter Head is the most northerly point on the Scottish mainland, the northernmost point of Scotland lies in theShetland islands, approximately 170 miles (270 km) further north.
The headland's boundary with the rest of the Scottish mainland can be defined as a north–south line running fromLittle Clett (ND220740) to the mouth ofDunnet Burn (ND217709) inDunnet Bay. This line is followed along most of its route by asingle track road, theB855, which linksBrough with the village ofDunnet, making this the most northerly road on mainland Britain. From this line, the headland projects westward and northward into theAtlantic Ocean and the Pentland Firth and shelters the more southerly waters of Dunnet Bay.
The peninsula is north-east of theburgh ofThurso, and on a clear day, it affords views of the islands ofStroma to the east, andHoy and theOrkney Mainland, 15 km (9 miles) away to the north, across the Pentland Firth.
Near theDunnet Head lighthouse are minor fortifications built duringWorld War II to protect the naval base atScapa Flow, including aChain Home Lowradar station and a bunker used by theRoyal Observer Corps during theCold War.Burifa Hill on Dunnet Head was the site of the master station and a monitoring station of the northernGEE chain of radio navigation stations during World War II. There was also an artillery range on Dunnet Head during World War II.
Dunnet Headlochs are restocked every two years withbrown trout fry; fishing by permit is between 1 April and early October.
Dunnet Head has a viewing platform where visitors can watch birds in the neighbouring cliffs. Depending on the season, birds may includefulmars,guillemots,kittiwakes,puffins,great skuas,arctic skuas,razorbills, and - at sea -gannets andherring gulls.[4]
Dunnet Head was thecentral meridian of the 6-inch (150-millimetre) and 1:2500 Ordnance Survey maps ofCaithness.[5]
Dunnet Head is recorded as Virvedrum inPtolemy's 2nd-centuryGeography.[6]
Scotland mainland points
Great Britain mainland points
Other
