Caithness

Caithness is in the furthest north east corner of the British mainland, separated from the Orkney islands by a few miles of sea across the Pentland Firth. Whilst part of the Highland region administratively, it has a different character to the rest of the Highlands, being largely lowland! In the west of the county blanket bog and peatlands abound and form the eastern part of the Flow Country that extends west into Sutherland. In the east there is less peat and more farming. The land is rolling and populated. The coastline is a major scenic feature of Caithness. Dunnet Beach is a beautiful three kilometre stretch of sand; Dunnet Head is the British mainland’s most northerly point, with a scenic lighthouse and impressive cliffs, populated by puffins and other many other birds in the summer months. To the east are John o’Groats and Duncansby. The Duncansby stacks are a spectacular sight.

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An Autumn Afternoon on Peedie Sands, Caithness — An Autumn Afternoon on Peedie Sands

The North Coast at Sunset from Dunnet Head, Caithness — An Autumn Afternoon on Peedie Sands

See & Read More About Caithness

Bucholly Castle

Bucholly Castle is a fascinating ruin set in a stunning, remote location on the east coast of Caithness between John o' Groats and Wick, just south of Freswick. It is perched above the North Sea on a rocky peninsula joined to the mainland by a narrow neck of land with ...
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Saturday Afternoon – Choppy Pentland Firth

A grey Saturday afternoon in Caithness, just a fleeting hint of brightness from the west and a choppy Pentland Firth with Dunnet Head, the most northerly point of the British Mainland, in the distance. Shot during a brief stop on our lockdown cycle and foreshore walk during the Covid-19 shutdown ...
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Clouds ablaze as the sun rises and rain falls

Welcome Home to Caithness

After two weeks away Caithness welcomed us home with a beautiful dawn and sunrise. Happy 2020! As the light developed showers closed in from the north and the clouds were ablaze as the rain fell. Behind, to the north, a complementary rainbow to go with the sunrise; typical Caithness conditions! ...
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Sunset from Peedie Beach; a lovely small beach on the west side of Dunnet Head. It’s a short but steep walk from the car park at Dwarwick Pier at the west end of the village of Dunnet

Sunset from Dwarwick Head & Peedie Beach

It’s been a dark, damp and sometimes windy week in the north; so here are photos from a more serene Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago. At the west end of the village of Dunnet in Caithness a small road winds down the hill to Dwarwick Harbour where there ...
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Photo of a storm passing over the Pentland Firth late on a June evening; from the scenic Scarfskerry Harbour

Caithness Summer Evenings

By September in the north of Scotland, it's really noticeable how much earlier darkness is gathering. The sun is already down several hours earlier than in late June when, although the sun does go down behind the horizon, it doesn't get completely dark. Time to re-visit some of the long ...
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Photo of a Puffin surveying the geo around Wester Clett, "Puffin Island"

Puffin Colony – Wester Clett, Sutherland

Just on the Sutherland side of the Sutherland/Caithness border is a deep geo, or coastal inlet, with a steep sided island called Wester Clett in the middle. Wester Clett has been popularly named "Puffin Island", which is fair enough given the number of puffins here in the summer months. The ...
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Photo of a stormy Atlantic Ocean crashing over the rocks near Ushat Head at Crosskirk, Caithness on Sunday 29th October 2017

Stormy Seas, Caithness

With the first strong northerly winds of the autumn, the weekend of 28-29th October was fairly stormy for the North coast of Scotland. With a strong northerly, the swell in the North Atlantic builds quickly and pounds the coast. A few miles west of Thurso lies the headland of Brims ...
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Northern Marsh Orchids (Dactylorhiza purpurella) and Buttercups

Flowers In The Grass, Caithness

A few pictures of flowers in the verge and lawn. Many Northern Marsh Orchids appear every year at the end of May or start of June in the lawn pictured. Primroses grow in the verges and at first I thought the Common Bugle pictured was a different type of orchid ...
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