20 Attractions to Explore Near Duncansby Head

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Castle & Gardens of Mey

Castle & Gardens of Mey

11.56km from Duncansby Head

The Castle of Mey was built between 1566 and 1572, possibly on the site of an earlier fortification, by George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness. The castle was used as an officers' rest home during the Second World War.

Windwick Bay

Windwick Bay

14.54km from Duncansby Head

A beautiful bay where seal pups thrive and spectacular seas can crash ashore during the autumn and winter. A coastal path around the cliff tops of the Ward Hill and adjoining farm land gives a great vantage point for views over the North Sea and the uninhabited island of Copinsay, which lies on the horizon.”

South Walls

South Walls

18.54km from Duncansby Head

A beautiful inhabited island adjacent to Hoy in Orkney, Scotland. The name is a corruption of "Sooth Was", which means the "southern voes" – as with Kirkwall, it was assumed that it was a mispronunciation of "walls". It was a tidal island until a narrow causeway, was constructed over the sandbank in 1912, which was known as the Ayre, although this name has become transferred to the causeway itself.

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe

18.62km from Duncansby Head

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe is located about 3 miles north of Wick on the east coast of Caithness, Scotland. It is considered to be one of the earliest seats of Clan Sinclair. It comprises the ruins of two castles: the 15th-century Castle Girnigoe; and the early 17th-century Castle Sinclair. The ruins sits upon a rocky promontory jutting out into Sinclair Bay.

Longhope Lifeboat Museum

Longhope Lifeboat Museum

19.1km from Duncansby Head

A beautiful museum tells the story of the 1932 Watson Lifeboat “Thomas McCunn” together with the Longhope Lifeboat Disaster March 17th 1969. Thomas McCunn is the only launchable slipway lifeboat in the UK and served Longhope 1933-62. The Museum is not manned at all times, however you can make an appointment to view by contacting the Trust.

Hoxa Head

Hoxa Head

19.21km from Duncansby Head

Hoxa is a small settlement on the island of South Ronaldsay in the Orkney Islands north of mainland Scotland. Hoxa is located 1+1⁄4 miles west of St Margaret's Hope at the end of the B9043 road. Thorfinn Turf-Einarsson the 10th century Norse Earl of Orkney may be buried at the site of The Howe broch just north of Hoxa.

Hackness Martello Tower and Battery

Hackness Martello Tower and Battery

19.3km from Duncansby Head

The Hackness Martello Tower and Battery were built in 1813-14 to protect British convoys during the Napoleonic Wars, with French and American warships attacking merchant shipping using the Pentland Firth.Barrack room furniture and other military memorabilia give an idea of life at the barracks. Stand on the tower and take in the view towards Scapa Flow.

Flotta

Flotta

21.19km from Duncansby Head

Flotta is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying in Scapa Flow. There are beautiful views over the Pentland Firth towards Scotland and the island’s moorland is a haven for birdlife. It also played a major role two World Wars, becoming home to thousands of servicemen and women, and an important base for the Royal Navy.

Hunda

Hunda

23.04km from Duncansby Head

A beautiful uninhabited island in the Orkney archipelago in Scotland. It is 100 hectares in extent and rises to 42 metres above sea level. It is situated in the Scapa Flow and connected to the nearby island of Burray by a causeway built in 1941 to stop passage of small surface craft as part of the boom defences, and thence to the Orkney Mainland via the Churchill Barriers.

Fara

Fara

23.41km from Duncansby Head

Fara is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying in Scapa Flow between the islands of Flotta and Hoy. It has been uninhabited since the 1960s. Fara always had a good reputation for it's rich pastures but, as with so many other abandoned islands, the people ended up having no choice but to leave due to the poor communications.

Burray

Burray

23.86km from Duncansby Head

Burray is a small island between South Ronaldsay and the Orkney Mainland. Attractions in Burray include the Fossil and Heritage Centre at Viewforth. The island has a reasonable amount of birdlife, with Eurasian curlew, herring and lesser black-backed gulls breeding here.

Orkney Fossil & Heritage Centre

Orkney Fossil & Heritage Centre

24.69km from Duncansby Head

Orkney Fossil & Heritage Centre was housed in converted farm buildings on the island of Burray, the Centre has an intriguing collection of fossils from Orkney and around the world, including some rare and beautifully preserved specimens. The exhibitions downstairs showcase the extensive fossil and rock collection, with detailed information and illustrations of 380 million year old fish! Ernest Firth was also a collector of heritage objects

Glimps Holm

Glimps Holm

26.42km from Duncansby Head

Glimps Holm in Orkney is a long, lazy beach with beautiful blue water, golden sand and a nearby Churchill Barrier. Scapa Flow had many entrances, making it difficult to protect the anchorages in this natural harbour. Blockships had been sunk to close the narrow passages, but these proved inadequate. Glimps Holm is connected to Lamb Holm, to the northeast, by Barrier number 2, and to Burray by Barrier number 3.

Lamb Holm

Lamb Holm

28.05km from Duncansby Head

Lamb Holm is a small uninhabited island in Orkney, Scotland. The Italian Chapel, constructed during the Second World War, is the island's main attraction. It is classified by the National Records of Scotland as an uninhabited island that "had no usual residents at the time of either the 2001 or 2011 censuses. On the northwest of the island, on the shore of St Mary's Bay, are the remains of a prehistoric settlement which have been designated as a scheduled monument.

Italian Chapel

Italian Chapel

28.4km from Duncansby Head

The Italian Chapel is one of Orkney's more unusual attractions but is certainly one of its most visited. It was built during World War II by Italian prisoners of war, who were housed on the previously uninhabited island while they constructed the Churchill Barriers to the east of Scapa Flow. The chapel was not completed until after the end of the war, and was restored in the 1960s and again in the 1990s. It is a popular tourist attraction, and a category A listed building.

Churchill Barriers

Churchill Barriers

28.67km from Duncansby Head

The Churchill Barriers are a series of four causeways linking the Orkney Mainland to the islands of Lamb Holm, Glimps Holm, Burray and South Ronaldsay with a total length of 1.5 miles. The barriers were built between May 1940 and September 1944, primarily as naval defences to protect the anchorage at Scapa Flow, but since 12 May 1945, serve as road links between the islands.

Dwarfie Stane

Dwarfie Stane

31.51km from Duncansby Head

This 500 years old monument lies in a steep sided valley between Quoys and Rackwick on the island of Hoy. A huge block of hollowed-out red sandstone measuring about 8.5 metres long, the Dwarfie Stane is thought to be Britain’s only example of a rock-cut tomb. It should be stressed, however, that not all archaeologists share this opinion. The stone is a glacial erratic located in desolate peatland. The site is managed by Historic Environment Scotland.

Earls Bu and Church

Earls Bu and Church

31.85km from Duncansby Head

The remains of the Orphir Round Church, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, are located in Orphir Parish on the Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. It has been a scheduled monument since 2014. It consisted of an apse on the eastern side of its 6-metre wide circular nave. It consisted of a circular nave about six metres in diameter with a semicircular apse with a central window. The walls are one metre thick.

Ward Hill

Ward Hill

34.78km from Duncansby Head

Ward Hill is a hill on the island of Hoy in Orkney, Scotland. It is 481 metres high. The hill forms a curved ridge, reminiscent of a 'J' in shape. The lower slopes are covered in heather and grass, though the top of the ridge is covered in small stones with bare sandy soil. The highest summit is towards the northern end and is crowned by a trig point.

Old Man of Hoy

Old Man of Hoy

34.9km from Duncansby Head

A famous 450 foot sea stack- is perhaps Orkney's most famous landmark. It is one of the tallest sea stacks in the British Isles and possibly the most famous. The Old Man is popular with climbers, and was first climbed in 1966. Created by the erosion of a cliff through hydraulic action some time after 1750, the stack is not more than a few hundred years old, but may soon collapse into the sea.

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Duncansby Head

Duncansby Head

Wick KW1 4YS, UK

Duncansby Head is the most northeasterly part of the British mainland. The point is marked by Duncansby Head Lighthouse, and Duncansby Stacks, prominent sea stacks just off the coast.