I am remaining in Scotland for the second of my favourite places and switching to the very North Eastern tip of Mainland Scotland…..Duncansby Head. Or to be more precise ‘The Stacks of Duncansby’.
Most folk visiting this part of Scotland visit the well-known John O’Groats, not the best advert for Scotland, some venture onto Duncansby Head to view the lighthouse and of course the view towards the Orkney Islands but few venture the extra mile to see the Stacks…….
This view of Duncansby Head and Stacks is from the south looking north to Orkney across the Pentland Firth with the Skerries of Pentland and Muckle breaking the surface in the middle of the firth….and it is a rare day to enjoy such a clear well defined horizon. But the more dramatic view is from Duncansby Head looking towards the south…….
The Stacks, I understand are erosion of these massive sea cliffs on the Caithness coast, and not sculptured formations left from the glacial period. It is also hard to give scale but I reckon they reach a height of 60 to 70 metres. They are also know by some as ‘Gull City’ for the quantity of sea birds that breed on these rocky cliffs and stacks. I wish I could say it was a peaceful location….certainly there are few folk about but the gulls and their cries more than make up for that. Add a wind that even on a calm day still whispers all about you and you do indeed have another magical location. Add a clear day and the views just go on for mile after mile…..I wouldn’t mind being there now!
12th JULY
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 