A lot of people think that John O'Groats is the most northerly point of mainland Britain. Well, we did go there too, but first we went to much more remote and more spectacular Dunnet Head. An obvious place for a lighthouse, you can just make out Orkney in the distance in the above photo.
There was a Swiss couple in a Jeep who were on the same route we were and stopped at Dunnet Head at the same time as us. They were trying to get their Jeep to the very end of the road (a form of geocaching I guess) and were considering what looked to me like a very treacherous path when I was taking this photo. We know they made it out as we bumped into them in the gift shop in John O'Groats!
John O'Groats now has a lovely coffee shop (sorry, no photo) where we had a relaxing latte but more importantly, stopped in at the gift shop/information center. After the Swiss couple had bought their postcards and stamps, we asked for directions on how to find Nybster Broch. A good thing we did too, because even with some fairly specific instructions, it still took us a while to find it. For reference, if you find the Caithness Broch Centre in Auckengill, there is a farm and a house across the street. You have to go past the house and turn at the tiny public road, which leads down to a parking area close to the North Sea and this sign above.
The helpful woman at John O'Goats told us that there were three stone monuments (which there were) and that we would find the Broch by the last one. Sure enough, the Victorian monument in the photo called Mervyn's Tower pictured above, was just behind the grass covered Nybster Broch. Built later than Skara Brae (Iron age as opposed to Neolithic) it may have been occupied for as many as 1000 years.
Climbing Mervyn's Tower gives a good view of the broch, but you can also climb right in and around it. And what a view of the sea while clambering around the broch!
Had to say hello to this fellow as we left the Nybster car park. Mooooooo!
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