Duncansby Stacks — A Fab Cliffside Walk with Stunning Views
Looking to visit Duncansby Stacks?
If so check out my photos and videos of a visit in June 2021 plus all the practical information you need in relation to your visit.
Getting to Duncansby Stacks
Duncansby Stacks are located to the East of John O’Groats.
To reach them take a right turn off the A99 just infront of the Seaview of Hotel (which is on the right hand side of the A99). This is just as you are coming into the outskirts of John of Groats.
After turning right you will see Puffin Croft on your left hand side.
Keep travelling along this road to Duncasby Head. It is approximately 2 miles and most of the road is single track with passing places.
At the end of the road you will cross a cattle grid as Duncasby Head is an open grazing area, meaning sheep are grazing freely there. As such extra care is needed with dogs and they should be kept on a lead.
As you reach Duncansby Head you will see the lighthouse ahead of you. There is parking on the left hand side.
Walking at Duncansby Head
The ground is rough and uneven, as you would expect for a field and an area near the cliffs.
Good footwear is adviseable.
The grazing sheep does mean there is some sheep poo to avoid and there are also a good selection of flies in the area too.
There are a variety of well trodden areas in the grass which show you the main walking routes to reach the stacks.
Walking to Duncasby Stacks
On leaving the car park you head into a grassed area and the first thing you will see is a small concrete block, which is a trig point, used by ordnance survey for measuring purposes.
Head away from the car park across the grass and you will come to an inlet/ravine which will give you your first spectacular views of birds.
Birds nest at all levels on these cliffs — not only are the views dramatic but the sounds are pretty spectacular too.
It is worth walking around the edge of this ‘inlet’. There is a spectacular section on the opposite side from the car park nearest the sea where there is a large sea cave. Again the sounds and sights are wonderful. Here’s my picture of some of the birds nesting in the cave.
Continuing to First Stack
Walking from the first inlet you can walk across towards the sea and there you will find a small stack just a short distance from the cliffs. The path to this stack is much less well trodden as most people head directly for the main stacks. It is worth a little diversion though.
Duncasby Stacks
There is a lovely panoramic view having walked across the grass from the car park. It is fantastic to see the stacks together.
Walking Around the Cliff Edge
There is a path (well trodden grass rather than an actual path) that follows around the cliff edge. You just follow along and can walk to get a close up view of the stacks themselves.
This walk has some steeper sections, as you would expect from a cliff path but it is manageable.
There is a particular section where the path is close to the cliff edge and the birds fly very close overhead as they ride the winds coming off the cliff face. This is a particularly spectacular spot.
Returning to the Car Park
You can retrace your steps or you can take a short cut back across the middle of the grassed area to get back to the car park.
Practical Information
There are no toilets at Duncansby Head. The nearest are at John O’Groats.
There is parking for coaches and cars at Duncansby Head.
There is also a nice walk to the sandy beach and around the Boars of Duncansby which is the tidal area nearest the car park.
On the way to John O’Groats we stopped at Puffin Croft. This is a small petting farm located just before the junction back onto the main road. Puffin Croft is on the right if you are returning from Duncansby Head.
There is parking for around 5 cards. On entry you will see some donkeys on the right hand side.
Entry was pretty much self service — you made a donation in the shop which was £2 per person. There were various craft and local items for sale as well as some food and drink i.e. cheese and onion slices etc.
The entry to the croft itself was just through a small barrier.
To the left on entry a building housing Mr Bingley, a very nice pig and some chickens. Then came enclosures with goats including a very lovely micro goat called Eli with the most adorable brown eyes.
Two more pigs, this time micro pigs and then some geese. There was also a rabbit enclosure and a small area with two Shetland ponies in it.
We spent around 15 minutes at the croft in total and that included feeding the animals with carrots that we had purchased from the shop.
There are no toilets at the croft so we headed around to John O’Groats to use the public toilets there.
John O’Groats
It was very busy when we visited, partly because it was a very warm and sunny day. The car park was almost full and so were all the cafes and outside seating areas.
The public toilets are to the far side of the car park as you enter and they are paid public toilets. It costs 40p to use the toilets, in cash with no change given. There is no change machine at the toilets.
Having seen some McLaren cars heading for John O’Groats we took a quick stroll down to see them but just found the whole area too busy so we left and started heading home, back down South.
Duncansby Stacks was the main point of our visit to and it was why we stayed in Wick.
If you are looking to stay in Wick then why not check out my Wick Hotel article which includes a video review of our hotel alternative (a fab 2 bed apartment) plus where we ate etc.
Looking for some more UK travel inspiration? Check out my other articles about the Scottish Highlands
Check out my Travel Inspiration section if you are looking for more ideas on places to visit
I’ve also got lots of resources on how to travel cheaper (and therefore travel more!)
Originally published at https://theprofessionaltraveller.com on June 14, 2021.
