INFORMATION KINDLY SUPPLIED BY SCOTTISH NATURAL HERITAGE

This is an independent tour by car.

Summary: Seabirds/ peatland habitat. Chance of cetaceans. Scenery takes in varied landforms. Some local history and archaeology.

Key species

Will see (in season): auks, including puffin, kittiewake, fulmar, shag, great skua, , greylag. Scottish primrose, purple oxytropis, Wick sedge. Grey seal, common seal, red deer.

Should see (in season): arctic skua, black throated diver, red throated diver, great northern diver, golden plover, dunlin, greenshank, raven, common scoter, wigeon, whooper swan, Greenland white-fronted goose, glaucous gull.

Might see (in season): golden eagle, hen harrier, ring ouzel, red grouse, peregrine falcon, sooty and manx shearwater, Iceland gull. Harbour porpoise, roe deer.

If you’re lucky(in season): whimbrel, woodsandpiper, merlin. Minke whale, white-beaked dolphin, Rissos dolphin, otter.

The suggested route starts at Dunnet Head, goes through Thurso, across the causewaymire, south along the east coast and returning north via the Straths. This results in 2 nights in Caithness and one in Sutherland. Reversing the direction could mean an extra night in Caithness: day 1 overnight in Dunnet Head, day 2 overnight in Lybster/Brora and day 3 overnight in Forss.

A visit could be extended to include bottle-nosed dolphins and red kite near Inverness.

Using Dunnet Head as a base, the following tours could be easily be undertaken. 

SITE BY SITE

Badbea: Clearance settlement. Breeding grey seals in autumn. Not public access to cliff top.

Ben Dorrery: Reasonably easy walk giving superb views of the Flow Country. Not public access.

Brora harbour: Good all year round for birds. Autumn best. Winter gulls, autumn seabirds and cetaceans. Good place to see minke whales in calm weather during July- August. Public toilets in town/ food.

Broubster Leans: Good for breeding waders and wintering geese. Best visited in late April/ early May and during the late autumn/ winter. Suitability of site to accommodate large number of visitors not clear. Best viewed from the road.

Brough Bay - good for cetaceans, sea birds. Recent (2005) sightings of whales and basking sharks.

Camster Cairns, Hill o many stanes, Whaligoe steps: Interesting archaeology.

Castletown: Flagstone trail at Castlehill. Dunnet Bay visible from Castlehill good for seabirds all year. Toilets / food in village.

Dunbeath Heritage Centre: Wet weather site. Toilets/ food in village.

Duncansby Head: Good views of seabirds, esp. puffin. Scenic. Views to Orkney islands. Possible site to view cetaceans if weather calm.

Dunnet Forest: Wet weather destination, primarily for children. Toilets at nearby ranger centre.

Dunnet Head: Scenic and most northerly tip of British mainland. Good for seabirds. Toilets / snacks, information point. May seen minke whales/ dolphins /seals if calm during late June- September. Seal viewing point. Puffins between May and July. Remains of WWII radar communications station.

Dunnet Ranger centre: Open all year, but check winter hours. Good wildlife display. Toilets.

Forsinard: Good peatland facilities.. Toilets / food (hotel). Straths have roadside peatland birds. History- clearances and gold panning.

Fossil centre: Wet weather destination. History. Toilets/ food.

Gills Bay: Common seal haul-out.

Glen Loth: Scenic, chance of peregrine, eagle. Red deer. Good, relatively short walk to summit for beginners to hill walking. The road through Glen Loth is open to the public, but is not gritted in the winter, has few passing places and is narrow. Suitability for large numbers of cars is low. However the views combined with sence of altitude create a perspective not found on any other public road in Caithness and Sutherland.

Helmsdale Timespan: Wet weather alternative. Toilets / food.

Helmsdale harbour: Good for winter gulls. Toilets/ food.

John o Groats: Departure point for wildlife viewing boat trips to Stroma and Duncansby Head. Toilets/ food.

Loch of Mey: Bird hide + good all year for birds.

Loch Watten/ Loch Scarmclate: Wintering wildfowl. Toilets / food.

Loch of Wester: Good during autumn, winter and spring for wildfowl.

Lybster Harbour: Seabird viewing facility planned. Toilets / food.

Munsary: Peatland habitat. Good chance to see arctic skua in summer. Greylag geese on Loch Rangag. Broch. Views of Flow Country.

Noss head: Good vantage point for seabirds and passerines in autumn. Scottish primrose site.

Scrabster Harbour and Thurso Harbour: Good for winter gulls. Toilets / food.

Strath More: Peatland and open freshwater habitats. Good for viewing scoter / divers / wigeon and peatland birds.

Strathy Point: Very good for cetaceans and seabirds. Best in late summer /early autumn. Lots of Scottish primrose and purple oxytropis. Toilets / food at Strathy Hall.

Wick Harbour: Good for winter gulls. Toilets in town / food.

Wick museum: Wet weather destination for history information. Toilets

Wick ranger centre: Fossil collection and plants visible by arrangement. Very limited facilities for large groups.

Wick River: Site of the Wick sedge. Passage of waders. Toilets / food.

Yarrows: Archaeological trail. Close to Wick.

OTHER ASPECTS:

Children: Health & safety issues near cliffs and out on peatland.

Wheelchair access: Loch of Mey / Dunnet Forest. Perhaps Duncansby should be!

Activity: No need to be fit except for walks in Glen Loth which are short, safe, but steep. Bikes suitable, but best to travel by train to Wick then cycle north and west. Suggest route to Forsinard via Strathmore. Restrictions regarding rail collection- only 4 bikes per train on a route particularly popular with end to end cyclists! Angling can be built into route.

Species accounts

Will see (in season):

Auks, kittiewake, fulmar, shag, - boat trips from Helmsdale, John O’Groats. Walking at Duncansby Head, Dunnet Head (west of lighthouse) and Castle of Old Wick. Best May- July.

Puffins- Duncansby Head (near stacks) / Dunnet Head (west of & below lighthouse)/ Castle of Old Wick. Boat trip from John O’Groats. Best May- July.

Great skua- Dunnet Head or Duncansby Head. Best May- July.

Greylag goose- Broubster Leans. Best during winter, spring and autumn.

Scottish primrose- Edemic to Scotland. Strathy Point, Sandside Head. Look for in very short coastal turf above cliffs. Best late May- early August.

Purple oxytropis- Grows on coastal cliffs and coastal grassland along north Sutherland coast. Strathy Bay and Strathy Point are good localities, but difficult to find without specific advice. Best June.

Wick sedge- only occurs in three places in Scotland, one of which is Wick River. Grows in sedge beds about 500m upstream of the riverside supermarket. Best July- August.

Grey seal- off rocky coasts.

Common seal- frequent round the coast.

Red deer. Strath Halladale, Strath of Kildonnan, Glen Loth.

Should see (in season): arctic skua (Duncansby Head/ Dunnet Head during summer), black throated diver (large lochs surrounded by peatland e.g. near Forsinard), red throated diver, great northern diver, golden plover, dunlin, greenshank, raven, common scoter, wigeon, whooper swan, Greenland white-fronted goose, glaucous gull.

Might see (in season): golden eagle, hen harrier, ring ouzel, red grouse, peregrine falcon, sooty and manx shearwater, Iceland gull. Harbour porpoise, roe deer.

If you’re lucky(in season): whimbrel, woodsandpiper, merlin. Minke whale, white-beaked dolphin, Rissos dolphin, otter.