Just when you thought that you couldn't go any further north in Scotland, you discover that you can. You drive on this little 'minor' road east of John O'Groats and you find yourself out on Duncansby Head. The headland juts right out into the North Sea, with the Pentland Firth to its north and west and the Moray Firth to its south. For those trivia buffs who know anything about geography on this island, Duncansby Head is the furthest point by road from Land's End, which is located in Cornwall
on the most westerly point of mainland Britain. The picture above is the lighthouse which was built in 1924.
And then, if you are willing to walk south across the grassy fields behind the lighthouse you will discover the Duncansby Stacks and the Thirle Door! In the picture above, you can see the stacks plain enough and the arch (Thirle Door) is visible if you look closely at the right hand side of the picture, just up from the corner.
Just look at that blue water! I bet you never expected that from the North Sea! The above picture is a close up of the 'thumb'; one of the smaller stacks. The picture below is just a shot of the amazing cliffs that run along this part of the coast. It is so lovely and inspiring!
Here we are on the edge of the cliffs with one of the Stacks in the background. My mom is holding tightly to the fence post because it was a bit windy up there and she's not a big fan of high places; especially when standing right on the edge! We couldn't have asked for nicer weather in which to enjoy this beautiful place.
This next picture has to be the fashion statement of the year! I'm telling you, everyone will be wearing these things in future, at least in the UK, because they are absolutely waterproof, indestructible, and attractive. Who wouldn't want to wear a ocher-coloured full-body waterproof? The only trouble is, you need assistance getting it on and off (no zippers or buttons) and that means we will have to go back to the days of having lady's maids and men's valets. In case you were confused by the lovely attire, this is me prior to our speed-boat ride around the Duncansby Stacks. All passengers are required to wear one! I asked for a pink one and they just laughed at me.
Here is a view of the said speedboat and some of the passengers behind me. They were mostly from Italy and were enjoyably exclaiming over the beautiful sights in Italian.
This is a view of the stacks from the water. We were also treated to a detailed exploration of the cliffs surrounding the stacks. We went back into all sorts of passageways and other nooks, crannies, and yes, former smuggling areas. (I took pictures but didn't feel like any of them were worth posting here.) We were also treated to a very STRONG smell of wild birds who have nested in those places for hundreds of years and have left their residue behind. Some of the rocks were completely white, if you know what I mean. Whew!
And then, just when I had given up looking for them, we came across a group of wild seals. This one was more than happy to pose for us as we all took pictures of him. Isn't he cute? There were others who were swimming in the water, but their heads blended in very well and they were hard to take good pictures of. There is a regular little herd of seals around this area from what our guide said.
Just when you thought that you couldn't go any further north in Scotland, you discover that you can. You drive on this little 'minor' road east of John O'Groats and you find yourself out on Duncansby Head. The headland juts right out into the North Sea, with the Pentland Firth to its north and west and the Moray Firth to its south. For those trivia buffs who know anything about geography on this island, Duncansby Head is the furthest point by road from Land's End, which is located in Cornwall on the most westerly point of mainland Britain. The picture above is the lighthouse which was built in 1924.
And then, if you are willing to walk south across the grassy fields behind the lighthouse you will discover the Duncansby Stacks and the Thirle Door! In the picture above, you can see the stacks plain enough and the arch (Thirle Door) is visible if you look closely at the right hand side of the picture, just up from the corner. 
Just look at that blue water! I bet you never expected that from the North Sea! The above picture is a close up of the 'thumb'; one of the smaller stacks. The picture below is just a shot of the amazing cliffs that run along this part of the coast. It is so lovely and inspiring!
Here we are on the edge of the cliffs with one of the Stacks in the background. My mom is holding tightly to the fence post because it was a bit windy up there and she's not a big fan of high places; especially when standing right on the edge! We couldn't have asked for nicer weather in which to enjoy this beautiful place.
This next picture has to be the fashion statement of the year! I'm telling you, everyone will be wearing these things in future, at least in the UK, because they are absolutely waterproof, indestructible, and attractive. Who wouldn't want to wear a ocher-coloured full-body waterproof? The only trouble is, you need assistance getting it on and off (no zippers or buttons) and that means we will have to go back to the days of having lady's maids and men's valets. In case you were confused by the lovely attire, this is me prior to our speed-boat ride around the Duncansby Stacks. All passengers are required to wear one! I asked for a pink one and they just laughed at me.
Here is a view of the said speedboat and some of the passengers behind me. They were mostly from Italy and were enjoyably exclaiming over the beautiful sights in Italian.
This is a view of the stacks from the water. We were also treated to a detailed exploration of the cliffs surrounding the stacks. We went back into all sorts of passageways and other nooks, crannies, and yes, former smuggling areas. (I took pictures but didn't feel like any of them were worth posting here.) We were also treated to a very STRONG smell of wild birds who have nested in those places for hundreds of years and have left their residue behind. Some of the rocks were completely white, if you know what I mean. Whew! 
And then, just when I had given up looking for them, we came across a group of wild seals. This one was more than happy to pose for us as we all took pictures of him. Isn't he cute? There were others who were swimming in the water, but their heads blended in very well and they were hard to take good pictures of. There is a regular little herd of seals around this area from what our guide said.
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