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Holborn Head is a headland on the north-facing Atlantic coast of Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. The point of Holborn Head is at 58°37′23″N03°32′06″W / 58.62306°N 3.53500°W (grid reference ND10857155 ). It has a lighthouse at its south end and the remains of an old fort at its tip. [1]
The name Holborn appears Norse in origin, meaning hillfort, and the headland may be the Tarvedunum promotorium noted by Ptolemy. [2] At the tip is a bank, all that remains of a promontory fort, [3] which has been listed as a protected monument since 1933. [4] One source says no radiocarbon dating, or excavation for stratified remains has been done at the fort, so its age is unknown. [5] Another says it is Early Bronze Age to Pictish, possibly 2400 BC to 900 AD, [6] and another says Count Moddan, one of the Earls of Orkney, [2] in the early 11th century, had his army on promontario Thorsnesia, [7] which its source takes to be Holburn Head. [8] However, Thurso promontory could have equally described the later Scrabster Castle.
A walk around the headland can be accessed through a gate next to the Principal Keeper's House. There are stiles and bridges, which allow access to the unfenced off promontory of Holborn Head itself. [9] There are clear views over to Dunnet Head and to the Orkney Islands. [10]
Holburn Head Lighthouse, spelt 'Holburn', unlike the headland which is Holborn Head, is about one kilometre (half a mile) south of the point, near Scrabster Harbour on the western shore of Thurso Bay, at 58°36′54″N03°32′24″W / 58.61500°N 3.54000°W . Designed and built by David and Thomas Stevenson, it was completed in 1862. The tower for the light is integral with the keepers' house which is unusual since most Scottish lighthouses are separate from the house. After entering the upper floor front doorway there is a vestibule with 2 entrances, one to the Lightkeepers House and the other to the Lighthouse Tower. There were 2 Lightkeepers houses and the Tower within the building. Separate to this was the Principal Keeper's House.
The light was discontinued in 2003.
Stromness is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland, Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital.
The A9 is a major road in Scotland running from the Falkirk council area in central Scotland to Scrabster Harbour, Thurso in the far north, via Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Perth and Inverness. At 273 miles (439 km), it is the longest road in Scotland and the fifth-longest A-road in the United Kingdom. Historically it was the main road between Edinburgh and John o' Groats, and has been called the spine of Scotland. It is one of the three major north–south trunk routes linking the Central Belt to the Highlands – the others being the A82 and the A90.
Thurso is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great Britain. From a latitudinal standpoint, Thurso is located further north than the southernmost point of Norway and in addition lies more than 500 miles (800 km) north of London.
Caithness is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the ramparts needed.
Stroma is an uninhabited island in the Pentland Firth, between Orkney and the mainland of Scotland. It forms part of the civil parish of Canisbay in Caithness, in the council area of Highland. The name comes from the Old Norse Straumey, meaning "island in the current".
Dunnet Head is a headland in Highland, on the north coast of Scotland. Dunnet Head includes the most northerly point of both mainland Scotland and the island of Great Britain.
The Mull of Galloway is the southernmost point of Scotland. It is situated in Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, at the end of the Rhins of Galloway peninsula.
Sheep's Head, also known as Muntervary, is the headland at the end of the Sheep's Head peninsula situated between Bantry Bay and Dunmanus Bay in County Cork, Ireland.
Wick is a town and royal burgh in Caithness, in the far north of Scotland. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay. "Wick Locality" had a population of 6,954 at the time of the 2011 census, a decrease of 3.8% from 2001.
Castletown is a village on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland, situated near Dunnet Bay. It is within the civil parish of Olrig, where it is the main settlement, and within the historic county of Caithness. The A836 links the village with Thurso and Tongue in the west and with John o' Groats in the east. The B876-A99 links the village with Wick in the southeast. Contrary to the common misconception, the name Castletown is a misnomer as there is no castle within the village limits.
Thurso Bay, known also as Scrabster Bay, is a bay of Atlantic water between the points of Clairdon Head and Holborn Head on the north coast of Caithness, Scotland.
Duncansby Head is the most northeasterly part of both the Scottish and British mainlands, slightly northeast of John o' Groats. It lies approximately 20 km (12 mi) east-southeast of Dunnet Head, the northernmost point of both the Scottish and British mainlands. Duncansby Head is in Caithness, Highland, in north-eastern Scotland. The headland juts into the North Sea, with the Pentland Firth to its north and west and the Moray Firth to its south.
The Rumps is a twin-headland promontory at the north-east corner of Pentire Head in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
Clett is a name used for many uninhabited Scottish islets and one to the south, though also in the area inhabited by Vikings. They include -
Brough /brɒx/ is a small village in Caithness on the far north coast of mainland Scotland. It is the most northerly village of mainland Great Britain. It is 10 miles east of Thurso, 20 miles north-west of Wick, 200 miles north of Edinburgh, and 500 miles north of London. It is on the southern shore of the Pentland Firth, the sea channel between Caithness and the Orkney Islands, notorious for strong tidal currents and exceptionally violent sea conditions. Brough is located on the B855 single-track road, 2.5 miles south east of Dunnet Head Lighthouse, the most northerly lighthouse and point on mainland Britain. The neighbouring village of Dunnet and the wide sandy beaches of Dunnet Bay lie 1.6 miles to the south. Brough is within the civil parish of Dunnet. John o' Groats, the north-easterly point of the mainland, lies 10 miles to the east.
The Ness of Burgi is a narrow peninsula that stretches to the south from the Scat Ness headland of Mainland, Shetland, a Scottish island. It is in the parish of Dunrossness.
Cornish promontory forts, commonly known in Cornwall as cliff castles, are coastal equivalents of the hill forts and Cornish "rounds" found on Cornish hilltops and slopes. Similar coastal forts are found on the north–west European seaboard, in Normandy, Brittany and around the coastlines of the British Isles, especially in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Many are known in southwest England, particularly in Cornwall and its neighbouring county, Devon. Two have been identified immediately west of Cornwall, in the Isles of Scilly.
Blackhead Lighthouse is a listed lighthouse built at the turn of the 20th century, near Whitehead in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It marks the very northern end of Belfast Lough where it opens out into the North Channel that separates Northern Ireland and Scotland. The active lighthouse is managed by the Commissioners of Irish Lights, where it is named as the Blackhead Antrim Lighthouse to distinguish it from the more modern Blackhead lighthouse in County Clare.
The North Highland Way is a proposed 150 miles (240 km) hiking, cycling and horse riding trail in Scotland. Currently without official signage, it is navigable by GPS, linking Duncansby Head on the North East coast to Cape Wrath in the North West of Scotland's coast. The North Highland Way connects the Cape Wrath Trail in the west with the Moray Firth trail in the east. The North Coast 500 is a driving route, which follows a similar line to the North Highland Way.
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