For some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in Scotland, we highly recommend you take a trip to the Duncansby Stacks, the most north easterly part of the UK mainland!
Stunning Sea-Stacks of Scotland
Sea stacks are formed when continual erosion of sea arches are so extreme that the roof of the sea arch falls in the sea. This natural erosion process takes course over hundreds or thousands of years.
The Duncansby sandstone stacks and surrounding Caithness coastline are home to lots of wildlife, thousands of nesting birds in the spring and summer, and to seals and their pups in the winter months. The Duncansby Stacks are thought to be at least 6,000 years old!

Where are the Duncansby Stacks?
Duncansby Head is accessed by a single track road signposted from the A99 (a left turn if you are approaching from John O’Groats Harbour, opposite the Post Office and shop). The winding road gives you stunning views of the countryside, the Pentland Firth and across to the southern tip of South Ronaldsay – the southernmost of the Orkney Islands. The road climbs from Sannick Bay (where you may be lucky to find one of Caithness’s hidden gems) up to a parking area adjacent to Duncansby Head Lighthouse.
From here, you’ll need to get out of your car and walk south (if you’re keeping the sea on your left, you’re going the right way!). It’s a 20 minute walk to the section of cliffs where you get a decent view, but there’s no issue with you walking as far as you like to get views of the Stacks and coastline at different angles, as this is the way you’d walk if you were walking this stage of the John O’Groats Trail.

Exploring the Duncansby Stacks
The Duncansby Stacks are a favourite attraction for visitors to enjoy and we highly recommend wearing sturdy footwear as the conditions underfoot on the grassy field can be slippy after heavy rain, and that for your own safety you keep to the right of the fencing, protecting you from a grisly demise!
Keeping close to the coastline, you’ll pass the Geo of Sclaites. A geo is a long, narrow, steep split in the cliff, again caused by coastal erosion. Sometimes they have sea caves underneath which are sometimes visited by Caithness Seacoast trips. The Geo of Sclaites is home to nesting seabirds during the spring and summer months, including kittiwakes, puffins, fulmars and guillemots.

Cetacean spotting is also a popular activity in Scotland, with various whales and dolphins passing the Caithness coastline throughout the year. The annual Orca Watch week (end of May/beginning of June) sees many wildlife enthusiasts from all over the UK and beyond come to the north of Scotland and Duncansby Head is one of the official watching locations.
There are 4 stacks at Duncansby. At 60 metres tall, the Great Stack is the largest and is taller than the adjacent cliff. The other stacks are called the Witch’s Hat Stack, The Knee and The Little Knee.
In front of the Stacks is Thirle Door, a sea arch which at some point in the future will become a sea stack!
Duncansby Head is a popular location for photographers at all times of the day or night, whether to capture early sunrises, golden hour at sunset or the Aurora Borealis due to the low light pollution we have in Caithness.

Duncansby Head Lighthouse
On your return, it’s worth looking at Duncansby Head Lighthouse which was built in 1924. Although now like Dunnet Head Lighthouse being closed to public access and automatically operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board, it’s a striking building perched on the cliff edge.
In March 2024, the Duncansby Head Lighthouse celebrated its 100th year in service. To mark the occasion, a unique light and sound show was created by Lyth Arts Centre which lit up the lighthouse for three nights!
Near to Duncansby Stacks
Duncansby Head is well placed for a trip alongside some other popular Caithness locations:
- Close by, John O’Groats is the home to the famous sign post marking the start/end point of the John O’Groats – Lands End route, but there is a lot more to explore, with shops, a distillery & brewery, excellent food and drink, and family friendly activities!
- If you’d like to explore castle ruins, the east coast of Caithness has some fantastic examples! Old Keiss Castle (Keiss), Castle Sinclair Girnigoe (north of Wick) and Old Wick Castle (south of Wick) are all worth visiting.
- If you are on a lighthouse finding mission, Dunnet Head and Noss Head Lighthouse (Wick – no vehicle access) are both in operation overlooking more of the stunning Caithness coastline.
If you’d like to see other examples of dramatic Orcadian sea stacks, you can do a day trip to Orkney, where you can even see the Old Man of Hoy on the Northlink crossing from Scrabster to Stromness.