property and not open to visitors. to open not and property

Board. The buildings nearby are now private private now are nearby buildings The Board.

monitored remotely by the Northern Lighthouse Northern the by remotely monitored

The lighthouse was automated in 1989 and is is and 1989 in automated was lighthouse The

been broken by stones thrown up by the sea. sea. the by up thrown stones by broken been

far below. In the past, lighthouse windows have have windows lighthouse past, the In below. far

weather is notoriously rough in the Pentland Firth Pentland the in rough notoriously is weather

navigational aid for generations of seafarers. The The seafarers. of generations for aid navigational

nautical miles (26.5 miles) and has been a crucial crucial a been has and miles) (26.5 miles nautical

The light at Head has a range of 23 23 of range a has Head Dunnet at light The

here before you! before here

and the . Galloway. of Mull the and

thousands of people throughout history who were were who history throughout people of thousands

including those on the , Cape Wrath Wrath Cape May, of Isle the on those including

As you explore this exciting place, think of the the of think place, exciting this explore you As

construction of at least 15 major , lighthouses, major 15 least at of construction

1808 until 1840. He was responsible for the the for responsible was He 1840. until 1808 World War. World

engineer of the Northern Lighthouse Board from from Board Lighthouse Northern the of engineer in this remote northerly outpost during the Second Second the during outpost northerly remote this in

(1772-1850), who built this lighthouse, was an an was lighthouse, this built who (1772-1850), thousands of servicemen and women were based based were women and servicemen of thousands

lighthouses for 150 years. Robert Stevenson Stevenson Robert years. 150 for lighthouses they passed by in their longships. More recently, recently, More longships. their in by passed they

The Stevenson family was involved in building building in involved was family Stevenson The looked up at the towering 300ft sandstone cliffs as as cliffs sandstone 300ft towering the at up looked

side of the . Vikings would have have would Vikings Firth. Pentland the of side

Kidnapped and Treasure Island. Treasure and Kidnapped

peoples of , looking across from the other other the from across looking Orkney, of peoples

which influenced his most famous books, books, famous most his influenced which

The cliffs would have been familiar to the ancient ancient the to familiar been have would cliffs The

was inspired by visits to remote lighthouses, lighthouses, remote to visits by inspired was

Louis Stevenson. It’s thought the great writer writer great the thought It’s Stevenson. Louis been important for people in peace – and war. and – peace in people for important been

Robert Stevenson, grandfather of author Robert Robert author of grandfather Stevenson, Robert least 4,500 years old. Since then has has Head Dunnet then Since old. years 4,500 least

cliffs. It’s 66 feet high, and was built in 1831 by by 1831 in built was and high, feet 66 It’s cliffs. Neolithic period (4000-2400 BC). The cairn is at at is cairn The BC). (4000-2400 period Neolithic

It’s hard to miss the lighthouse on the towering towering the on lighthouse the miss to hard It’s viewpoint shows early settlers were here in the the in here were settlers early shows viewpoint

A small burial cairn hidden beneath the scenic scenic the beneath hidden cairn burial small A

famous stories famous

worked here for thousands of years. of thousands for here worked

seas, Savage

visible for miles around. People have lived and and lived have People around. miles for visible

for its lighthouse, dating from 1831, which is is which 1831, from dating lighthouse, its for

Britain’s most northerly point. It’s also renowned renowned also It’s point. northerly most Britain’s

Dunnet Head is famous for being mainland mainland being for famous is Head Dunnet

history for you to uncover. to you for history

But it also has a long and fascinating fascinating and long a has also it But

enjoy wildlife and stunning views. views. stunning and wildlife enjoy

Dunnet Head is a great place to to place great a is Head Dunnet Welcome

An ancient beginning RSPB Dunnet Head John o’ Dunnet Head (: Ceann Dùnaid) Mey Groats B836 is the most northerly point of mainland Britain. Dunnet The point, called Easter Head, is at 58°40’21”N B836 03°22’31”W. It’s about 11 miles from John Castletown O’Groats, which is often, mistakenly, thought to A99 be the northernmost place. B876 The cliffs are formed of Old Red Sandstone, a RSPB Broubster sedimentary rock laid down 358 – 419 million Leans Dunnet years ago, during the Devonian era. Geologists call the area the Orcadian Basin, and it includes A882 , Orkney and parts of , Wick stretching south to the Moray Firth. Head A9 The Devonian era has made its mark on the local nature reserve landscape in the famous Caithness flagstones, A99 used extensively locally as a building material and for walls marking the boundaries of fields.

Latheron

RSPB Dunnet Head RSPB North Region Etive House, Beechwood Park, Inverness IV2 2BW

Tel: 01463 715000 E-mail: [email protected] rspb.org.uk/dunnethead

Helping to give nature a home

Explore Dunnet Head’s fascinating past Front cover: by Markus Keller (alamy.com). We would like to thank the following people for the images in this leaflet. Dave Jones (lighthouse with sign, IFF block, CHL block and bunker), Pete Mayhew (aerial view). All other images by Andy Hay. The RSPB is a registered charity in England & Wales 207076, in Scotland SC037654. 720-1311-16-17 The wartime watchers

As you walk up towards the From 1940, Dunnet Head was a Coast Defence Just half a mile south of Dunnet Head was U-boat (CDU) station, forming part of the early another important military installation. Burifa viewpoint, you are sure to notice warning network around the coasts of Britain. Hill was used as a Gee radio navigation station, several disused buildings and strange, From here, U-boats and enemy aircraft were helping RAF aircraft to navigate. It played an white-painted blocks beside the path. tracked by the and the . essential role in assisting bombing raids on a range of targets in Europe, including the These are all evidence that, remote The CDU was able to follow shipping and V2 rocket research base at Peenemünde in though it is, Dunnet Head played a enemy on the surface for a distance of northern Germany. The V2 was the world’s several miles. The service personnel who manned first long-range guided ballistic missile, and was vital role in the Second World War. it could also detect aircraft at ranges of 100 miles greatly feared in Britain. or more, depending on their height. The radio station at Dunnet Head, which would have buzzed The station was protected by a battery of with constant military activity, consisted of two Oerlikon anti-aircraft machine guns. huts. One housed the transmitter, and the other the receiver, with aerial arrays mounted on gantries which straddled each hut.

Friend or foe?

The remains of an IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) radio cubicle and mast. IFF was used during the Second World War to distinguish friendly aircraft from enemy planes. RAF aircraft were fitted with transponders, which automatically transmitted a “friendly” signal.

Spotting the enemy

A Low (CHL) transmitter/receiver block. Outside it you can see anchor blocks which supported a 35ft-high RADAR gantry. A blast wall still stands by the south entrance, designed to protect the block from enemy bombs.

Buried secret of the Cold War

This is what remains of an underground Royal Observer Corps bunker, built in the 1950s, approximately six feet below the surface. Monitoring posts like this played an important role in the early years of the Cold War.