Duncansby Head

Duncansby Head Lighthouse
*John-o'-Groats*
	Duncansby Head Lighthouse
Location	Duncansby Head; Scotland; United Kingdom
Coordinates	58.6439°N 3.0253°W / 58.6439; -3.0253][[Category:Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas]]"},"html":"Coordinates: </templatestyles>\"}' data-mw='{\"name\":\"templatestyles\",\"attrs\":{\"src\":\"Module:Coordinates/styles.css\"},\"body\":{\"extsrc\":\"\"}}'/>58°38′38″N 3°01′31″W / 58.6439°N 3.0253°W"}">
Tower
Constructed	1924
Designed by	David Alan Stevenson
Construction	concrete tower
Automated	1997
Height	11 m (36 ft)
Shape	square tower with balcony and lantern
Markings	white tower, black lantern, ochre balcony
Power source	mains electricity
Operator	Northern Lighthouse Board
Racon	T
Light
Focal height	67 m (220 ft)
Intensity	596,000 cd
Range	22 nmi (41 km)
Characteristic	Fl W 12 s

Duncansby Head (Scottish Gaelic: Ceann Dhunngain^[3] or Dùn Gasbaith^[4]) 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.^[5] The headland juts into the North Sea, with the Pentland Firth to its north and west and the Moray Firth to its south.

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The point is marked by Duncansby Head Lighthouse, built by David Alan Stevenson in 1924.^[6]

A minor public road leads from John o' Groats to Duncansby Head,^[7] which makes Duncansby Head the farthest point by road from Land's End.

The Duncansby Head Site of Special Scientific Interest includes the 6.5-kilometre (4-mile) stretch of coast south to Skirza Head. It includes the Duncansby Stacks, prominent sea stacks just off the coast.^[8]

In 2016, it was reported in The Sunday Post newspaper that scientists from the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldemarston had proposed a nuclear weapon test on the Stacks of Duncansby in 1953, but that the prevailing wet weather was too much for contemporary electronics and the idea was shelved.^[9]

[1]
Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Scotland: Highlands". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
[2]
Duncansby Head Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 10 May 2016
[3]
Gaelic and Norse in the Landscape: Placenames in Caithness and Sutherland Archived 21 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Scottish National Heritage.
[4]
"Cabaan \(Ross\), An Cadha Bàn" (PDF). The Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
[5]
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1862). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Vol. 3. Neill and Company. p. 499.
[6]
"Duncansby Head Lighthouse". The Museum of Scottish Lighthouses. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
[7]
"Scothighlands - How to drive to Duncansby Head from John O'Groats". www.scothighlands.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
[8]
SSSI citation^{[permanent dead link‍]}
[9]
Lawson, Jim (31 October 2016). "Experts nearly dropped an atomic bomb on a Scottish landmark in the 1950s". Sunday Post. Retrieved 8 November 2018.

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Northern Lighthouse Board

Thumb — The Stacks of Duncansby, John O'Groats, Moray Firth, Scotland

This article about a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Scotland is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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[1] [1]
Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Scotland: Highlands". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 10 May 2016.

[2] [2]
Duncansby Head Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 10 May 2016

[3] [3]
Gaelic and Norse in the Landscape: Placenames in Caithness and Sutherland Archived 21 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Scottish National Heritage.

[4] [4]
"Cabaan \(Ross\), An Cadha Bàn" (PDF). The Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 26 June 2023.

[5] [5]
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1862). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Vol. 3. Neill and Company. p. 499.

[6] [6]
"Duncansby Head Lighthouse". The Museum of Scottish Lighthouses. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.

[7] [7]
"Scothighlands - How to drive to Duncansby Head from John O'Groats". www.scothighlands.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2019.

[8] [8]
SSSI citation^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[9] [9]
Lawson, Jim (31 October 2016). "Experts nearly dropped an atomic bomb on a Scottish landmark in the 1950s". Sunday Post. Retrieved 8 November 2018.

[3]

[4]

[5]

[1]

[2]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

Duncansby Head

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Tower
Duncansby Head Lighthouse

Location	Duncansby Head Scotland United Kingdom
Coordinates	58.6439°N 3.0253°W / 58.6439; -3.0253 / 58.6439; -3.0253][[Category:Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas]]"},"html":"Coordinates: </templatestyles>\"}' data-mw='{\"name\":\"templatestyles\",\"attrs\":{\"src\":\"Module:Coordinates/styles.css\"},\"body\":{\"extsrc\":\"\"}}'/>58°38′38″N 3°01′31″W / 58.6439°N 3.0253°W / 58.6439; -3.0253"}">
Constructed	1924
Designed by	David Alan Stevenson
Construction	concrete tower
Automated	1997
Height	11 m (36 ft)
Shape	square tower with balcony and lantern
Markings	white tower, black lantern, ochre balcony
Power source	mains electricity
Operator	Northern Lighthouse Board^[1]^[2]
Racon	T

Light
Focal height	67 m (220 ft)
Intensity	596,000 cd
Range	22 nmi (41 km)
Characteristic	Fl W 12 s