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 located 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.
Location | Duncansby Head Scotland United Kingdom |
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Coordinates | 58.644039°N 3.025120°W / 58.644039; -3.025120 |
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[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 |
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]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Duncansby Head. |
Lighthouses of the Northern Lighthouse Board | |
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Scotland (except principal island groups) |
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The Hebrides |
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Orkney |
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Shetland |
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Isle of Man |
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