Duncansby Head
 Duncansby Head Lighthouse | |
 | |
| Location | Duncansby Head Scotland United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 58°38′39″N 3°01′30″W / 58.644039°N 3.025120°W |
| Constructed | 1924 |
| Construction | concrete tower |
| Height | 11 metres (36 ft) |
| Shape | square tower with balcony and lantern |
| Markings | white tower, black lantern, ochre balcony |
| Operator | Northern Lighthouse Board[1] [2] |
| Heritage | Site of Special Scientific Interest  |
| Light | |
| Focal height | 67 metres (220 ft) |
| Light source | mains power |
| Intensity | 596,000 candela |
| Range | 22 nautical miles (41 km; 25 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 12s. |
Duncansby Head (Scottish Gaelic: Ceann Dhunngain[3] or Dùn Gasbaith[4]) is the most northeasterly part of the British mainland, including even the famous John o' Groats. It 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.
Lighthouse
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, 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 km stretch of coast south to Skirza Head. It includes the Duncansby Stacks, prominent sea stacks just off the coast.[7]
Atomic Weapon Test
In 2016, it was reported in the 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.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Duncansby Head The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 10 May 2016
- ^ Duncansby Head Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 10 May 2016
- ^ Gaelic and Norse in the Landscape: Placenames in Caithness and Sutherland. Scottish National Heritage.
- ^ http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Gaelic/placenamesC-E.pdf
- ^ Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1862). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Vol. 3. Neill and Company. p. 499.
- ^ "Duncansby Head Lighthouse". The Museum of Scottish Lighthouses. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ SSSI citation
- ^ "Experts nearly dropped an atomic bomb on a Scottish landmark in the 1950s - Sunday Post". Sunday Post. 2016-10-31. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
External links
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- Pages using infobox lighthouse which are not lighthouses
- Headlands of Scotland
- Caithness
- Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Caithness
- Landforms of Highland (council area)
- Scottish Site of Special Scientific Interest stubs
- Highland geography stubs
- European lighthouse stubs
- United Kingdom building and structure stubs