walkhighlands

The John o' Groats Trail

The John o' Groats Trail is a long distance walking route from Inverness to John o' Groats, providing a vital missing link for Land's End to John o' Groats walkers. The route was originally devised by Jay Wilson; although most of the route is now waymarked, some parts remain rough and challenging - make sure you read the challenge section.

Starting from Inverness (the end of the Great Glen Way) the Trail follows minor roads, pavements and sometimes overgrown paths to cross the Black Isle and head to Alness and then Tain in Easter Ross, before crossing the firth to the beautiful small town of Dornoch. It then becomes a coastal walk, first to Golspie and Brora, and takes to the increasingly spectacular clifftops to pass through Helmsdale, Dunbeath and Lybster en route for Wick. From Wick the cliffs continue until the broad sweep of Sinclair's Bay leads to Keiss, and a grand and majestic clifftop finale leads to Duncansby Head - the most northeasterly point of the UK mainland. John o' Groats is a short walk beyond.

THE CHALLENGE

The early stages of the route mostly follow minor roads and a variety of tracks and paths, with only short stretches along the verge of busy roads. As it continues the route becomes increasingly challenging, with boggy ground, unprotected cliff edges, rough tussocky terrain and a few burn crossings. This is the finest part of the route but it is tougher to walk; painstaking work by volunteers means that most of it is now waymarked and there are stiles and gates for all but a few fences.

Stage descriptions Length Time Done
Stage 1: Inverness to Culbokie 24km 6-7 hours
Stage 2: Culbokie to Alness 14.75km 3½-4½ hours
Stage 3: Alness to Tain 21km 5-6 hours
Stage 4: Tain to Dornoch 14km 4-4½ hours
Stage 5: Dornoch to Golspie 22km 6½-7 hours
Stage 6: Golspie to Brora 10km 3-4 hours
Stage 7: Brora to Helmsdale 20.5km 5½-6½ hours
Stage 8: Helmsdale to Berriedale 14.5km 6-7 hours
Stage 9: Berriedale to Dunbeath 10.25km 4-4½ hours
Stage 10: Dunbeath to Lybster 14.25km 5-6 hours
Stage 11: Lybster to Whaligoe 12km 5-5½ hours
Stage 12: Whaligoe to Wick 17.25km 5-6 hours
Stage 13: Wick to Keiss 17km 5-6 hours
Stage 14: Keiss to John o' Groats 21.5km 6-7 hours


ACCOMMODATION AND SERVICES ALONG THE WAY

The John o' Groats Trail passes through several small towns and villages along its length, providing a variety of services and accommodation.

The route starts at the Highland capital of Inverness which has all facilities and types of accommodation, including hotels, bed and breakfast and hostels.

Culbokie is at the end of the first stage, and has a village shop and an inn.

Evanton offers shops (and accommodation) part way through the second stage. The stage end at Alness - and the next one at Tain - are both small towns with shops and both hotel and bed and breakfast accommodation.

The next four stages again all end in large villages / small towns with good facilities including shops - beautiful Dornoch, Golspie, Brora and Helmsdale all offering bed and breakfast and hotels; the latter also has a hostel.

The tiny village of Berriedale has a seasonal bunkhouse and a cafe. Being on the A9 it is also linked by public transport - or you could ask your accommodation for the previous or following night if they would pick you up and drop you off here.

Dunbeath has a shop and bed and breakfast accommodation, whereas Lybster additionally has a hotel. There is a cafe at Whaligoe which offers accommodation.

Wick is the largest town in this region and has plentiful shops, restaurants, hotels and bed and breakfast. Keiss also has a hotel and B&B.

Finally journey's end at John o' Groats has a hotel as well as bus links.

BOOKS AND MAPS

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Inverness has a main rail station and excellent bus services; John o' Groats has a bus service.

All the stage start and end points have scheduled bus services; most of them are along or close to the A9 or A99. Additionally, Alness, Tain, Dornoch, Golspie, Brora, Helmsdale and Wick have railway stations.

Timetables for all the routes can be found on Traveline Scotland.

Users' walk reports for the John o' Groats Trail

There are 115 Walkhighlanders who have completed the John o' Groats Trail. To record if you have completed the route, you must register and be logged in. Our users have contributed 4 public walk reports for the route. These are ordered below with the most popular ones first.

Title AuthorDate walked Likes
JOG 8-day part-camping  dmirzai 18/05/2021  11
John O'Groats trail April/May 2017  Cupro 27/04/2017  9
John o'Groats Trail from Tain to John o'Groats  Birikini 27/04/2019  6
John o groats trail  giles 25/08/2023  1

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Walking can be dangerous and all walkers must take personal responsibility for their own safety. You should always carry a backup means of navigation and not rely on a single phone, app or map. Walkhighlands strives to provide accurate information but cannot accept responsibility for changes, errors or omissions.