Castle Sinclair Girnigoe

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe was begun in the late 15th century by the Sinclair Earls of Caithness and expanded in the early 17th century. The newer section, Castle Sinclair, went up around 1606, which gives the complex its double name. It fell into ruin after a siege in 1679.

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe is about 3 miles north of Wick on the Caithness coast, roughly 10 minutes by car. Wick itself is a traditional Caithness town with a good heritage museum, excellent fish and chips and the Pulteney Distillery. The castle is freely accessible and makes a dramatic coastal walk from a small car park above the cliffs.

The castle is an open ruin above sea cliffs and can be visited freely, but take care near the cliff edges and around unstable masonry. The Clan Sinclair Trust has done restoration work to stabilise parts of the structure. The setting is spectacular but exposed, and wind and weather can be extreme on this stretch of the Caithness coast.

The complex was the principal stronghold of the Sinclair Earls of Caithness from the 15th century. Its most notorious episode came around 1571, when the 4th Earl, George Sinclair, imprisoned his own son and heir John in the dungeon for about seven years, reportedly feeding him salted beef without water until he died of thirst. The castle fell into ruin after a siege in 1679 and has never been inhabited since.