End of the Road Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A short way from parking, but a long road here for most.
This cache is at the most north easterly tip of the British mainland, at Duncansby Head in Caithness. This headland overlooks the busy shipping lanes of the Pentland Firth, sometimes called “Hell’s Mouth” by mariners. The squat square tower of Duncansby Head Lighthouse dominates the headland, one of eleven lights strung around the islands and shores of the Firth to guide ships. The light was constructed as late as 1924, but has a very powerful beam visible for 22 miles and flashing every 12 seconds. Also on the headland are the remains of a coastguard lookout demolished by northerly gales in the 1990’s and an Observer Corps underground bunker dating from Cold War Days. Various visitor signs highlight the wild life and features, including the internationally famous Stacks of Duncansby, a short walk from the car park. Whales including Orca and minke species and seabirds like gannets, skuas and auks are often seen from the head. The deep slashes in the cliffs called geos have thousands of nesting seabirds in the summer, the puffins being the most popular. The strong tides of the Firth flow close to the cliffs and in the middle hours of tide give the appearance of a huge river in motion with white horses, swirls, boils and eddies. This source of energy is scheduled to be tapped to provide electricity in the next ten years as underwater turbines are installed off the Head and at other locations between Scotland and the Orkney Islands to the north. The cache is hidden in this open windswept location in a way borrowed from a cache 500 miles away beside a canal in Southern England, where previous attempts had been interfered with by muggles. As this is also a busy site it will be interesting to see if its location is successful.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Abg OG, ohg TCB.